Interpret/explain/explore the context and significance of the quote “We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (35).

The quote “We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (Alexie 35) is Mr. P’s way of explaining the cruel teaching methods used to kill the Indian culture within Junior’s peers. Mr. P confesses to Junior “I hurt a lot of Indian kids when I was a young teacher.” (Alexie 35) Mr. P was taught to kill the Indian within Junior’s peers. He was to discourage Indian culture, customs, and tradition in order to shape a “normal” kid. He tells Junior how he beat the bad students and basically discouraged individuality. A teacher should be someone to guide you and encourage self expression whether that be an ethnic background or something else. Mr. P and the people influencing him had no right to force the Indian culture out of his students. People who go down in history are the ones who don’t follow the social norm. They aren’t afraid to express themselves and show the world their differences. Mr. P put the kids on the rez to a disadvantage of becoming a leader one day because they don't have the courage and self-foundation to be one. The fact that Indians were forced into reservations in the first place shows just how disapproving the world is of Indian culture. The quote “We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child” (Alexie 35) shows how people aren’t accepting of the Indian’s culture and differences and the children need to be changed to fit the social norm.