Final answer:
In the late 19th century, U.S. officials pursued forced assimilation policies for Native Americans to integrate them into Euro-American societies. The establishment of boarding schools aimed to eradicate indigenous cultures, though pretexts of benevolence and preparing Native Americans for modern life concealed these oppressive intents. Policies like the Dawes Act further facilitated the transfer of tribal lands to white settlers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Forced Assimilation of Native Americans in the Late 19th Century. U.S. officials embraced a policy of forced assimilation for Native Americans in the late 19th century with the goal of integrating them into the Euro-American cultural ideal.
Following policies of removal and warfare that aimed to civilize and assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American society, officials moved towards a more direct approach.
Reform initiatives such as the establishment of boarding schools like the Carlisle Indian School aimed to strip Native American children of their culture, language, and traditions. These schools enforced vocational and domestic science training, which facilitated the erasure of indigenous cultural practices and ultimately intended to integrate Native Americans into a Euro-American lifestyle.
The federal government's Assimilation policy and Americanization efforts, including the Dawes Act, were believed to benefit Native Americans by preparing them for life in modern America. However, these policies often resulted in trauma for Native students, loss of tribal lands, and cultural imperialism over Native American peoples.
White settlers and government officials held the perspective that civilizing efforts and the acquisition of land from Native peoples were justified by a belief in their own racial and cultural superiority.
By the 1930s, the pendulum began to swing toward recognizing the autonomy of Native Americans with the Indian Reorganization Act, which implied a departure from assimilation policies and a move towards promotion of economic, cultural, and political sovereignty within Native American communities.