To Educate American Indians: Selected Writings from the National Educational Associations Department of Indian Education, 19001904

To Educate American Indians presents the most complete versions of papers presented at the National Educational Associations Department of Indian Education meetings during a time when the debate about how best to civilize Indigenous populations dominated discussions. During this time two philosophies drove the conversation. The first, an Enlightenment erainfluenced universalism, held that through an educational alchemy American Indians would become productive, Christianized Americans, distinguishable from their white neighbors only by the color of their skin. Directly confronting the assimilationists universalism were the progressive educators who, strongly influenced by the eras scientific racism, held the notion that American Indians could never become fully assimilated. Despite these differing views, a frightening ethnocentrism and an honor-bound dedication to gifting civilization to Native students dominated the writings of educators from the NEAs Department of Indian Education.

For a decade educators gathered at annual meetings and presented papers on how best to educate Native students. Though the NEA Proceedings published these papers, strict guidelines often meant they were heavily edited before publication. In this volume Larry C. Skogen presents many of these unedited papers and gives them historical context for the years 1900 to 1904.
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