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The Forced Assimilation of Native Americans — Part Two
Fort Marion: The American Equivalent of Guantanamo Bay
The more Indians we can kill… the less will have to be killed the next war, for the more I see of these Indians, the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or be maintained as a species of paupers. — William Tecumseh Sherman
Part One of this two-part story turned out to be a prelude to the history and conditions at the Native American boarding schools, historically referred to as Indian boarding schools. During my research, I discovered I lived a half-hour away from the fort where the idea of assimilation of Native Americans was birthed and the three separate times groups of captives were held there. Below is the link to Part One of the series, followed by what I learned when I went to Castillo de San Marco, formerly known as Fort Marion, America’s version of Guantanamo Bay for Native Americans.
Since graduating from college, I have lived within thirty miles of Saint Augustine, FL, for twelve years at different…
