Final answer:
Mr. P's statement about killing the Indian to save the child refers to the forced cultural assimilation of Native American children by the U.S. government through boarding schools intended to extinguish Native American language, religion, and culture.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Mr. P tells Junior that he was taught to 'kill the Indian to save the child,' he was referring to an assimilation policy aimed at Native American children during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This phrase indicates the intentional effort by the U.S. government and certain reformers to force Native American children to give up their traditional languages, religions, and cultural practices in order to assimilate them into white American society. The underlying belief was that in doing so, they were 'saving' the children from their 'savage' roots.
The goal of federally controlled Native American boarding schools, such as the Phoenix Indian School and Sherman Institute, was to extinguish Native American culture and replace it with American values and practices. Under this system, Native American identities were suppressed, and children were taught English, Christianity, and vocational skills suitable for domestic service or manual labor—all intended to transition them into a life of submission within a predominantly white American society.