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In the States for the past few days, I’ve been staying at a rather lovely resort hotel that’s owned and managed by the local Native American tribe. In the relaxation room in the spa (my back was sore after the long flight, OK?) was the autobiography of a woman who described life at the local Indian School in the early 1900s (a “semi-military institution”):
The matron’s bunch of jingling keys always warned us of her presence. She was strict and frequently used her strap on us.
In the evenings, the girls would whisper the matron’s nickname “to signal that she was coming into the dorm … Then we would jump into our beds and pretend that we were soundly asleep in order to escape the strap.”
The girls spent half their time in academic study, the other half learning trades. One such was working
“in the dining room, washing dishes and scrubbing floors… If we were not finished when the 8:00 A.M. whistle sounded, the dining room matron would go around strapping us while we were still on our hands and knees. This was just the right position for a swat — all the matron had to do was raise our dresses and strap.
The bakery was next to the dining room, and the bakery boys loved to see us get a strapping; they would always stare and grin.”
I want a job in that bakery…
Sarah
June 11th, 2009 at 11:36 am
I want a job in the dining room…
Alexa Jayne
June 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Today’s post was difficult for me to read. The abuse of the kids in the native schools — both Canadian and American — was horrendous. In many cases the physical punishments went along with soul-destroying humiliations and sexual abuse, all designed to get the native kids to abandon their “pagan” culture and become good little European-style Christians. In Canada (not sure about the U.S.), the kids were forcibly taken from their families at age 6 and not returned until they were done their schooling. It’s an ugly chapter in this continent’s history.
Sorry if I’ve wrecked anyone’s fun today. Usually this blog makes me smile and engage in very pleasant fantasies.
Abel
June 11th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Interesting, AJ. I am as cautious as can be about posting r/l incidents that could squick people. I guess that the wrong examples of Native American education could be as similar for US readers as, say, the recent report into Irish education has been for many on this side of the Atlantic.
In this case, the book concerned didn’t – at all – suggest that the author felt abused, or that there was any systemic attempt to break their culture. In fact, it seemed as though the education she received actually re-enforced their sense of their tribe’s traditions and values. And that’s why I felt comfortable posting it.
Alexa Jayne
June 11th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Thanks, Abel. That does help. *hugs*
Rebecca
June 11th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I have to second the squicked-ness of the this post. The entire point of the those boarding schools was to destroy Native American culture. The focus of physical violence used in these places was to turn the students into submissive domestics to serve the dominant Whites. Perhaps it didn’t fit this particular author’s experience, but in the majority of the schools, students were punished horribly for speaking their own languages; many returned home no longer being able to communicate with their families and having lost the threads of their native culture.
The relevant comparison would be the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in Australia.
Hermione
June 11th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I agree with Alexa. Our native people are still suffering from the treatment, and the churches that ran the residential schools are trying to make amends. I think I posted about this in a comment to the post about the Irish situation so won’t repeat myself. I have heard radio interviews with people who were taken from their families at an early age and never returned. The parents had to give them up; they were threatened with being denied their food rations so had no choice. the victims suffered, and in turn passed that suffering on to their children and grandchildren.
Hugs,
Hermione
Kami Robertson
June 11th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Wouldn’t like a life like that of course, but as far as fantasy is concerned I’m with Sarah…where I can apply for that job?
Can.G.
June 12th, 2009 at 5:21 am
The scene is lovely though, as is the concept in general… Very much apreciated if taken out of context, the rest sad. But, we can not ignor the fact that brutal abuse has occured towards every cultur, and it’s all sad, and it’s all horrific if taken in actual context. My partner was caned in his South African school, at one point simply for not fitting in: horrific, yes. When taken in context of his humiliation–someone that would not enjoy it–it’s terrible, when under the context of kink, very sexy. He knows me well enough to say “I think you would have had a different problem with the situation.”
Overall, I’d just like to place this in context (apparently I like that word tonight), all abuse of power is horrific and terrible, degrees make little difference to the people being abused. What we can take from this is our own kinky good times, cultural context no matter what the situation, be damned. I agree that what has happened to the natives in Canada is terrible, but then… all cases of abuse are terrible. Kinky people should not be selective about the abuse that bothers and does not. How we percieve, and warp the situation is up to us and our kinky direction. The abuse of young women in corrective institutes, the abuse of young women by trusted adults/parents. I understand that the abuse of a cultur is a tragic thing, but can abuse really be quantified or qualified?
Cheers!
Just meandering through an ethical issue.
Indy
June 12th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
This is an interesting issue. I agree with the other North Americans who have commented about the shamefulness of the dominant culture’s treatment of Native Americans, and Rebecca is right that the best comparison is probably with the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in Australia.
On the other hand, where does one draw the line? I’ve had plenty of fantasies that stemmed from objectionable situations, and I suspect that’s true of most of us. I certainly wouldn’t approve of schoolgirls being treated the way they are in most of the spanking fiction I read. I don’t at all mean to downplay the seriousness of the abuses that have occurred under the auspices of the state or church, whether it be in North America, Europe, Australia, or anywhere else. And I certainly understand why the squick factor outweighs a more lascivious interest for a lot of people. Still, for many of us, some sort of struggle with authority, fair or unfair, is part of the kink. In a way, unfair fantasies are more sometimes palatable to me, as my character can get into plenty of trouble without actually being insufferable. Or if she is, at least her poor behavior is understandable, given the circumstances.
In this particular case, I have to admit that I found the story hot– imagining being a schoolgirl who got strapped for not finishing her chores quickly enough. It also brought back a startle I had reading Roots as a kid. For you young folks, Roots is the story of an African American family from the time that a young man was kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery in the Colonies for quite a few generations afterwards. I clearly remember an episode in which a young slave girl’s house work was routinely inspected by her mother, who carried a number of switches around to underscore any carelessness. Now, I was certainly aware that it wasn’t right for the mother or the daughter to be in this situation. But I found that hot at the age of 11 or 12, even if I didn’t understand that at the time. Being punished by a top who is also a victim of the system is still one of my favorite fantasies. I suppose that’s because it makes the top a sympathetic character, too.
I do get squicked by severe judicial or abusive floggings. It’s not that I think they’re ethically different from many of the fantasies I like. They simply don’t push my buttons enough to overcome the aversion I feel when I think about the victims. I can certainly understand why others draw that line differently. After all, who among us actually understands why some scenarios are so much hotter for us than others? There’s almost always a balancing act between aversion and attraction, and different scenarios work for different people.
OK, I’ve gone on for long enough. Thanks to all of you, and to bloggers like Emma Jane & Pandora, who wrote about the Irish report. I also found Hermione’s comment about the report to be particularly thought-provoking.
Abel
June 13th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
“The entire point of the those boarding schools was to destroy Native American culture… Perhaps it didn’t fit this particular author’s experience.”
Precisely. It didn’t – that’s why I posted it. The “context” here is an author reminiscing fondly of her schooldays, including the observations I catalogued.
Had the book described an abusive regime, or a school that denigrated or tried to suppress a particular culture, I obviously wouldn’t have written about it. The school in question here actually seemed to have *contributed* a great deal to the students’ sense of their own identity.
I wasn’t writing an essay on the history of Native American schooling, or condoning real-life abuse in any way – read “Reality vs. Fantasy” on the sidebar for our long-standing policy on that front.
I wrote the post having just spent an evening in a welcoming ceremony led by members of the local tribe for members of our conference. And I’ve been working closely with them all week – doing several things as Master of Ceremonies for the event (and as an individual guest here) to honour their remarkable generosity and spirit, which shines through in the way the resort is managed and operated.
… says he, feeling the need to put that on record lest anyone happens upon this post at any future point! If any folks still feel I was culturally insensitive, I apologise to them.