One of the ways the U.S. government tried to gain access to Native American land was through forced assimilation. On March 3, 1819, the Indian Civilization Act Fund structured the Indian Boarding School Policy. This policy called for the reprogramming of Indigenous children. These children were stripped of their traditional clothing, made to wear colonial attire, given haircuts for the same purpose, and brutally punished if they used their native language. By 1925, more than 60,000 children lived in these assimilation institutions. The desecration of the Native
American culture was complete. Deadly ambushes, imprisonment of tribal leaders, forced relocation, and assimilation all contributed to the destruction of vibrant cultures.