For nearly two centuries after Europeans arrived in North America, they viewed education as a means to "civilize" and acculturate native people to what they believed to be superior European lifestyles. Because Indian culture was seen as intellectually and morally debased, the federal government removed many native children from their homes and sent them to boarding schools. Until the late 19th century the government located many of these schools hundreds of miles from where the children lived. Indian parents protested the removal of their children and in later years the government situated more schools on reservations. But Indian boarding schools continued into the 20th century and have been the subject of intense criticism from Native American leaders. Here in California, the state's only Indian boarding school was established a hundred years ago in the city of Riverside. And as our series producer Ilsa Setziol reports, the school still exists today but with a revised mission.
