Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928

by David Wallace Adams

The last "Indian War" was fought against Native American children in the dormitories and classrooms of government boarding schools. Only by removing Indian children from their homes for extended periods of time, policymakers reasoned, could white "civilization" take root while childhood memories of "savagism" gradually faded to the point of extinction. In the words of one "Kill the Indian and save the man."

Education for Extinction offers the first comprehensive account of this dispiriting effort. Much more than a study of federal Indian policy, this book vividly details the day-to-day experiences of Indian youth living in a "total institution" designed to reconstruct them both psychologically and culturally. The assault on identity came in many the shearing off of braids, the assignment of new names, uniformed drill routines, humiliating punishments, relentless attacks on native religious beliefs, patriotic indoctrinations, suppression of tribal languages, Victorian gender rituals, football contests, and industrial training.

Especially poignant is Adams's description of the ways in which students resisted or accommodated themselves to forced assimilation. Many converted to varying degrees, but others plotted escapes, committed arson, and devised ingenious strategies of passive resistance. Adams also argues that many of those who seemingly cooperated with the system were more than passive players in this drama, that the response of accommodation was not synonymous with cultural surrender. This is especially apparent in his analysis of students who returned to the reservation. He reveals the various ways in which graduates struggled to make sense of their lives and selectively drew upon their school experience in negotiating personal and tribal survival in a world increasingly dominated by white men.

The discussion comes full circle when Adams reviews the government's gradual retreat from the assimilationist vision. Partly because of persistent student resistance, but also partly because of a complex and sometimes contradictory set of progressive, humanitarian, and racist motivations, policymakers did eventually come to view boarding schools less enthusiastically

Based upon extensive use of government archives, Indian and teacher autobiographies, and school newspapers, Adams's moving account is essential reading for scholars and general readers alike interested in Western history, Native American studies, American race relations, education history, and multiculturalism.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Education, Native American, Indigenous, American History, Race

396 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

A specialist in Indigenous and borderlands history, David Wallace Adams was professor emeritus at Cleveland State University.

Reviews

[Craig Werner · Rating 2 out of 5]

A barely adequate overview of a crucial topic in Native American history. Adams synthesizes a fair amount of material concerning the philosophical, political and institutional history of the boarding schools. But he doesn't add anything at all to his sources and he fails to find a consistent perspective on the contradictions that doomed the schools to failure. He gestures towards the problem at the outset, indicating that he's using the language of "savagery" and "progress" (etc.) because it was the one that shaped the policies. Fair enough, but even in his chapters on Native responses to the schools, he slips back into the language of justification. A policy is judged a failure because it doesn't realize the goals of the colonial project. Adams clearly doesn't believe that, but it's what he writes and the farther I went, the angrier it made me. He never makes it clear that the whole notion that attendance was "voluntary" was a fiction, even though he does detail the unpleasant fact that it required military force and/or the withholding of rations to fill enrollment quotas.

For now, this is the standard book on the subject, but it has to be read with a highly critical eye. We need something better.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars to be exact. This is a fabulous overview of the entire boarding school system, its formation, faults and strengths. Crucially, it attempts to give equal weight to the perspectives of the government, Indian nations, parents, students, teachers, and administrators when covering this brambly subject in a particularly tragic era of Native American history. En route, Wallace covered the rhetoric and motivations of US Politicians and Christian Reformers that led to the formation of this system, whose efforts bring to mind the old adage of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". The only discussion area I found lacking in this volume was that although Wallace clearly demonstrates the problems that this brutal form of education created for individual students, he failed to link the boarding school system to the degradation of Indigenous communities. These students are now referred to as "the lost generations" and more modern literature connects many problems in Indian communities (especially loss of native languages) to these former students who returned to find themselves in a liminal state, acculturated to neither the ehite nor Indian worlds.

Although I prefer this volume above others I've read on the same topic, I would still assign Brenda Child's "Boarding School Seasons" to undergrads instead of this one - it is briefer, more streamlined in terms of information included, and a bit more personal. However, for preparing lectures, Wallace's book is the go-to source!

[John Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading quite a bit about Canadian Native Residential Schools and Native American Boarding Schools. This book was often mentioned as the definitive guide to understanding the Native American boarding school system. While it is an academic book, it is also very accessible for all readers. Key points about their history and how they were run. Key points are brought out clearly but examples are brought in from through out the system. I would agree that this is the best overview book anyone can read on the topic.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He is born a blank like the rest of us. Left in the surroundings of savagery, he grows to possess a savage language, susperstition, and life. We, left in the surroundings of civilization, grow to possess a civilized language, life, and purpose."

With compelling anecdotes, letters between family members, and thorough research, David Wallace Adams tells a thoroughly disturbing account of the assault on Indian children by policy and actors like the unwavering Captain Pratt. For non-fiction, it was gripping...how could one have ever expected a child, trembling in fear and stripped of all he has ever known, to accomodate a new identity, rituals, and lifestyle? The mission of civilization was contested throughout, but did these schools truly "fail"?

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview of the Native American boarding school experience, from its inception after the Civil War to the 1920's. (It should be noted that several boarding schools continued after the 1920's, so I was left wondering why the author stopped there.) The book is organized into sections: the first explores the reasons for the NA boarding schools formation and the history of that formation, the next describes what the schools were physically like, the next explores what was taught in the schools, and the last deals with the reaction both by graduates and by the American culture at large to the schools. Very good overview that is both thorough and detached.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

literally the landmark work on american indian boarding schools

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indigenous children in the United States (and other places) were removed from their families and sent to various schools that were typically operated by some fashion of religious institution. The treatment that these children endured is abhorrent. They were beaten, sexually assaulted, psychologically tormented, and subjected to physical labor and food restriction and punishment. They were provided religious instruction that stripped away their belief system. They were forced to dress in European fashions. They had their hair cut off. They were not allowed to speak their language. This book outlines specific instances of the aforementioned treatment.

I read this book as a reference for my European Conquest of the Americas class. My final project was on residential schools and cultural genocide. This book was a tremendously helpful reference for that. The research was meticulous. The book itself was interesting to read, thankfully, and not boring and drowning in repetitive facts. If you are interested in these residential schools, there are some really good podcasts out about it. Kuper Island is the most recent one that I listened to that was mind blowing.

[Samantha Worden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book education for extinction is an exciting and intricate read on the boarding school experience for Native American Children. The book highlights the personal narratives of these children to better elaborate on the narrative. Using a combination of personal narratives with legal documents creates a more through story of boarding schools. Education for Extinction makes it easy for readers to understand the boarding school experience but lacks a connection to single individuals.

David Wallace Adams, the author of this monograph is a Kansas native. He now works as a professor at Cleveland State. Adams main focus is in education, rather then history. This connects to his works focusing on childhood as well as educational systems of minors in his works. This particular book was published originally in 1995 but has gone through several reprints.

The books itself focuses on the Native American boarding school experience on children in America. Specifically the role this experience played on the culture. The books goes into detail explaining the legislation used along with the boarding schools, as well as a brief history on the schools themselves. Adams then continues on explaining the role the schools played on the culture as well as Native Americans as a group.

The books does an excellent job of highlighting what the boarding school experience entailed for groups. Uses personal narratives to convey the hardships felt by many attending the schools. Adams also combines legislation to provide a bigger picture point of view in terms of the country. Combining all of these helps the reader feel an emotional connection to the book and directly the individuals influenced by boarding schools.

Although Adams connects the reader to boarding schools on an emotional level, he does not connect to individuals. Grouping experiences together takes away from the individual nature of personal narratives. Although this helps provide a case study within the book it does seem to detract from each person as their own individual entity. By taking away this individualistic view point he creates a blanketed narrative for readers. Unlike in some journal articles were the highlighting is on the role boarding schools played in a more positive light. Thus by grouping Native American as a whole within his books Adams directly detracts from the deeper narrative.

The book Education for Extinction emotionally connects readers to the experiences of boarding school children but creates an all inclusive narrative by grouping experiences. Adams creates a heartfelt and emotionally charged book that is great for readers to get an introduction into boarding schools. I gave this book an overall rating of 4/5 stars as it was a great read that introduced me to this narrative but I felt it did lack an individual nature.

[Jeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928. Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1997.


Education for Extinction by David Wallace Adams, who was an associate professor at Cleveland State University, has been one of the most authoritative books dealing with Native American boarding schools/education. Adams described the harsh conditions Native American children faced as they were sent to boarding schools controlled by whites with the intention of assimilating and Americanizing these Native American children. I am researching the Thomas Indian School for my senior thesis, and Adam’s book provides a fantastic overview of what Native American children experienced at various other boarding schools. Adams utilized both Native American accounts and government documents in his research, which was very accurate. Autobiographies proved to be a great resource as Adam’s built the Native American perspective. Education for Extinction will be a great resource for anyone trying to gain insight into the white approach to Native American education in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was written in 1995, so it is more current than other books concerning this topic. It covers the years 1875-1928, so it’s scope is limited if you desire to learn more about the later years of Native American boarding schools. Adam’s approach the book by looking at federal policy, how the policy was implemented, and student reaction to policies. A bibliography and index are also included in the book. This is a scholarly book at a college reading level but anyone interested in learning about Native American boarding schools could easily read Education for Extinction. Overall, Education for Extinction is an extremely authoritative work on Native American boarding schools and successfully shares the heartbreaking account of boarding schools during the assimilation era.

[Margaret Czekay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good read. It's particularly horrible because it's true. The author is blunt but to the point - the expanding US government pushing west into wild territories evaluated the fact that there were already native peoples living there and immediately concluded they had a two fold choice- conquer them or convert them into the Western man's " civilized " way of living complete with the concept of private land ownership. Never once did it occur to the authorities that these people already WERE civilized, just under a different framework of understanding. No, these humans were immediately viewed as a problem and described as " savages" who must be either exterminated or converted to the " superior " rules of the white man's notions of society. That's the colonial mindset at work. Honestly, the author's bluntness in stating the truth of what happened is refreshing. The government never had any open mindedness about embracing the best parts of Native American life, never tried to set Native Americans up for success. No, let's just steal their children and "Americanize" them in our English speaking schools and strip them of their culture, all the while telling them how lucky they are to have this opportunity.... I wish I could say this was a shocking read. Thoroughly informative -- given the truths it exposes, " enjoyable" would not be an accurate word but It was eye opening and it's nice to see someone tell the truth. Glad I read it.

[Lynn V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I found this book in the historical society bookstore in Carlisle PA. What a fascinating and very sad part of American history of which I knew very little. David Wallace Adams' account of the American Indian boarding experience (or perhaps more apt "experiment") is extremely well researched and avoids becoming polemical. He carefully tries to tell all sides of the story, without reading backwards in history.
This book will read like a textbook and I would recommend it for learning about American Indian history, although it's not for a casual reader.
I would encourage Mr. Adams to pull out some of the more interesting accounts of this book and write a story for the general audience. It's an important piece of America's racist history and of American indigenous history that needs to be shared with a wider audience.

[Caitie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The keyword was "civilization." European and American societies were "civilized"; Indians were "savages." This idea functioned at several levels, or rather, served several purposes."

This is an interesting look at the Native American boarding school began, and their failings to make Native children into more like white members of American society. The American government was not well-meaning, but created these schools to take children away from the only lives they'd ever known in order to make them less savage...because being civilized was the most important thing in "normal," American society. The book follows the heyday of these schools--1875-1928. I think this is good starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about the topic.

[Patricia Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a good deal. The book cites important primary sources that shed light on attitudes towards the Natives in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is worth the read for anyone interested in learning how the government and missionaries used education to strip the Native Americans of their names, manner of dress, music, ceremonies, worship, and language. Sadly, there are too many parallels between then and now.

[Jones, Ph.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any book that perpetuates the myth that Henry Pratt liked Natives but hated Native culture needs to be considered as coming from a perspective that tacitly condones cultural genocide.

Some useful information contained within, particularly on the history of the early years of Native boarding schools. Even the revised edition is a little behind in terms of contemporary epistemology on the topic. Nevertheless, still considered to be one of the most important books on the topic, thus far.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

History not being my thing I took a while to finish this but it is a well researched and well written documentation of the well intentioned, but poorly executed, and in most ways poorly thought out effort to "civilize" Native Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Another example of white Christians trying to turn the rest of the world into copies of themselves, often to the detriment of those they're trying to convert.

[John Bohnert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew very little about boarding schools for Native Americans until I read this informative book.

[Trudy Stachowiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A difficult but important book to read because it’s another reminder of what our country has done to anyone who is non-white. That’s all I have to say.

[Shay Briggs-sternaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so detailed that I found it bogged down a little bit. But the story is fascinating, and we live in an awful country (America) for what our government did to our indigenous people!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sad. Very shameful.

[PottWab Regional Library]

SM

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

The format of this book was challenging. It was laid out as an almost academic study, but Adams broke down the devastating nightmare that was the boarding school experience for Native American children. Honestly, I had to frequently put this book down because of how upsetting it was to read about children taken from not just their parents and community, but also their culture and way of life. It's shocking that this isn't talked about more, to be honest. It's beyond shameful that the U.S. government fully supported the indoctrination of the indigenous people that lived here and did not rest until they had completely disrupted their way of life...and this was after they took all of the land that did not belong to them. An important, yet horrific read. This should 100% be taught in schools without exception.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a really interesting read for me because I didn't know much about the Native American education system of the late 1800's - early 1900's previously. It highlights the underlying problem of the painful compromise between preserving traditional lifeways and "civilizing"/modernizing indigenous peoples. As the daughter of two former teachers for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, I found the topic fascinating. Adams offers a balanced and thorough examination of the historical context and political issues.

[Aannedomm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adams explores many aspects of the boarding school system for American Indians throughout this work, touching on changing views towards Native American education and the actions of policymakers. The book is well organized and enjoyable to read and Adams takes the reader on a journey, placing them in the perspective of the student, teachers, and politicians. Throughout the book Adams' arguments are backed up through a solid use of historical sources.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

An important book for those who work with Native students, those are curious about American history, or have a passion for understanding how the educational system in the United States came into being. The book feels somewhat repetitive, disjointed, and alternates between historical record and biographical narrative. Perhaps choosing one style would have made the read more enjoyable. That said, this book taught me many things and I am better for reading it.

[Aramie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting (and heartbreaking) read. It is a history book, so some may find it a bit dry.
Boarding schools were set up for Indian children in the 1800s in an attempt to "kill the Indian and save the man." This book tells the story of how these schools came about and how they were received by the Indian nations who sent their children there to be schooled.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and balanced look at boarding schools, especially the off-reservation schools, run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs through about 1926. While the schools did provide some benefits, the overall purpose was to eradicate every trace of Indian cultures from the students and replace it with those of the white man.

[Sinistmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and engaging, this book is an excellent discussion of American policy toward Native Americans. I also thought it was a balanced discussion that did not take too many liberties with the available information.

[Liz Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of important information on a topic that has been under-researched. I wish the writing was more readable and that the book was organized a bit differently. Still, one of the key works on the American Indian boarding school experience.

[Chow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting how Native Am children were put into white schools to take the "native" out of them. How they coped with being away from their normal lives, how the system changed through the years.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening historical account that reminds us that even well-intentioned education is a form of paradigm hegemony.... sometimes blatantly and destructively, as is the case here.