Gender and Colonialism pt4: Settler Colonialism, Gender, and Family History in the American West by Margaret D. Jacobs pt2

collage by nicholas b jacobsen

“The federal govern­ment deliberately removed Indigenous children from their families and communities, sometimes forcibly, to attend distant Indian Boarding Schools where children experienced Christianization, binary gender role training, a rudimentary education, and labor. 

“They designated white women as the most appropriate teachers and matrons for Indigenous children. The number of women employ­ees in the Indian School Service (was) ~55-62% from 1890 well into the 20th century. 

“In the 1950s, when Congress determined to "termi­nate" tribes, relocate Indigenous people to urban areas, and end the fed gov's trust relationship with Indigenous nations, it also sought to transfer the responsibility for Indigenous children to the states. At the same time, the BIA started a new program to promote the adoption of Indigenous children by (settler) families. 

“By the late 1960s, ~1/4 to 1/3 of all Indigenous children lived apart from their families. State social workers had placed the majority in white foster or adoptive families. Proponents of adoption characterized the ongoing removal of Indigenous children from their families as an act of rescue.

“Many Indigenous People, by contrast, saw adop­tion by (settlers) as part of a plan for the "slow termination" of the tribe.

“In the 19th c, Indigenous women fought back against land loss and family destruction using territorial court systems. 

“In the 20th c, Gertrude Bonnin (aka Zitkala-Sa) spoke out against assimilation, 
while Ella Deloria fought against stereotypes of Indigenous women. 

"Susie Yellowtail actively campaigned to improve Native women's health and particularly agitated against involuntary sterilization practices. 

"Native women activists such as Ada Deer tenaciously worked to restore her tribe, the Menonimees, after the gov­ernment had terminated it. 

"Evelyn Blanchard and Maxine Robbins fought to reclaim the care of Indigenous children. 
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“Native women are also engaged in ongoing battles to protect their land from resource extraction and pipelines that cross sacred sites and threaten water."

​(all quotes from Reproducing White Settlers and Eliminating Natives: Settler Colonialism, Gender, and Family History in the American West by Margaret D. Jacobs)