A System of Neglect: Indian Boarding Schools
ERIC DLUGOKINSKI PH.D.1, and
LYN KRAMER M.S.W.1
1 Assistant Professors, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 800 N.E. 13th St., Oklahoma City, Okla. 73190
This paper examines the frustrations and dilemmas present in maintaining separate schools for Indian children. The diversity of approaches in these schools, the problems of acculturation, and a history of poor individual academic and emotional adjustment suggest that a reformulation of tasks and priorities be undertaken that emphasizes creative solutions to special needs. Counseling services that are more peer-oriented, as well as multifaceted supportive services, are recommended. The authors also discuss such issues as intertribal rivalry and student apathy.
