Parental Control
American Indian boarding schools forced children to be taken from their homes to maintain high student enrollment numbers. Their families were coerced into giving up their children, or, in some cases, the children were kidnapped. If parents refused to send their children, they could be severely punished. An attendance law authorized the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to withhold families’ food, clothing, and annuities if families were reluctant to send their children to these boarding schools. In most families, all the children went to boarding schools, though some stayed behind to work in the fields and take care of their elders. The breakup of the family was difficult for everyone, but even with their children hundreds of miles away, the relationship between parents and children remained strong across the distance.
