Sioux Education - Past and Present

In the past, the Sioux Indians were mainly educated through government run schools. There were three main types: off reservation boarding schools, day schools, and reservation boarding schools. The main goal of Indians attending school was to assimilate Indian people into the culture of Americans. The traditional ways of Indians were to be replaced by ways sanctioned by the government. In order to accomplish this task the Federal Indian Policy ordered the removal of Indian children from their families and required the enrollment in government schooling.

The most frequent type of school used during this time was the off reservation boarding school. This movement, which was called The Indian Boarding School Movement, began after the Civil War. This was when reformers turned their focus onto the Indians. They believed that with proper education and treatment the Indians could become patriotic and productive members of society. The goal of Captain Richard Henry Pratt, who founded The Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, was to "kill the Indian and save the man." At Carlisle, as well as the other off reservation boarding schools, the children were subjected to a complete transformation. Their hairstyles and dress were changed from their traditional styles to Victorian styles. Off reservation boarding schools were expensive to maintain causing the federal government to search for alternatives.

The alternatives were found in reservation boarding schools and day schools. These were run similar to the off reservation boarding schools; however the elimination of the cost of transportation for the children saved a great deal of money. Although the schools were located on the reservations, contact with the children's families was restricted and monitored by school administrators. Day schools provided minimal education, which caused the children to eventually transfer to boarding schools for more advanced studies.

These three types of schools were all similar in what was taught. The schools were based on half and half programs. The days were split between academics and assignments. The academic curriculum included subjects such as: U.S. history, geography, language, arithmetic, writing, spelling, and at most schools music and drama. The assignments for girls would usually include laundry, sewing, cooking, cleaning, and other household tasks. The assignments for the boys would usually involve carpentry, blacksmithing, animal care, baking, farming, and "shop." The foods in the school were solely provided by the students.

Education regarding Indian children became a law in 1893, and this law was strictly enforced. If the parents refused to send their children to school, the punishments were often severe. Annuities or rations would be withheld, or these parents could be sent to jail. There were students that resented the schools and what they stood for, causing some to run away. For these students, the punishments were usually severe. Some students were bound and left out in the hall for all the students to see. If the students fell over or fell asleep a supervising staff member would whip them and stand them back up to continue their punishment. Another down fall of these early Indian schools was the issue of health. Many students would become ill, and these illnesses were so severe at times that some students died.

The boarding schools that students transferred to had some major advantages, in that they didn't require as much strenuous work. These schools had electricity and running water, which was not the case on most reservations. Some exceptional friendships were made within these schools, and some relationships even led to marriage. There was also recreational time, and some students enjoyed this greatly.

Today, education among the Sioux people has reached crisis proportions. Only 23 percent of Sioux children graduate from high school, and among that group, only 17 percent go on to college. College graduation rates among all Native Americans hover at around one percent, compared to just over 17 percent for the entire U.S. population. Homelessness, poverty and learning disabilities contribute to the drop-out rate, as does the lack of reading and writing experiences. Statistics show that over 90 percent of 10th graders in reservation schools do not read a single book outside the classroom over the course of a year. Parental involvement is only part of the answer here. Lack of transportation keeps truancy rates high, and lack of electricity in many homes prohibits students from doing schoolwork after dark. Most reservation classrooms are in a deplorable state, many without heat in the winter or air-conditioning in the summer. Many Sioux people do not trust public schools because, for many generations, their family's children were sent off to boarding school where they were forced to assimilate to the white culture. Today, many reservation schools are run by "outsiders," who do not always honor the Sioux culture. It is also important to note that the funding for Sioux schools is in the bottom 10 percent of school funding by the U.S. Department of Education and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Isaacs, S. (2002). Life in a sioux village. Chicago: Heinemann Library.

LaPointe, F. (1972). The sioux today. New York: Crowell, Collier Press.

McGovern, A. (1974). If you lived with the sioux indians. New York: Four Winds Press.