By Cathy Meyer
The story of Native Americans, who some considered inferior to whites, was revealed through Oregon newspapers articles. The children were forcibly removed from the reservation to boarding schools. The purpose of the schools were to “legally” assimilate Native Americans into white American society by converting them to Christianity and preparing them for work limited to manual labor or domestic servitude. Inequality was built into a system that kept the Native Americans from access to a better workforce and independence. One of the four remaining boarding schools today is the Chemawa Indian School. In 1880 Forest Grove did not want it there so it was moved north of Salem.
Many whites’ perception of Native Americans as being incapable of being educated evolved, only within the limited view of assimilation. Oregon newspapers praised the Native American girls and young women with racist undertones reinforcing the belief that they were suited only for servility. While white women were making great strides into the white-collar workforce, Native American women didn’t have the preparation for advancing to better jobs.