Sioux Education - Past and Present

In the past, the Sioux Indians were mainly educated through government run schools. There were three main types: off reservation boarding schools, day schools, and reservation boarding schools. The main goal of Indians attending school was to assimilate Indian people into the culture of Americans. The traditional ways of Indians were to be replaced by ways sanctioned by the government. In order to accomplish this task the Federal Indian Policy ordered the removal of Indian children from their families and required the enrollment in government schooling.

The most frequent type of school used during this time was the off reservation boarding school. This movement, which was called The Indian Boarding School Movement, began after the Civil War. This was when reformers turned their focus onto the Indians. They believed that with proper education and treatment the Indians could become patriotic and productive members of society. The goal of Captain Richard Henry Pratt, who founded The Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, was to "kill the Indian and save the man." At Carlisle, as well as the other off reservation boarding schools, the children were subjected to a complete transformation. Their hairstyles and dress were changed from their traditional styles to Victorian styles. Off reservation boarding schools were expensive to maintain causing the federal government to search for alternatives.

The alternatives were found in reservation boarding schools and day schools. These were run similar to the off reservation boarding schools; however the elimination of the cost of transportation for the children saved a great deal of money. Although the schools were located on the reservations, contact with the children's families was restricted and monitored by school administrators. Day schools provided minimal education, which caused the children to eventually transfer to boarding schools for more advanced studies.