Introduction
The mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation. –William McKinley
Beginning in 1879, tens of thousands of Native Americans left or were taken from their tribal homes to attend Indian boarding schools, often long distances away. Some struggled bitterly. Some suffered in silence. Some succumbed to tuberculosis or influenza and lost their lives. Others flourished and built a new sense of self within a wider world, while preserving Indianness in their hearts. –Dedication from Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences
Assimilation is a term that we use to describe our country as a “melting pot”, in that individuals begin to take on the cultural characteristics of the combined one that would describe Americans. Over time, we began to better describe this term as a “salad bowl” representing the distinct “flavors” of the different people combined to create an insatiable product. When I have thought about the term, I have connected it to my grandparent’s experiences of keeping their cultural traditions of Scotland while, at the same time, fitting in to their new land and beginning to call it their own. I was not critical of the term until later after I became an English Language Learners (ELL) teacher. During my tenure, I heard many outrageously offensive comments about my students such as how they should not be speaking their home language now that they were in America. McKinley’s words seem to better reflect my grandparent’s experience more so than my ELLs. To my knowledge, they never seemed at odds with the system. However, as I became better educated on the sociological terms, I understood that they were voluntary minorities. After reading so much information about the Indian boarding schools, I have come to view assimilation from a different viewpoint. Combining our school issues over the mascot with the students’ lack of information regarding Native Americans, I believe students might be able to compare these two beginning quotes to better determine how our country views assimilation from a sociological viewpoint.
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