Memories that Haunt: Reconciling with the ghosts of the American Indian School System

Summary

During the nineteenth century, the United States had an "Indian Problem".  The problem was that Indians continued to exist despite rigorous efforts to erase them from the landscape through disease, violence, and segregation. To solve this conundrum, the U.S. government staffed and funded the Indian School System; a system comprised of residential and non-residential schools in which savage Indians were transformed into obedient citizens. Over the past several decades, archaeologists and historians have used the material record to shed light on this dark moment in American history. In addition to offering new insights into the lives of Indian children, these materials have provided contemporary descendants with a means of coping with the inter-generational trauma caused by this system. This talk will examine the impact of the Indian School System on Native communities in the American West and the various ways Natives are finding truth and reconciliation with this history. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Making American Memory Great Again

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 131