Education for Extinction, David Wallace Adams
Education for Extinction, David Wallace Adams
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Education for Extinction
American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928

Author: David Wallace Adams

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 18 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/23/2024

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The last "Indian War" was fought against Native American children in the dormitories and classrooms of government boarding schools. Only by removing Indian children from their homes for extended periods of time, policymakers reasoned, could white "civilization" take root while childhood memories of "savagism" gradually faded to the point of extinction. In the words of one official: "Kill the Indian and save the man."

This fully revised edition of Education for Extinction offers the only comprehensive account of this dispiriting effort, and incorporates the last twenty-five years of scholarship. Much more than a study of federal Indian policy, this book vividly details the day-to-day experiences of Indian youth living in a "total institution" designed to reconstruct them both psychologically and culturally.

Especially poignant is Adams's description of the ways in which students resisted or accommodated themselves to forced assimilation. Many converted to varying degrees, but others plotted escapes, committed arson, and devised ingenious strategies of passive resistance. He reveals the various ways in which graduates struggled to make sense of their lives and selectively drew upon their school experience in negotiating personal and tribal survival in a world increasingly dominated by white men.

About David Wallace Adams

David Wallace Adams is professor emeritus at Cleveland State University, and author of Three Roads to Magdalena: Coming of Age in a Southwest Borderland, 1890-1990.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Craig on June 21, 2012

A barely adequate overview of a crucial topic in Native American history. Adams synthesizes a fair amount of material concerning the philosophical, political and institutional history of the boarding schools. But he doesn't add anything at all to his sources and he fails to find a consistent perspec......more

Goodreads review by John on October 13, 2021

I have been reading quite a bit about Canadian Native Residential Schools and Native American Boarding Schools. This book was often mentioned as the definitive guide to understanding the Native American boarding school system. While it is an academic book, it is also very accessible for all readers.......more

Goodreads review by Samantha on April 07, 2017

The book education for extinction is an exciting and intricate read on the boarding school experience for Native American Children. The book highlights the personal narratives of these children to better elaborate on the narrative. Using a combination of personal narratives with legal documents crea......more

Goodreads review by Nora on November 19, 2024

literally the landmark work on american indian boarding schools......more

Goodreads review by Jeni on April 16, 2015

Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928. Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1997. Education for Extinction by David Wallace Adams, who was an associate professor at Cleveland State University, has been one of the most authoritat......more