Summary

The article “Death by Civilization” by Mary Annette Pember begins with the writer talking about her mother’s childhood spent in a boarding school for Native Americans. Pember provides a brief history of Native American boarding schools and of their purposes. She then talks about the violence and multiple types of abuse that Native American children suffered in boarding schools run by Christian organizations. Pember recalls asking her mother about the time spent in one of the boarding schools, but her mother typically refused to answer. Pember also talks about her desire to validate her mother’s experiences.

Pember then talks about how her mother’s trauma followed her into in her adult years. She recalls seeing her mother move uncontrollably, trying to escape the memories of abuse and the idea that N...