Question

Why were Native American boys referred to as “good for nothing” when they returned home from attending a white college?

Answer 1

Well native Americans were keen on teaching their children how to be a Native American, how to hunt, gather, fish, and in a more general sense be native Americans. Now when their children were sent off to white boarding schools and then colleges, they didn't exactly know how to be native Americans, so they couldn't help out their family, thus labeled as "good for nothing"

Answer 2

Good for nothing is meant to say they left their tribes to live with the white people.

hope this helps