The Carlisle Indian School: the Beginning of a Difference.
The Carlisle Indian School: The Beginning of a Difference.
Wanda Merkel
History 223
Doctor Swafford
June 19, 2011
The Carlisle Indian Boarding School was an Industrial school for educating Indian children. Founded in 1879 by Army officer Captain Richard Henry Pratt who had many dealings with Indians throughout his military career, the school was geared toward the integration of the Indians into American civilization. Although the boarding school was not located on a reservation, it became the model for the institutions run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. With the development of the Carlisle Indian Boarding school, Captain Pratt set the foundation for Indian education and Americanization. The 1800’s found the Native Americans losing in their wars with the United States over maintaining their land. The Indians needed to either all be killed or civilized through education; this prompted Captain Richard Henry Pratt to create the Indian boarding school. Pratt believed “that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead” and through education the children could be taught to live as civilized Americans. Pratt was no stranger to the dealings with the Indians and understood what needed to be done to save these Indian children from extinction and bring them forth by “Americanizing” them. Pratt began his experiment with educating the Natives when he was the officer in charge at the Indian war prison, Fort Marion in Florida. He selected a group of prisoners from the Caddo, Cheyenne, Comanche and Kiowa tribes to prove his ability to transform these savages through education. Cutting their long hair, the wearing of military style clothes, and learning to speak English was the first step in the transformation for these prisoners. Life skills were then incorporated into the education process along with the teachings of Industrial skills to allow
these Indians to seek employment. Pratt’s success with the prisoners worked and afforded the
Wanda Merkel
History 223
Doctor Swafford
June 19, 2011
The Carlisle Indian Boarding School was an Industrial school for educating Indian children. Founded in 1879 by Army officer Captain Richard Henry Pratt who had many dealings with Indians throughout his military career, the school was geared toward the integration of the Indians into American civilization. Although the boarding school was not located on a reservation, it became the model for the institutions run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. With the development of the Carlisle Indian Boarding school, Captain Pratt set the foundation for Indian education and Americanization. The 1800’s found the Native Americans losing in their wars with the United States over maintaining their land. The Indians needed to either all be killed or civilized through education; this prompted Captain Richard Henry Pratt to create the Indian boarding school. Pratt believed “that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead” and through education the children could be taught to live as civilized Americans. Pratt was no stranger to the dealings with the Indians and understood what needed to be done to save these Indian children from extinction and bring them forth by “Americanizing” them. Pratt began his experiment with educating the Natives when he was the officer in charge at the Indian war prison, Fort Marion in Florida. He selected a group of prisoners from the Caddo, Cheyenne, Comanche and Kiowa tribes to prove his ability to transform these savages through education. Cutting their long hair, the wearing of military style clothes, and learning to speak English was the first step in the transformation for these prisoners. Life skills were then incorporated into the education process along with the teachings of Industrial skills to allow
these Indians to seek employment. Pratt’s success with the prisoners worked and afforded the
References: Anderson, Stephanie. 2000. We Were not the Savages: Commemorating Survival and Loss at the Carlisle Indian School. http://www.danielnpaul.com Bear, Charla Bruchac, Joseph. “Indian Rights.” Jim Thorpe: The World’s Greatest Athlete, edited by Tom Weidlinger, 71-79. Lillian Lincoln Foundation, 2006. Eisenmann L. 1998. Historical dictionary of women 's education in the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group. Trennert, Robert A. 1983. From Carlisle to Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of the Indian Outing System, 1878-1930. Pacific Historical Review, 52, no. 3 (Aug). http://www.jstor.org/stable/3639003 Witmer, L.F [ 2 ]. Anderson, Stephanie. 2000. We Were not the Savages: Commemorating Survival and Loss at the Carlisle Indian School [ 6 ]. Trennert, Robert A. 1983. From Carlisle to Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of the Indian Outing System, 1878-1930 [ 8 ]. Witmer, L.F. 1993. The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1879-1918. Cumberland County Historical Society.