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Community Versus Assimilation: A Study In American Assimilation At Saint Joseph's Indian Industrial School, Sarah Shillinger

Ethnic Studies Review

No govemment policy has had more of an impact on American Indians than the boarding school movement of the early to mid-twentieth century. This movement isolated American Indian children from their homes and communities and attempted to assimilate them into European-American society. This article studies the effects of this policy on children at the Saint Joseph's Indian Industrial School in Wisconsin. It uses oral history to recapture the voices and experiences of teachers and students. The use of oral history allows a comprehensive understanding of the cultural, social and academic atmosphere of the school.