The history of Native American education is characterized by the policies of assimilation and self-determination. From 1778 to 1871, the federal government signed more than 370 treaties with various groups of Native Americans in which the government promised to provide education services to the tribes in exchange for their lands. Premised on the belief that white culture was superior to Native American cultural customs and traditions, early reformers implemented the policy of assimilation in order to transform Native Americans into individuals that could be mainstreamed into white society. However, the failure of the non-reservation boarding schools to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society, along with the reform efforts of advocates of Indian rights, led to a shift towards the policy of self-determination. The objective of this paper is to describe and analyze the historical development of Native American education. Furthermore, the Native Americans' struggle to regain control over the education of their children and carve a niche for Native American culture in the mainstream society will also be presented.
Native American education began with the funding of missionary schools by the federal government in 1776. The federal government took over the direct provision of education during the 1850s in order to impose greater control over the process of educating the Native Americans. During the early period, the objective of Native American education was to assimilate the Native Americans into the white culture by placing them in non-reservation boarding schools. Those who resisted faced the prospect of incarceration. Believing that European cultures were superior to Native American cultures, policymakers did not want to incorporate any native cultures into the school curriculum. The policy of assimilation was thus characterized by the banning of Indian religion and languages as well as the forced removal of Nat...