Crow Dog

2 Pages 494 Words

“Civilize Them with a Stick”

Times were very rough for the Native American Indians during the early 1900’s. Author Mary Crow Dog; a native American, tried to paint a vivid picture of some of the trials and tribulations that she underwent or heard about while she attended boarding school. Ms. Crow Dog tries to help readers better understand what she and many generations of Native Americans endured while attending St. Francis boarding school; which is located in South Dakota. She clearly stated that her mother and grandmother were not exempt from the harsh punishments given by the boarding school. Some of the same things that were going on at the school when Crow Dog was attending happened when her mother and grandmother attended the school, sometimes they were even worse.
In the selection Civilize them with a Stick by Mary Crow Dog, she writes about a group of people who feel they have the right to tell others what to do. The oppressors in her story believe their ways to be superior and do not care how to achieve the end result, as long as it is achieved. The Catholic nuns in the story believe themselves to be qualified to rule over and change the Native Americans sent to their school. Mary Crow Dog writes
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about her experiences in a Catholic school. She explains how religion was forced down her throat in an attempt to socialize Indians into an Anglo way of life. However, Crow Dog did everything she could do to not fall into the Anglo way of life.
Ms. Crow Dog stated that presently the school is run by the B.I.A. (Bureau of Indian Affairs). While on the other hand when she was attending the school the more strict church ran it. She plainly stated that they were quickly beaten if they failed their
Devotions or if they prayed the wrong way. She also goes on to say that they were treated like dogs, but instead she considered herself as a wild cat that couldn’t be tamed.

Crow Dog was very rebellious as a c...