Synthesis and Response to "Indigenous resistance and racist schooling on the borders of empires: Coast Salish cultural survival"

The article “Indigenous resistance and racist schooling on the borders of empires: Coast Salish cultural survival” is about the attempts of the United States and Canada to assimilate an Indian culture. The Coast Salish are an indigenous Indian culture that was unfortunately separated by the 49^th parallel. For some reason, the governments of both Canada and the United States decided that they wanted to stomp out the Indian tradition. To accomplish this both sides used the creation of schools as a method to change the way Coastal Salish children viewed the world in respect to their culture. The Canadian government chose to use residential schools to try to remap Coastal Salish traditions. In these schools the children were treated harshly by white classmates and teachers. They would be punished severely for any activity that was related to Coastal Salish tradition. The problem became more severe when a judge decided that the natives had laid claim to half of the fish in the area. This court decision led to the reallocation of fisheries, and an increased intolerance for the Coastal Salish people. Some of the native children decided to cross the border to attend the boarding schools the United states had created, other avoided school all together. The United States’ aforementioned boarding schools were created for the same reason as the Canadian schools. The biggest difference was that the boarding schools were exclusively for the Coastal Salish people. The level of racism was therefore reduced. However, the students still faced punishment for activities related to their culture.

Personally, I think the method that the United States used was much more effective, because of the reduced racism. While I agree with the method the U.S. chose, I do not agree with what they were doing. I think the whole situation can be summarized as another government overstep. The government was not within their rights to infringe on the culture and beliefs of the Coastal Salish. This nation was formed to remove the pressures of social culture, by allowing the people to choose for themselves what they wanted to believe or practice. The government has been continuing to grow in power, and has become increasingly more corrupted. Nowhere in the constitution does it say that the government has the right to assimilate a culture, and thus destroy it. Corruption is the unfortunate side effect of power. The government fears any sort of retaliation and wants to prevent retaliation from occurring, so it will give itself more power to crush anything it thinks will do it harm. It is a fearful master, and will do anything to control its subjects.