Healing The Warrior's Heart Analysis

From the film Healing the Warrior’s Heart, I learned that for centuries American Indians had unique ways of treating PTSD on returning soldiers. For example, centuries ago the Blackfeet Tribe had their warriors go through a sweat lodge before going to battle to get purified in order to get strength and be protected. When the warriors returned from war, they would get cleansed in the sweat lodge. I learned that the reason the warriors had to go through a sweat lodge when they came back from war was to wash all of the negative things they experienced. After the cleansing, the warriors were able to go back to their families in a good way. I also learned that in other American Indian tribes, when warriors returned from war they needed to go inside
The Boarding School Policy which began in the late 1860s forced American Indian children to live in schools that were farther away from the reservation. The goal of the policy was to assimilate American Indian tribes into the mainstream American culture. I think that this policy caused pain to parents and children because they had to be separated from each other. For example, I think that this policy caused emotional pain to children because most children as young as six years old had to be sent to boarding schools. Considering that children at six years of age do not have the skill to understand policies, I am assuming that most of them thought their parents did not love them or they were being punished. In addition, I think children were emotionally hurt from this policy because they were the ones that were forced to learn English, and battered when they spoke their native language. I think that by forcing children to assimilate to the mainstream American culture caused American Indian youth to become confused about their identity. I think that the experiences the children went through in boarding schools was traumatic because boarding schools belittled them and disrespected their culture. I think that the Boarding School Policy also caused psychological pain and stress to parents because they were forced to send their young children to schools that were in the West. I think that parents felt hopeless and a sense of loss. The Boarding School Policy caused transgenerational trauma and the negative results of the policy can still be seen in today’s American Indian families. Overall, I felt sad to hear about the Boarding School Policy because the policy separated families and discriminated American Indians. I also felt disappointed to learn that American Indians were treated unfair and disrespected. All in all, I think that the Boarding School Policy should be discussed about more because the effects of the policy are still evident and are an issue in American