Question

What was the purpose of American Indian boarding schools?

Answer 1

The purpose of American Indian boarding schools was to assimilate Native American children into mainstream Western culture. The schools were established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the United States government and various Christian missionary organizations. The primary objective was to eradicate Native American cultural practices, languages, and traditions, and to replace them with European-American values, beliefs, and lifestyles. The government believed that by forcibly removing Native American children from their homes and communities and placing them in these schools, they could extinguish their indigenous identities and assimilate them into mainstream American society.