(Tom Torlino, a Carlisle School student, before and after spending time at the school.)
An Indian boarding school is a school that was established in the United States in the late 19th Century to educate young Native Americans according to American Standards. They were generally forbidden to speak their own language, were taught Christianity instead of their own religion and were forced to abandon their Native identity and adopt American Culture.
It is noted that the three main themes of Manifest Destiny are; "the virtue of the American people and their institutions; the mission to spread these institutions, thereby redeeming and remaking the world in the image of the United States; the destiny under God to do this work". - http://21stcenturycicero.wordpress.com/empire/manifest-destiny/
This can be overtly seen in this image as, the Native Americans are being forced to become what Americans see as Americans. They are forcibly spreading their institutions on people who they do not refer to as American, even if they have been there longer. Attempting to 'Christianise' the Native is 'through God's eyes' from an the American's point of view and they are trying to remake everything into the image of the United States.
This process then effects and destroys many Native American lives. This image shows not only the loss of identity and culture but also the loss of a person completely. He loses his hair, clothing, beliefs and even maybe his emotions.
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