Chilocco-Chapter 3

Photo: Native American Hop pickers, Snoqualmie, Washington, 1886, Theodore Peiser Photo, Special Collections, University of Washington.

It was interesting for me to learn how the lack of funding for the Indian Boarding schools eventually perpetuated and often made urgent the task of recruiting and retaining students. 

I was personally offended by the creation of the "opportunity" class.  The "assessments" of students were made by uninterested and unqualified staff that were driven by ulterior motives of making the budget work.  This was further made apparent by offering students travel vouchers to go to Chilocco but not for traveling home for the summer months.  If your family was poor, they might have never have seen you.

However, I found myself smiling after reading about the independence eked by the students, no matter how small a victory, by eventually being able to purchase some clothing items of their own.  Having the "in" clothing and shoes.  The little things that remind me of what can make one happy in their youth...

Click on the title of the post to link to an assignment given to college students regarding Capitalist Transformation.  I stumbled upon this while browsing the internet and was intrigued by the power and message of a few of the photographs.  These pictures reflect to me... "The idea of an "appropriate" education for Indian fit educators' preconceived notions of racial minorities' "appropriate" place in American society, as manual laborers supporting America's agrarian (and industrial) sector."  (Lomawaima, 1994)