Students learn about the shift in the U.S. government policy toward Native Americans—from a military approach to one of assimilation. The experience focuses on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the Dawes Act. Students choose one of these and explore the issue from the perspectives of both the Native Americans and the U.S. government.
Students read an overview of post–Civil War changes in U.S. policy toward Native Americans, focusing on the shift from military conflict to assimilation and the roles of the Dawes Act and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. They examine “before” and “after” photographs of Chiracahua Apache students at Carlisle and respond to a word cloud prompt by listing visible differences between the two images.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the lesson focus and objectives. Guide students in comparing the photographs, prompting them to notice changes in clothing, hairstyle, footwear, and demeanor. Use this comparison to define assimilation and explain the U.S. assimilation policy toward Native Americans, and, when appropriate, invite students with recent immigrant backgrounds to share perspectives on assimilation more broadly.
Students read background text on long-standing efforts to “Americanize” Native Americans and the passage of the Dawes Act in 1887. They use Life on the Reservations and an excerpt from the opening of the Dawes Act to understand how the law proposed allotting reservation land to individual Native Americans. Students then post to a class wall, restating in their own words the purpose of the Dawes Act from the perspective of its authors.
Teacher MovesClarify that, according to its opening text, the Dawes Act aimed to allot land to individual Native Americans for farming and to extend U.S. legal protection to them. Connect this stated purpose to students’ prior reading about the failures of the Dawes Act, and use student wall responses to highlight how the law’s intentions differed from its outcomes.
Students examine an image of students at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and read Cultural Genocide and Education: The Story of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School to learn how boarding schools were used to assimilate Native American children into American culture. They then post to a class wall explaining the purpose of the Carlisle school.
Teacher MovesExplain that the Carlisle school provided basic education intended to prepare students for low-level jobs while teaching them American customs and requiring them to abandon their Native cultures. Emphasize that this process led many students to lose their traditional identities and replace them with the values and customs of white settlers, and use student posts to reinforce this understanding.
Students review the idea that different groups can experience the same historical policy or event in very different ways. They choose either the Carlisle Indian Industrial School or the Dawes Act of 1887 and complete a two-column graphic organizer, listing three goals or results from the Native American perspective and three goals or results from the U.S. government perspective.
Teacher MovesExplain that students will analyze one topic from two viewpoints and, if desired, assign topics to groups so they can collaborate before completing their own organizers. Use student entries to draw out common themes, such as how both the Carlisle School and the Dawes Act were attempts at assimilation that Native Americans experienced as attacks on their identities and cultures, and note that both ultimately failed and left tribes worse off. Encourage students to view and discuss classmates’ work to compare interpretations.
Students view a map of Indian Territory (Oklahoma) from 1885 and read a brief summary of the shift from military solutions to assimilation policies after the Civil War. They then respond on a class wall to the question of why U.S. policy toward Native Americans failed, supporting their opinions with evidence from the readings and activities in the lesson.
Teacher MovesSelect an interesting or exemplary student post to share with the class and use it to prompt discussion. Explain that U.S. policy toward Native Americans was largely one-sided, disregarding tribal structures and cultural needs, and that conflicts over land during westward expansion led the government to use its power to gain control of land previously promised to Native peoples. Connect these points to students’ evidence-based explanations of policy failure.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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