A lot of things happened to Native American people during the Boarding School era that required them to be courageous. They needed to be courageous to get through all the things they were put through. The people were suffering from many things. They were dying. Their rights were being taken away from them left and right. What happened to them was wrong and very dehumanizing.
Many people were suffering for many different reasons. Some reasons
were diseases, such as small pox, influenza, tuberculosis, diabetes and
heart disease. Other reasons for their suffering were: alcoholism, poor
nutrition, and starvation. They needed to be strong through all of
that. These terrible things were happening to their moms, dads,
grandparents, other relatives and friends.
Another thing that was
happening to Native American people was that their kids were taken
away. The U.S. Government and the churches were taking them and sending
them to boarding schools. These agencies were forcing them to be like
the white man, and forced them to be Christian. The kids didn’t even
get to go home after all that, they were sent to non-native foster
homes. If they weren’t courageous, I don’t think they could have made
it through all that.
