EDUCATION.
It may justly be a subject of wonder, how a nation without a written
code of laws or system of jurisprudence, without any form or
constitution of government, and without even a single elective or
hereditary magistrate, can subsist together in peace and harmony, and
in the exercise of the moral virtues; how a people can be well and
effectually governed without any external authority; by the mere force
of the ascendancy which men of superior minds have over those of a more
ordinary stamp; by a tacit, yet universal submission to the aristocracy
of experience, talents and virtue! Such, nevertheless, is the spectacle
which an Indian nation exhibits to the eye of a stranger. I have been
a witness to it for a long series of years, and after much observation
and reflection to discover the cause of this phenomenon, I think I have
reason to be satisfied that it is in a great degree to be ascribed to
the pains which the Indians take to instill at an early age honest
and virtuous principles upon the minds of their children, and to the
method which they pursue in educating them. This method I will not call
a system; for systems are unknown to these sons of nature, who, by
following alone her simple dictates, have at once discovered and follow
without effort that plain obvious path which the philosophers of Europe
have been so long in search of.
The first step that parents take towards the education of their
children, is to prepare them for future happiness, by impressing upon
their tender minds, that they are indebted for their existence to a
great, good and benevolent Spirit, who not only has given them life,
but has ordained them for certain great purposes. That he has given
them a fertile extensive country well stocked with game of every kind
for their subsistence, and that by one of his inferior spirits he has
also sent down to them from above corn, pumpkins, squashes, beans and
other vegetables for their nourishment; all which blessings their
ancestors have enjoyed for a great number of ages. That this great
Spirit looks down upon the Indians, to see whether they are grateful to
him and make him a due return for the many benefits he has bestowed,
and therefore that it is their duty to show their thankfulness by
worshipping him, and doing that which is pleasing in his sight.
This is in substance the first lesson taught, and from time to time
repeated to the Indian children, which naturally leads them to reflect
and gradually to understand that a being which hath done such great
things for them, and all to make them happy, must be good indeed, and
that it is surely their duty to do something that will please him. They
are then told that their ancestors, who received all this from the
hands of the great Spirit, and lived in the enjoyment of it, must have
been informed of what would be most pleasing to this good being, and of
the manner in which his favour could be most surely obtained, and they
are directed to look up for instruction to those who know all this, to
learn from them, and revere them for their wisdom and the knowledge
which they possess; this creates in the children a strong sentiment
of respect for their elders, and a desire to follow their advice and
example. Their young ambition is then excited by telling them that they
were made the superiors of all other creatures, and are to have power
over them; great pains are taken to make this feeling take an early
root, and it becomes in fact their ruling passion through life; for no
pains are spared to instill into them that by following the advice of
the most admired and extolled hunter, trapper or warrior, they will at
a future day acquire a degree of fame and reputation, equal to that
which he possesses; that by submitting to the counsels of the aged,
the chiefs, the men superior in wisdom, they may also rise to glory,
and be called _Wisemen_, an honourable title, to which no Indian is
indifferent. They are finally told that if they respect the aged and
infirm, and are kind and obliging to them, they will be treated in the
same manner when their turn comes to feel the infirmities of old age.
When this first and most important lesson is thought to be sufficiently
impressed upon children’s minds, the parents next proceed to make them
sensible of the distinction between good and evil; they tell them that
there are good actions and bad actions, both equally open to them to
do or commit; that good acts are pleasing to the good Spirit which
gave them their existence, and that on the contrary, all that is bad
proceeds from the bad spirit who has given them nothing, and who cannot
give them any thing that is good, because he has it not, and therefore
he envies them that which they have received from the good Spirit, who
is far superior to the bad one.
This introductory lesson, if it may be so called, naturally makes them
wish to know what is good and what is bad. This the parent teaches him
in his own way, that is to say, in the way in which he was himself
taught by his own parents. It is not the lesson of an hour nor of a
day, it is rather a long course more of practical than of theoretical
instruction, a lesson, which is not repeated at stated seasons or
times, but which is shewn, pointed out, and demonstrated to the child,
not only by those under whose immediate guardianship he is, but by
the whole community, who consider themselves alike interested in the
direction to be given to the rising generation.
When this instruction is given in the form of precepts, it must not be
supposed that it is done in an authoritative or forbidding tone, but,
on the contrary, in the gentlest and most persuasive manner: nor is
the parent’s authority ever supported by harsh or compulsive means; no
whips, no punishments, no threats are even used to enforce commands or
compel obedience. The child’s _pride_ is the feeling to which an appeal
is made, which proves successful in almost every instance. A father
needs only to say in the presence of his children: “I want such a thing
done; I want one of my children to go upon such an errand; let me see
who is the _good_ child that will do it!” This word _good_ operates,
as it were, by magic, and the children immediately vie with each other
to comply with the wishes of their parent. If a father sees an old
decrepid man or woman pass by, led along by a child, he will draw the
attention of his own children to the object by saying: “What a _good_
child that must be, which pays such attention to the aged! That child,
indeed, looks forward to the time when it will likewise be old!” or he
will say, “May the great Spirit, who looks upon him, grant this _good_
child a long life!”
In this manner of bringing up children, the parents, as I have already
said, are seconded by the whole community. If a child is sent from his
father’s dwelling to carry a dish of victuals to an aged person, all in
the house will join in calling him a _good_ child. They will ask whose
child he is, and on being told, will exclaim: what! has the _Tortoise_,
or the _little Bear_ (as the father’s name may be) got such a _good_
child? If a child is seen passing through the streets leading an old
decrepid person, the villagers will in his hearing, and to encourage
all the other children who may be present to take example from him,
call on one another to look on and see what a _good_ child that must
be. And so, in most instances, this method is resorted to, for the
purpose of instructing children in things that are good, proper, or
honourable in themselves; while, on the other hand, when a child has
committed a _bad_ act, the parent will say to him: “O! how grieved
I am that my child has done this _bad_ act! I hope he will never do
so again.” This is generally effectual, particularly if said in the
presence of others. The whole of the Indian plan of education tends
to elevate rather than to depress the mind, and by that means to make
determined hunters and fearless warriors.
Thus, when a lad has killed his first game, such as a deer or a bear,
parents who have boys growing up will not fail to say to some person
in the presence of their own children: “That boy must have listened
attentively to the aged hunters, for, though young, he has already
given a proof that he will become a good hunter himself.” If, on the
other hand, a young man should fail of giving such a proof, it will be
said of him “that he did not pay attention to the discourses of the
aged.”
In this indirect manner is instruction on all subjects given to the
young people. They are to learn the arts of hunting, trapping, and
making war, by listening to the aged when conversing together on those
subjects, each, in his turn, relating how he acted, and opportunities
are afforded to them for that purpose. By this mode of instructing
youth, their respect for the aged is kept alive, and it is increased by
the reflection that the same respect will be paid to them at a future
day, when young persons will be attentive to what they shall relate.
This method of conveying instruction is, I believe, common to most
Indian nations; it is so, at least, amongst all those that I have
become acquainted with, and lays the foundation for that voluntary
submission to their chiefs, for which they are so remarkable. Thus
has been maintained for ages, without convulsions and without civil
discords, this traditional government, of which the world, perhaps,
does not offer another example; a government in which there are no
positive laws, but only long established habits and customs, no code
of jurisprudence, but the experience of former times, no magistrates,
but advisers, to whom the people, nevertheless, pay a willing and
implicit obedience, in which age confers rank, wisdom gives power, and
moral goodness secures a title to universal respect. All this seems to
be effected by the simple means of an excellent mode of education, by
which a strong attachment to ancient customs, respect for age, and the
love of virtue are indelibly impressed upon the minds of youth, so that
these impressions acquire strength as time pursues its course, and as
they pass through successive generations.