Indian School: Teaching the White Man's Way Hardcover - 1999

Details

• Title Indian School: Teaching the White Man's Way
• Author Michael L. Cooper
• Binding Hardcover
• Edition 2nd Printing
• Pages 112
• Volumes 1
• Language ENG
• Publisher Clarion Books, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
• Date 1999-09-20
• Illustrated Yes
• ISBN 9780395920848 / 0395920841
• Weight 0.97 lbs (0.44 kg)
• Dimensions 9.3 x 7.3 x 0.58 in (23.62 x 18.54 x 1.47 cm)
• Ages 10 to 12 years
• Grade levels 5 - 7
• Reading level 1100
• Library of Congress subjects Indians of North America - Education -, Off-reservation boarding schools - United
• Library of Congress Catalog Number 98043640
• Dewey Decimal Code 370.899

"This moving photo-essay is simply told and focused on the personal." Booklist, ALA, Boxed Review

"The author makes a brave attempt to be evenhanded, balancing the schools' renowned athletic accomplishments and prominent attendees against the harsh punishment, outright abuses, and ruthless cultural indoctrination to which students were subjected. Despite scattered successes, it is obvious that the ends were neither justified nor accomplished by the means. . . . Cooper may skimp on the schools' modern history, but by steering a middle course in his account of their origins, practices, educational philosophy, and early record, he allows readers to draw their own conclusions. Generous helpings of contemporary black-and-white photographs and statements give many students both voices and faces; a concluding list of sources (of varying reliability) includes web sites. (map, b&w photos and reproductions, further readng, bibliography, index)" Kirkus Reviews

"Cooper delivers a well-documented and sobering depiction of the late-19th-century military-style boarding schools established to instruct children of various Indian tribes in 'the white man's way.' . . . Quotes from former students at Carlisle and other such schools describe what it was like to forcibly have their hair cut (the Sioux cut their hair only as a sign of sadness or shame; for the the Hopi, long hair symbolized fertility), to be removed from their families and to be forbidden to speak their language. Anecdotes about teachers who helped realize the dreams of some of the youths and the remarkable feats of the schools' athletic teams plus an impressive selection of archival photos (including one of a four-year-old student) round out this wrenching account." Publishers Weekly