Comprehension
Reread “Assimilation Through Education” and answer the following questions:
1.
Why did missionaries assume responsibilities for education on many reservations?
2.
How did both the government and the church fund the school? How does this compare to the school you attend?
3.
What is the difference between a boarding school and a day school? What was one challenge of the day school?
4.
What was the goal of Indian Education from the 1880s through the early twentieth century?
5.
How did the authorities begin to get the students to assimilate? Do you think it was effective? Why or why not?
6.
What types of work were the students asked to perform? Do you think it’s a good idea to learn these skills at a young age?
7.
Why were parents concerned about sending their children to boarding schools?
8.
When did the majority of students stop attending boarding schools and begin attending public schools?
9.
What details on schools did the 1928 report share and what details did it leave out?
10.
How are the after-school activities you participate in similar to or different from those the students at Tulalip participated in?
Discussion and beyond
Reread “Assimilation Through Education” and answer the following questions:
1.
Discuss with a partner or group: Have you ever felt that you were pressured to be immersed in a culture as the Tulalip students were?
How did or would you handle it?
2.
Interview a grandparent or other elder family member on their childhood and school experience. Take notes on your conversation
which you can develop into an essay comparing this family member’s childhood to the narrator’s mother.
3.
Write your answer as a journal entry: Do you speak a second language? Do you think it is important to be multi-lingual?
Why or why not? Should students be forced to learn another language as the Tulalip students were? What is the difference
between language learning programs you participate in or know of and the narrator’s mother’s?
4.
Research other cultures that were prohibited to speak their language and celebrate their culture and were indoctrinated into another culture.
How did this group of people react to the blocking out of their culture?
To learn more about the Tulalip people and and the Lushootseed language, visit
.
11
