Historically, oppression was prevalent within institutions, specifically education systems. Richard Pratt’s creation of the Carlisle school assimilated Native people, wherein Indians are extinguished from their inherited culture through unjust justification as noted in his speech To Kill an Indian Save a Man. Zitkala-sa’s personal narrative uncovers the atrocities she experienced as a native in the Carlisle school.
Prat’s speech To Kill an Indian Save a man attempts to annihilate the culture of native peoples stemming from a great deal of ignorance and white supremacy.“A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one, and that high sanction of his destruction has been an enormous factor in promoting Indian massacres. In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him and save the man.”. Pratt is not necessarily referring to the literal action of killing someone, rather he means diminishing all connections natives have to their inherited culture. Pratt’s notation of civilization governs white supremacy, “the belief that white people are superior to those of all other races, especially the black race, and should therefore dominate society”(Oxford), justifying stripping Indians from their native beliefs, culture, and language and implementing a white colonized way of living. The ignorance towards native peoples underlines Pratt’s agreeance with the statement “Kill the Indian in him and save the man” because the conscious awareness of the brutal, oppressive, and injustices that arise are blinded.
Additionally, Pratt’s perception and classification of Native Americans is understood as “savage”. “It is a great mistake to think that the Indian is born an inevitable savage. He is born a blank, like all the rest of us. Left in the surroundings of savagery, he grows to possess a savage language, superstition, and life. We, left in the surroundings of civilization, grow to possess a civilized language, life, and purpose. Transfer the infant white to the savage surroundings, he will grow to possess a savage language, superstition, and habit. Transfer the savage-born infant to the surroundings of civilization, and he will grow to possess a civilized language and habit”. Pratt believes that being Indian is not innate, rather it is acquired through socialization of native language, tradition, culture, and beliefs. Basically, Native Americans being raised by savages causes them to become savage. Therefore, the method of killing an Indian by Americans raising and education native people in accordance to white colonization is understood as notorious because they are being “saved” from savagery. To exemplify, Pratt interprets Indian culture on the same scope as a deadly illness that requires treatment to survive. Likewise, in this regard Indian culture is the illness which is treated by being extinguished and replaced by white culture.
Pratt enforces oppression within our education institutions, specifically the Carlisle school. “The Carlisle Indian Industrial School is a major site of memory for many Native peoples, as well as a source of study for students and scholars around the globe” (CarlisleIndianSchoolDigitalResourceCenter,). The Carlisle school is an institution which provides education by white educators; however, this institution is predominantly inclusive of Indian students.“Under our principles we have established the public school system, where people of all races may become unified in every way, and loyal to the government; but we do not gather the people of one nation into schools by themselves, and the people of another nation into schools by themselves, but we invite the youth of all peoples into all schools”(Pratt). At first glimpse, this statement seems to have good intentions as if all races are being invited, welcomed, and accounted for. Rather, this statement is illustrating how assimilation occurs within institutions. Although Pratt notes education as being inclusive and assessable to all races, but in actuality its mandating all to conform as one in accordance to governmental preferability. The Carlisle school educates Indians uniformly to adapt to Americanized traditions, language, beliefs, etc. to transform and remove their native individuality. The Carlisle school imbedding American culture on Indians through its educators is understood as teaching one to be civilized contingent upon the Americanized ideology.
“The missionary goes to the Indian; he learns the language; he associates with him; he makes the Indian feel he is friendly, and has great desire to help him; he even teaches the Indian English” (Pratt). This statement directly portrays the historic ignorance to oppression, and the misinterpretation of barbaric means as admirable. Take a close lens regarding the statement “he even teaches the Indian English”, which alludes this instance as a heroic gesture, when in actuality its stripping Indians from freely expressing their culture through their native language. Language is an imperative aspect of culture, because communication is unique to traditional roots acquired by ancestors. Assimilating English as a primary language across all natives dehumanizes due to infringing upon the ability of free expressing their native language that bonds and connects them as human beings. Pratt’s narrative underlines the degrading egoistic mindset in America, wherein American culture, beliefs, and ideas are superior and undermines the riotousness of any other culture.
The exponential negative impacts casual to the oppressive operations of civilization demonstrated in Pratt’s narrative is heartbreaking. Zitkala-sa uncovers the detrimental effects of the Carlisle school blinded in Pratt’s narrative. “They misunderstood the cause of my tears, and placed me at a white table loaded with food. There our party were united again. As I did not hush my crying, one of the older ones whispered to me, “Wait until you are alone in the night.”” (Zitkala-sa). This statement is extremely impactful and speaks many words in a short sentence. The more obvious point, the tears display the mental and emotional discomfort experienced in the Carlisle school. The reason for her tears she notes implicitly as they are misunderstood. The dehumanizing, unmoral, and oppressive treatment Pratt both exerts and is blinded too creates intense frustration as she is restricted from her free will, creativity, and individuality inherited by native roots which is the real reason for her tears. The unconscious awareness to the negative effect of Pratts notion is the reason her tears were misinterpreted as being hungry- which is why she was put at a table with food. Also, she received no empathy or comfort while she was upset, rather she was dismissed and told to cry when she is alone, not publicly.
In conjunction with all of the above, oppression is implicitly embedded into society, and majority are blinded to the negative impacts that Zitkala-sa uncovers. Although Pratts speech has pure intentions of “saving the man”, in actuality he’s doing the complete opposite. All institutions, especially education facilities, should account for every culture, tradition and beliefs individuals have, and not force an adaption of an Americanized way of life. America is known to be the “land of the free”, therefore liberties should not be revoked by oppressing and dehumanizing native people.
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