Most northeastern Indigenous people living at the turn of the 20th century had adapted elements of White culture alongside traditional customs and beliefs. Unless they were seen demonstrating crafts, speaking in their own languages, or performing in stereotypical “Indian” garb, they were often invisible to their White neighbors. Some Indigenous peoples in New England saw this as necessary for survival during an era when prejudice, sometimes accompanied by violence, against all people of color made it dangerous to talk about one’s ethnicity. In Vermont and New Hampshire, the Eugenics Project started sterilizing Indigenous people and other “undesirables.” Even some White reformers argued that Native Americans could survive only by rejecting their own cultures and beliefs and assimilating into White society. Dozens of special boarding schools established for this purpose housed thousands of Indigenous children who had been wrenched from their families and cultures. Paradoxically, many in the White society continued to seek out romantic and exotic ways to interact with Indigenous cultures even as they insisted that these same people should conform to the dominant White culture.
Native American Peoples: 1880-1920
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Place in Time: Hiding in Plain Sight
At a time when it was dangerous to talk about one’s Indigenous ethnicity, Jesse Bowman refused to conceal his heritage.Two Worlds: Moving Between Worlds
White reformers established dozens of boarding schools at the turn of the century to educate and indoctrinate Native American children in White culture and society.Points of Contact: Ethnicity and Tourism
Tourism became a thriving industry as many Indigenous peoples successfully marketed their ethnicity to an eager White audience seeking romantic and exotic ways to interact with Native American culture.