Taken

Native Boarding Schools in America

Native Boarding Schools in America is a 9-part series that sheds light on an undertold part of American history: when native children were forcibly taken from their communities by agents and sent to government-funded schools. These schools were modeled after the educational curriculum of Captain William Henry Pratt. You may know him by his famous quote, “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” The goal of Pratt’s pioneer Carlisle Indian Boarding School, and the hundreds of schools that sprung up after it, was to “civilize” Native Americans–or make them more like European Americans.

For over a century, these schools used intimidation, labor, and abuse to eradicate Native language and culture and separate children as young as six from their parents and communities. It’s a history the country is only now beginning to take responsibility for.

Buried Apologies and a Path Forward

Disinterment and repatriation is important work, but it’s only just begun, and it’s not the only work that needs to be done to acknowledge and atone for the history of Indigenous boarding schools. Dive in with Sharon McMahon on Here's Where it Get's Interesting!

Barriers to a Better Education

By the 1960s and early 1970s, activist movements across the country had begun to call for better national policies to support minority groups and the government made attempts to some of the wrongs of the past. But it didn’t always lead to success. Dive in on Here's Where It Get's Interesting!

The Pendulum Swings Wildly

Explore an explosive pendulum swing in the mindset of the American people, when the government basically told Native communities: “No more interventions. You’re on your own!” Listen to Sharon McMahon on Here's Where It Get's Interesting.

Beyond the Mainland

Explore the Native boarding school systems in Canada, and in our 49th and 50th states, Alaska and Hawaii. The US wasn’t the only nation setting up mandatory residential schools, and in the beginning, many of these programs mirrored those of the US with a focus to “civilize” Indigenous children.

Less Education, More Forced Labor

In 1880, Richard Pratt opened the Carlisle School’s Outing Program. While the program had a rocky start, Pratt chose to expand the following year and eventually the program was practiced all over the country. Learn with Sharon McMahon on Here's Where It Get's Interesting.

Death in the Schools

In 1908, an anthropologist traveled to the Western states to examine an outbreak of TB and found that 20% of the residents of Indian Country had contracted it. Authorities asked the anthropologist to trace the cause and he found it – in the Native American boarding schools.

Taken By Force

The US government couldn’t rely on Native tribes to send their children to schools willingly, so they had to accomplish it another way: by force. Join Sharon McMahon as she explores this part of American history.

Shaved Heads and Stolen Lands

The idea that it was the job of the government to try to assimilate Native Americans into European settler culture had been around since the first Europeans stepped foot onto North American soil. Jump back in time and connect the dots from the Constitution to forced education with Sharon McMahon!

Pratt's Devastating Experiment

Introducing Taken: Native Boarding Schools in America where we dive into the complex history of the United States Government's intervention of Indigenous tribes and culture. Listen to the full series by Sharon McMahon on Here's Where It Get's Interesting.