The American government employed several strategies to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American culture, a process often referred to as "Americanization." Here are two significant methods:
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Education and Boarding Schools: One of the most impactful ways the U.S. government attempted to Americanize Native Americans was through the establishment of boarding schools. These institutions, such as the Carlisle Indian Industrial School founded in 1879, were created with the intent of educating Native American children in Western ideals and lifestyles. At these schools, Native American children were often forcibly removed from their families and communities, stripped of their traditional clothing and languages, and instructed in English and Western cultural norms. The motto of the Carlisle school was "Kill the Indian, Save the Man," reflecting the belief that Indigenous identities needed to be eradicated to promote assimilation.
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Land Allotment through the Dawes Act: The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 was another significant attempt at Americanization. This legislation aimed to dismantle communal land holdings of Native tribes and promote individual land ownership, which was seen as a step toward assimilation into American agrarian society. Under the Dawes Act, tribal lands were surveyed, and individual plots were allocated to Native Americans, while the surplus land was sold to non-Native settlers. This approach not only sought to erode tribal culture and communal living but also aimed to encourage Native Americans to adopt farming practices and integrate into the capitalist economy, thus furthering the Americanization agenda.
Both methods reflect a broader policy objective to integrate Native Americans into American society, often with little regard for their cultural autonomy and traditional ways of life.
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