The first thing I thought about is the title, as I usually do for every movie or book. I wondered why this book is called that. I really liked the description I found on the first page of how the title came to be: "In the evening, light shone through the tall windows across a prairie unblemished by hedgerows or trees...The light on the prairie was ready for its first class'.
It is hard to picture what the parents went through, being persuaded to give up their children to the care of the government. I tried to picture myself, not speaking English and being approached by an interpreter or someone that would tell me my child would be better off learning the 'civilized' way. How could this make sense at all to them? I have a 7 year old girl and a 9 year old boy (also a 3 year old son) and I cannot imagine how they would be traveling on a wagon for days to arrive at a school where they would have to cut their hair, and not be able to speak their language. I cannot picture my daughter learning a trade such as sewing and cooking at such a young age, or my son having to tend his own garden everyday. (letting them experiment a bit now is just enough) It was a good thing that the Meriam Report findings changed this a bit. Even though, Im sure all boarding schools didn't adhere to the new rules.
I also thought of my uncle, who talked about attending boarding school before, but I cannot remember which one. He told of how they had a strict schedule and the day consisted mostly of chores and praying. The women would do most of the cleaning and washing dishes and clothes and the men would also clean byt would do a trade, such as building projects out of wood. There was harsh punishment when they were caught doing something wrong. Sometimes they would sneak in candy and if they got caught they would get swapped with a 'switch' or a ruler to the hands. It seems to me that he mentioned missionaries as the instructors. This makes me want to find out more about his experience. I know some people find it quite hard to talk about this. I had to interview an elder for a different class awhile ago and it was hard for her to speak about it, which is understandable considering everything they may have went through.
In the book, I was surprised to see that some of them counted their years away at school among the happiest and most carefree of there lives. This makes me curious and I cannot wait to read more of their actual stories.
It would be very hard as a parent to let someone you just met take your child to a place you never visited. At that time, no one knew what schools were. Theres No way I would let my children go even today. I totally agree with you on that!
ReplyDeleteHello Joelle,
ReplyDeleteI also think that it would be difficult to imagine sending our children off to a boarding school where they would be taught to assimilate into the dominant society. I laughed when I read the history about the Cherokee deeding the land to the government so that they could build the school grounds. I like how the author gave a Cherokee tribal member the right to tell their side of the story and stating that the Cherokee would never give away land. Even today the Chilocco school website has timeline with the cherokee deeding land for the school. It amazes me how many stories are out there and none of them are the exact same. You had a very informative post and I enjoyed reading it! : )