"Indigenous Resistance and Racist Schooling on the Borders of Empires: Coast Salish Cultural Survival" Synthesis

In the article “Indigenous Resistance and Racist Schooling on the Borders of Empires: Coast Salish Cultural Survival” by Michael Marker, the discussion is focused around the Coast Salish communities that tried to resist assimilation forced upon them by the American and Canadian governments. The indigenous peoples fought the attempts made to modernize their lifestyle and expose them to the new culture of the area. Initially they faced separation from their families, as they struggled to maintain their lifestyle in a land that developed into two separate countries. They were restricted and their traveling ceased, separating families and communities because they didn't succumb to the pressure placed upon them to assimilate and suppress their culture. Schooling was one way that the governments made an attempt to assimilate the Coast Salish people into their societies. The Coast Salish youth were sent to boarding schools away from their communities, with the hopes that they would forget their old traditions. Often the youth would face intense racism in these schools. The kids would also be reprimanded if they displayed aspects of their old culture in these schools. The boarding school experience was less severe in the United States; however the reprimands occurred in both the U.S. and Canada. The American and Canadian governments contributed to the racist sentiments because they either tried to eradicate indigenous identity, or confine it in reserves. To preserve their traditions the Coast Salish communities have continued to convey traditional knowledge and ceremonies to their youth.

It was wrong for America and Canada to try and force the Coast Salish people to assimilate into their cultures. America has a lot of foreign influences and is known for accepting diversity. This is a poor example of what the U.S. is supposed to stand for.