Reply #3: When the wars against the Natives ended the US Army was in [View All]

[jwirr]

control of the reservations. They relocated many tribes during that time. When they were replaced because of abuses the US government handed the reservations over to the churches. The abusive school system is very much a part of this system. One abuse they forgot to mention which Grandmother told me about - if children were caught speaking their native tongue the nuns/teachers put their heads down the toilet hole (out houses) and made them endure the horrible smells.

We had at least two family members who went to the famous school in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I do not know if this kind of treatment was also happening there - they never said.

One of the nice things is that none of this abuse worked. Grandmother spoke her native toge (Ojibwa) till the day she died and she taught it to most of her children and many of her descendants still speak and teach it.

This policy is very like trying to win hearts and minds by bombing our "allies" into submission in the ME.