In the late 19th century, as Native American reservations faced dissolution at the soiled hands of White settlers, the Catholic Church decided to establish boarding schools for Indian children. The purpose was an ill-fated effort to assimilate, involuntarily, indigenous youth and decimate their culture.
It was cruel. Schooling by the Catholic Church intended to impose its values and behavioral expectations on people who only wished to be left alone, without thoughtless interference.
I first learned about this ugly episode in American history when my daughter Kate and family lived in Bend, OR. When we would visit the High Desert Museum, just outside Bend, we would find our interest drawn to an exhibit about the abysmal boarding schools.
To our dismay, information gathered after our visit was crystal clear in detailing the abuse imposed by priests and nuns on children uninterested in assimilation. The implication was hurtful: only if you were forced to adopt the White culture and the Catholic religion would you act civilly and become integrated outside your reservation.
Does it seem holier-than-thou?
Indeed, in an arrogant and malevolent way. It was social engineering at its worst and ugliest.
Just two weeks ago, the U.S. Conference Bishops issued an official apology. The group acknowledged the injurious impact on families ripped apart by the trauma of losing children to board schools. The bishops apologized for the drug abuse, ‘“neglect and abandonment”’ that consequently imbued Native American reservations.
This onerous program scarred our country from 1860 to 1978. Our government was a player too.
According to a New York Times article, more than 500 boarding schools—87 operated by the Catholic Church—viewed assimilation as a worthy idea. It contributed to a culture torn apart by forced dislocation and misguided thinking.
The apology seems late and lackluster. The damage is done, grievously so. Mea culpas like this one are useless.
Why did the bishops even make a lame effort? I can only guess that the conference issued an apology to complement the one offered by Pope Francis during his visit in 2022 to Canada for the similarly inhumane treatment of Indigenous people by the Canadian government. And assuaged its own guilt.
I wonder why the Catholic Church thought it wise to try to assimilate Native American children. Build the flock? Spread the gospel, so to speak? Project themselves as the arbiters of White behavior and values?
As I pose these questions, I become disgusted by the hubris, as well as the documented abusive treatment of children yanked from their homes. The reasoning wreaked of destructive self-importance, missionary zeal and racism.
To the Catholic Church and the U.S. government, the indigenous children were inferior human beings for whom assimilation was their only hope to escape a second-class existence as perceived ill-advisedly by the church. According to a U.S. Department of Interior in 2022. At least 500 Alaska Native, American Indian and Native Hawaiian died at the schools.
At the risk of seeming overly harsh of the Catholic Church and its inhumane treatment of indigenous people, with government complicity, I must commend its intention to heal its relationships with Native American tribes in the United States and Canada. For that, it deserves credit.
I would hope, however, that the church, under siege for its sexual abuse over the years of children, would work to improve living conditions on the reservations. Say sorry with conviction. For example, gambling addiction tied to the increased number of casinos demands attention. I do understand the economic benefit of legalized gambling to Native American tribes.
While atonement for sins trumps denial, action to address lingering social problems must happen.
Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. After 44 years in Easton, Howard and his wife, Liz, moved in November 2020 to Annapolis, where they live with Toby, a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel who has no regal bearing, just a mellow, enticing disposition.
Richard Lynch says
Great article. I am a Catholic and believe in most of it preaching. But some of the things that have happened under the Catholic church’s influence are unforgivable! I believe as good as the church is, the faith needs a lot of prayers to overcome human frailties .
Carol Meredith says
The Catholic Church and the US government weren’t the only ones separating children from their families and culture. “The Indian Placement Program (IPP) or Indian Student Placement Program (ISPP), also called the Lamanite Placement Program,[1] was operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the United States, officially operating from 1954 and virtually closed by 1996. It had its peak during the 1960s and 1970s.” (Wikipedia)
C Paul Cox says
Howard Freedlander passed away today June 25th of medical complications
He loved the Spy.
God Bless you Howdy – Rest in Peace