Boarding School Blues - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is based on an essay written by Jacqueline Fear-Segal who is a professor of American Studies. Her focus is an attempt to unveil the power struggle and strategy used to control and regulate the happenings of daily life at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Carlisle had a periodical published that was called the Indian Helper. The author explains that the purpose of the paper and its "sugar-coated" stories was to win the hearts and minds of the public for the purpose of ensuring continued government funding. However, the main audience for the publication was the students. The Indian Helper featured stories about activities, events, and the progresses of the Indian students at the school.

Mysteriously, the paper was edited by the “Man on the Bandstand." There was a white bandstand in the center of campus and this was where Richard H. Pratt and others would "watch over" the campus and regulate daily happenings. The identity of the “Man on the Bandstand" was never revealed. HE remained an ominous and looming presence amongst the student population. In the recounts of school happenings, the “Man on the Bandstand” would interject many critique and opinion on how the students could improve.

I can only imagine how it must have been for a student to read such a paper. I would think that it might be something to look forward to. They would most likely be somewhat excited to see pictures of themselves and their friends. Reading intently with a smile on your face…and then…JAB! Woven through the article you would find sneakily “hidden” criticisms. “You can be better.” “…and don’t forget to…”  And there goes your smile. 

The Indian Helper was an unfortunate and clever example of an underhanded attempt to control the student population. Psychological warfare. One of many strategies used to subdue the Children of Carlisle Indian School.

Photo:  Lieut Richard Henry Pratt, Founder and Superintendent of Carlisle Indian School, in Military Uniform and With Sword 1879.  (Wikipedia credit)

***Click on the title of the post and you will be transported to a web page detailing the history of Carlisle Indian School written by Barbara Landis.  At the bottom of the page is a tab titled, "Virtual Tour."  Click on this and scroll down for an excerpt of the Indian Helper.

Boarding School Blues - Chapters I & II

"Late-nineteenth-century policy makers, convinced that the alternatives facing Indians were racial extinction or forced assimilation, were determined to effect the latter.  The mechanism for accomplishing this objective was education.  On and (especially) off-reservation boarding schools were deemed the ideal instruments for lifting Indian children out of the depths of "savagism" and setting them on the path to progress, that is, "civilization." (Trafzer, Keller, and Sisquoc, 2006)

Chapter one is titled, "Beyond Bleakness" and discusses a minimum of six possible reasons to explain why Indian children might have choosen to attend Indian Boarding Schools.  The chapter describes documented accounts of these possible reasons.  They are listed as follows:

1. "...a welcome escape from desperate economic and social conditions..."
2. "...learning the ways of the white man would enhance..opportunity to make a living wage."
3. "...it offered an oportunity for gaining firsthand knowledge about the world beyond the reservation."
4. extra curricular programs
5. "...day to day humorous moments..."
6. "...the capacity of students to create a social world of their own making."

Chapter two is titled, "We Had a Lot of Fun, but of Course, That Wasn't the School Part." 

"Writing to the commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1899, Rainy Mountain's superintendent, Cora Dunn, put the matter bluntly: "Our purpose is to change them forever."  Places like Rainy Mountain, to echo David Wallace Adams's insightful phrase, proposed to use education for extinction." (Trafzer, Keller, and Sisquoc, 2006)

Although life and schedules would be rigorous for Indian Boarding students, it was impairative to have a sense of humor and find creative ways to maintain your sanity.  "...activities relieved the monotony of school life and enabled students to maintain some sense of autonomy." (Trafzer, Keller, and Sisquoc, 2006)

I can only wonder what it would be like to be part of a "new generation" of Indians.  (And the first generation of acculturated Indians)  The ways of their parents would be no longer as the children of boarding schools began new lives after their graduations.  Hmmm...

***Click on the title of the post and you will linked to "American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many"
by Charla Bear.  This story and intervew which includes Floyd Red Crow Westerman was featured on National Public Radio on May 12, 2008.

Simply...Thank you!

I would like to thank Ms. Hamann for restoring this blog. I have recently experienced major technical difficulties and had all but given up. I appreciate your talent and would like to recognize your tenacity. Truly, these qualities are what make you unique. Graciously, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and look forward to continuing the semester with my peers.


Kara L. Four Bear

Chilocco - The Final Chapter

Dormitory for intermediate boys, Chilocco Indian School, Chilocco, Okla. The back of the postcard reads: Dear mom, this is a picture of home One. When I come home I will tell all about it. From Your Son. This was sent to Delylah Edwards in Tulsa, OK.  (Photo Credit: Chilocco Indian School Alumni website)

It has been a great pleasure to read "They Called it Prairie Light - The Story of the Chilocco Indian School."  The book was not only informative, but also heartfelt.  I most enjoyed reading the personal interviews of the students themselves.

Whether working or learning, the students stole time to live like children.  Roasting stolen corn, creating home brew, slipping away to hear some music, or having stomp dances on the prairie...the children personalized their experiences in whatever manner they could.  They are forever bound in many different ways by their one common experience, attending Chilocco. 

***Click on the title of the post and you will be linked to the Chilocco Indian School Alumni website.  There you may browse photos and read about the history of Chilocco.