Wheeler-Howard Act (Indian Reorganization Act) shifts U.S. policy toward Native American right to self-determination on June 18, 1934.

 

Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes handing first constitution issued under Indian Reorganization Act to delegates of Confederated Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation, 1935

                                                   Courtesy US Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-115958)

The Wheeler-Howard Act (Indian Reorganization Act) of 1934 was enacted to give native Americans back the power over their own lands and to establish their native way of life. As explained in this article Wheeler-Howard Act.

In 1879 Richard Pratt established the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, his famous quote was, "Kill the Indian in him and save the man". The US government forced 100,00 or more Native American children to attend assimilation boarding schools similar to Pratt's in the hope to rid them of the native values, traditions, beliefs  and languages.

"The law enabled tribes to develop formal governments on reservations and gave them a means to buy back lands lost in the allotment system. Health care and education on reservations improved as well. The law had a negligible impact on Puget Sound Native Americans until the 1940s when individuals working in war plants and serving in the military returned with new ideas." (Wheeler-Howard Act)

Moral:

As I began to research which court case I was going to write about on my  blog  I kept thinking about how the Native Americans were treated by the US government and how the children were forced to leave their reservations and attend the white man schools.  I did not know much about it but as I started to read about this time in history I wondered if this horrible act has helped us not do the same to immigrants coming to the US presently. I read about Lau vs Nichols in 1974 and how the Chinese-speaking students sued the San Francisco Unified School district and the obligation of that school district to provide bilingual and English -learning instruction. Also I read about Keyes v. School District No. 1, Denver Colorado, 1969, concerning the desegregation of schools in a Denver school district. African American and latino parents sued the school district, claiming purposeful desegregation. The 1973 Supreme Court ruled in favor and gave the Latino students the same rights as the African American had previously been given. 

Intellectual:

The quote by Richard Pratt is bone chilling, "Kill the Indian in him and save the man". This gives no consideration to who the Native Americans were and are as human beings. It gives a whole perspective on our MLL students of today, allowing MLL students the space to learn in their native language while bridging them into English with the emphasis on adding to, not taking away. 

Social:

Although I have only scraped the surface of history concerning the Native Americans educational rights, it leads me to think about my MLL students in my classroom this year.  I am pleased that they are afforded the opportunity to equal education and that teachers are being educated in the best way to meet our students needs. 

Emotional:

I'm not sure if I'm doing this assignment right but I kept seeing a connection between the Native Americans and our MLL students. I am not sure if I have made my case clear but it has inspired me even more to make sure all my students do not feel ashamed of where they come from or how well they can speak or write in English. They have so much to be proud of and to celebrate.