White Mother to a Dark Race: Settler Colonialism, Maternalism, and the Removal of Indigenous Children in the American West and Australia, 1880-1940

Indigenous communities in the United States and Australia are united in a common experience: in the late 19th and early 20th century children were forcibly removed from their homes and communities and sent to boarding schools away from all they knew. Despite the school’s benevolent intentions, students suffered severe trauma, particularly at the hands of white women. This book examines the role white women played in forced removal of children, and how government officials and mainstream society used their negative view of Indigenous mothers as a means to justify the removal of children from their homes. As a result, white women were considered to be more appropriate caregivers, and were able to use their influence to affect public policy regarding Indigenous people. Although some white women developed caring and strong relationships with the children in their care and criticized government policies, many children suffered negative experiences.