U.S. Control Policies and the Impact on the Quileute Tribe

As addressed by my previous post, the Quileute tribe was not immune to European colonization and the subsequent U.S. domination. While Native tribes, like the Quileute tribe, were forced out of the lands that their people had occupied since existence, the extent of U.S. control went far beyond territorial dominance. During the 19th century, the U.S. pursued a policy of absolute control over Native Americans. While the U.S. government engaged in several treaties with Native tribes, the U.S. also established laws that severely deteriorated the quality of life for Native people. A large part of the U.S. absolute control policy involved laws that forced Native people to forsake every aspect of their culture and identity to adopt American culture or suffer the consequences of resistance to U.S. demands.

One example of the U.S. government’s attempt to destroy Indigenous cultures and religions is the establishment of schools designed to Americanize and Christianize Native children. For instance, in the 1850s A.W. Smith and his wife established a school in LaPush that served to assimilate Quileute children into American culture (McKimmie; “History”). For instance, the Smith’s taught Quileute children American history and renamed the children, replacing their real names with biblical ones (McKimmie; “History”). While many other U.S. policies served to inhibit the tribes’ ability to preserve their sovereignty, culture, and identities, these schools had a devastating impact that is still present today. These schools served to mold the minds of Quileute youth, as well as other Native children, to associate with a foreign culture in exchange for their own. Consequently, U.S. domination served to nearly obliterate Native cultures as the generation of children taught at these government mandated schools grew up with the premise that they had to Americanize in order to survive. For instance, Quileute newspapers (1908-1910) edited by a W.H. Hudson, a Quileute tribe member who attended these schools, even advocated for these schools and an overall assimilation into American culture (McKimmie).

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