Question

Relate some ways zitkala sa describes what she was accustomed to as a native american and the treatment she received at the quaker school

Answer 1

Zitkala-Sa's narratives reveal the struggle of adapting to a boarding school that suppressed her Native American culture and identity. The Quaker school enforced English language use, Western religions, and vocational training, all part of a broader goal to assimilate Native American children into Euro-American society. This effectively marginalized their traditional way of life and subjected them to harsh and unhealthy conditions.

Step-by-step explanation:

Zitkala-Sa, a Native American writer and reformer, described the stark contrast between her life as part of the Yankton Dakota Sioux and her experiences at a Quaker-run boarding school. Accustomed to the freedom and traditions of her indigenous culture, she faced a harsh reality at the school where her identity was suppressed, and conformity to Euro-American norms was enforced. Native American children like Zitkala-Sa were forbidden to speak their languages, practice their religions, or engage in their cultural customs. At these schools, the education was largely vocational, aiming to prepare boys for manual labor and girls for domestic service, embedding the notion of an inevitably low socio-economic status. This system sought to "kill the Indian in him, and save the man," a phrase notorious for summing up the assimilation policy of the era.

The boarding schools run by missionaries and the government aimed to strip Native American children of their cultures and assimilate them into White society. Students were compelled to cut their hair, a traumatic event for many who saw long hair as a symbol of masculinity, speak only English, and convert to Christianity. The conditions were often harsh, with military-like discipline and rampant abuse. Additionally, the children were susceptible to diseases due to the sudden change in environment and overcrowded living conditions. The overall impact was denouncing Native American culture and identities while facing the threat of forced assimilation.

Answer 2

In her text "The School Days of an Indian Girl", she describes the way missionary schools were on a mission to strip away the Indian identity and insert new ways. She mentions cutting of her hair which sybolizes her Indian identity, dressing in tight clothes that were not as modest as her Indian robes. Everything from waking up, eating, behaving was rigorously controlled as opposed to the freedom she had at the Sioux reserve in South Dakota.