- Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879, which became the model for Indian boarding schools that sought to assimilate Native American children into white society.
- At Carlisle, Pratt implemented policies to forcibly assimilate students by cutting their hair, banning Native languages and religions, and teaching them English, Christianity, and job skills.
- While Pratt believed this would help Native Americans, it had the detrimental effect of disrupting Indigenous cultures and causing psychological and emotional trauma for students through cultural suppression.
- His policies set the template for later boarding schools and accelerated the cultural assimilation of Native