Sherman Institute

While watching the video, I was extremely surprised that so many alumni were talking about how much they enjoyed their time at Sherman.  I would have expected many of them to dislike it because of the military system as the basis for the school during its early years.  It is clear from the film that there has been a substantial shift in the appreciation of Native American heritage and culture.  I’m curious about when exactly this shift took place, as during the early years of the school’s inception the only purpose it served was integrating Native American children into the “mainstream” and to make sure they met the “requirements of modern progress” (2:25).  Yet, now Sherman has moved from ultra-patriotic and religious to accommodate and encourage ethnic and cultural expression through its “Indian Days” and other events (33:06).  Throughout the film, I had many questions, most surrounding the concept of assimilation and subordination.  Did this school just re-emphasize cultural stereotypes and reinforce Native American peoples subordinate position in society? For example, it was stated that it was for the betterment of Native Americans, however, clearly the ulterior motive was to encourage mass integration into “American” culture.  The narrator clearly states, though, that the focus of the school was not on academic achievement, but rather, vocational trades (9:36).  As opposed to supplying them with a vast quantity of knowledge in addition to practical trade skills, they simply learned to be blacksmiths and carpenters.  Could this be solely because of the context of the time in which Sherman was founded, or is a larger power structure completely to blame?

I also noted that, essentially, Sherman became the nucleus around which the Native American community rallied.  Each generation continues to be involved in the school and send its children there, indicating that it is the driving force which brings the community together.  This question comes about as more of a way to play devil’s advocate—by building such a strong sense of community that unites around the school, is it inadvertently forcing them to remain in a position of low authority?  For example, a girl who went to school at Sherman is now back and working as a bus driver.  Is this mindset of “giving back” common among those who attend Sherman?

While watching the Miss Sherman pageant footage, I felt uncomfortable.  It was as if I was watching a Miss America pageant (which also makes me feel uncomfortable), simply adjusted to fit a Native American lens.  It felt entirely forced and, to me, seemed as though it were representative of Native American culture being put through a strainer and reorganized to mimic “American” culture.

This is a more minor curiosity, but with sports being such an integral part of the school, I wish they would have shown what the school’s mascot was and is today.  Not only would it be interesting to analyze, but it would be very telling of the school’s characteristics at the time in which the mascot was chosen.