Kill the Indian, Save the Man
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Ward Churchill |
| Products | Non-fiction book |
| Website | www |
Overview
Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools is a 2004 publication authored by Ward Churchill, an American writer and activist focusing on Native American issues, who was a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder at the time. The book examines the establishment of Indian boarding schools in the United States and residential schools in Canada, initiated by their respective governments beginning in the late 1800s. These institutions mandated attendance by Indigenous children with the goal of promoting English language acquisition, Christian conversion, and assimilation into dominant cultural norms. The boarding school system persisted until the 1980s. Churchill argues that since these schools frequently forbade the use of Native languages and suppressed Indigenous cultural practices, their purpose was genocidal.
In addition, Churchill explores the consequences of policies such as the Dawes Act, which divided communal reservation lands into individual household allotments, along with the implementation of blood quantum criteria for tribal enrollment. Although federally recognized tribes have long held the power to determine their own membership standards, certain U.S. laws and policies related to financial benefits for recognized Native Americans continue to rely on blood quantum measurements.
The book’s title is derived from a statement attributed to Richard Henry Pratt, an Army officer who founded the Carlisle Indian School—the first off-reservation boarding school for Native American children—based on his experience educating Native American prisoners of war. Pratt’s approach emphasized cultural immersion and assimilation, a model later adopted by other government-run schools. Published by City Lights Books in 2004, Churchill’s work spans 158 pages and was released in paperback format (ISBN 0-87286-434-0).
Synopsis
Presented as a comprehensive essay segmented into multiple chapters, the book bears the title Genocide by Any Other Name – American Indian Residential Schools in Context.[1] The introductory section establishes Churchill's framework by exploring the concept of genocide as defined by Raphael Lemkin.[1] Churchill points out that the ECOSOC Genocide Convention was officially adopted by Canada in 1952 and by the United States in 1986, despite significant opposition from nine other signatories regarding amendments. Both nations continued to breach the convention in subsequent decades through government-endorsed programs involving relocation and sterilization.[1]
In a subsequent chapter, Churchill examines the compulsory enrollment of Native American children into residential schools as a breach of the convention following its ratification, tracing this practice back to the 1870s.[1] This policy involved forcibly removing children from their families to attend boarding schools.[1] Churchill interprets this as an act of cultural genocide, given that assimilationist mandates within these institutions forbade students from speaking their native languages or practicing their religions and cultural traditions.[1] In the early decades, many of these schools were operated by religious groups that had already established missions among Native populations. Over nearly a century, conditions varied widely across locations, though some alumni have recounted positive aspects of their schooling.
To prevent their children from being taken, families frequently concealed them or hid their cultural identities. The removal often involved deception or direct government coercion. The separations caused profound grief for families, as children were prohibited from maintaining contact with siblings or relatives once enrolled. The resulting psychological distress continues to affect Native communities and individuals today. Children were compelled to adopt identities that left them unprepared for reintegration either into their home communities or broader society, which largely excluded Native peoples from equal participation. Consequently, many found themselves socially displaced.
Churchill details the often harsh realities within these institutions: inadequate nutrition; widespread affliction by tuberculosis—then incurable—and other contagious illnesses prevalent at the time; Forced labor requirements; and frequent instances of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Mortality rates among Native students surpassed those of non-Native peers. He highlights reports from numerous survivors who experienced lasting harm, including elevated incidences of alcoholism, which persists as a challenge for Native populations beyond the school environment, alongside increased rates of suicide. According to Churchill, this collective trauma has been passed down through generations, exacerbating social fragmentation within Native American communities.
Context
The author composed this book to address the boarding schools and their associated problems, topics not covered in his 1979 publication A Little Matter of Genocide. The work features numerous photographs and comprehensive lists of historic boarding schools located throughout the United States and Canada.
- "Among all the detrimental elements embedded in twentieth-century U.S./Canadian Indian policies, these schools arguably represent the most severe. Their profound and lasting harmful impact on Indigenous communities, both on an individual and collective level, extended far beyond their operational years and continues to be immeasurable by any reasonable standard." (xlv)
Furthermore, the book examines matters related to the Dawes Act and the federal government's establishment of blood quantum criteria during that era, which have continued to influence the determination of Native American ancestry for financial entitlements.
Blood quantum issue
Churchill contends that the United States implemented blood quantum regulations based on lineage rules as a means to advance governmental objectives centered on economic gain for European Americans and political convenience. Specifically, during the period when the Dawes Rolls were created—spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries to facilitate the division of communal reservation lands into individual household allotments—the government mandated that qualifying Native Americans possess at least one-quarter ancestry from a single tribe to be eligible for enrollment on that tribe’s membership list and receive land allotments.
This policy served to exclude non-Native settlers illegally occupying reservation territories. Individuals of mixed Native and white descent were categorized separately. Additionally, this approach effectively barred Native Americans with one-quarter or greater ancestry from multiple tribes if they did not meet the one-quarter threshold within a specific tribe. Such regulations disregarded intertribal marriages and compelled individuals to select a singular tribal affiliation, contrasting with many Indigenous cultural practices. As reservation lands deemed "surplus" after allotments were sold off to non-Native buyers, Churchill argues that blood quantum laws were designed to dispossess legitimate Native Americans of their lands.
Churchill asserts that blood quantum policies possess an intrinsic genocidal intent. With ongoing intermarriage throughout the twentieth century between tribal members and individuals outside tribal enrollment—many lacking any Native heritage—the descendants increasingly fail to satisfy federal blood quantum criteria required for access to certain benefits reserved for recognized Native Americans, including educational scholarships. In reality, each tribe independently sets its membership standards and access to tribal resources. Numerous tribes do not rely on blood quantum but instead require documented lineage tracing back to historical tribal registries. Churchill states: "By fixing blood quantum at one-quarter, adhering strictly to this definition of Indian identity, and allowing intermarriage to continue as it has, Indians will ultimately be defined out of existence."
Churchill’s perspective on the General Allotment Act was among the issues examined during his 2005 academic misconduct inquiry at Colorado University. At the time of its enactment, progressive reformers endorsed the legislation under what is now recognized as a misguided assumption that assimilating Native Americans through increased individual land ownership and adopting European-American farming methods would benefit them. This group included Native American activists advocating for their communities.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Churchill, Ward (2004). "Genocide by Any Other Name. American Indian Residential Schools in Context". Kill the Indian Save the Man. San Francisco: City Lights Books. ISBN 0872864391 – via Houston Community College 2016 Learning Web.
External links
- Kill the Indian, Save the Man, official City Lights website
- Patricia Moore’s evaluation of Kill the Indian, Save the Man, featured in Kliatt (March 2005)
- Critique of Kill the Indian, Save the Man, published in Wisconsin Bookwatch (March 2005)