*** United States school uniform clothes : Native American Indian boarding schools








Native American Boarding Schools

Native American boarding school
Figure 1.--Here we see Native American children gathered outside their boarding school. Unfortunately we do not know the name of this particular school. Bedsteads can be seen through the window. This photograph is undated, but we believe was taken in the 1910s. We do not know where the school was located. If you look closely, you can see one little girl in the front row is blind and wears smoked glasses. Some of the boys wear overalls, others shirts and pants. The girls wear white dresses. Notice the older boy. I am guessing that the school assigned an older boy to look after the younger children. Click on the image for a closeup.

Boarding schools were also established in various Western states. I believe the schools were also adminstered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but have little information at this time. Authorities took Native American children from their parents and attempted to educate them to accept the the cultural values of main-stream America. We are not sure when these schools were first established or when they were finally closed. We thought that the image probably dates from the 1910s. A reader writes, "The bobbed hair on the girls looks more like the 1920s, as do the coveralls worn by many of the boys." I think the reader is probably correct. We would guess the early 1920s. Often both the children and parents objected. The children were thus common taken by force and often brutally treated if they did not quickly conform to the school regime. The schools were commonly located far from where the children lived to make it impossible for the children to return home. They were forced to cut their hair and speak only English. They were punished if found speaking their own language. The great Jim Thorpe attended one of these schools. This goal of the schools amounted to destroying Native American culture. Colorado University professor Ward Churchill has done some useful research on conditions at these schools. Unfortunately his political activism and ethical lapses undermines his academic work. Thus while his research on this subject is detailed, one has to view it with some caution. Many of these schools had uniforms, but we do not yet have details. The children look to be wearing basic uniforms, although there are notable differences. Some of the boys wear overalls, others shirts and pants. The girls wear white dresses. Some of these dresses are identical, bit others have some differences. It was thought at the time to be in the children's best interests. The history of these schools is, however, now seen as an embarassing chapter in the history of American education. The experiences of the children have been described by several authors. It was a wrenching experience. And authors have described the poor conditions at the school. Quite a number of children died at these schools or in efforts to return home. The one question I have not seen addressed is a comparison of how these children who went to these schools did in comparison to children who stayed home on the reservations.

History

The first Native American boarding school located off a reservation was the Carlisle Indian School founded in 1878. The school was opened in an abandoned military post in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The founder was an American Army captain without any educational training. Captain Pratt's back ground was running a military prison for Native Americans. Pratt was assigned to oversee 72 Apache prisoners who were intened at Ft. Marion near St. Augustine, Florida. The Apaches were a fierce Southestern tribe that continued to resist after the other tribes had been subduded. Captain Pratt opened a school at the prison for the Apache inmates. The Army permitted thepache inmates to go home (1878). By this time he considered himself to be an expert in working with Native Americans. He tried to convince some of the Apaches to continue their schooling ans suceeded with 22 of them, some of who enrolled at Hampton Institute in Virginia. Hampton Institure was a black school. Presumably white schools would not have accepted them, especially in the South. Pratt resigned his commission and decided to persue the ideas he developed about educating Ntive Americans. The Carlisle Indian School was an experiment in how to deal with Native Americans. Its location in Pennsylvania was far from the Western Reservations where the children lived. Carlisle was judged to be a success. Boarding schools became an important part of The Federal Government's Indian policy. Most followed the model of the Carlisle School. It is believed that over 100,000 Native American children attended these schools. There were about 500 such schools, lthough many of these schools were small and operasted only a few years. The prasctice began to decline in the 1920s and the last schools were closed in the 1930s.

Location

Boarding schools were also established in various Western states. The schools were commonly located far from where the children lived to make it impossible for the children to return home. Often the children did not even return home for summer vacation. Parents rarely visited because of the distances involved and in any case were discouraged by the schools in doing so.

Federal Government

I believe the schools were also adminstered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but have little information at this time. Chrity and religious groups were also involved. Native American religion was not permitted atvthe schools. The children had to accpt Christianity and religious instruction was part of the school program.

Program

Authorities took Native American children from their parents and attempted to educate them to accept the the cultural values of main-stream America. Pratt explained that his objective ws to "kill the Indian, not the man". The children were sometimes taken with the patent's permission and other times by force. Often both the children and parents objected. The children were expected to quickly conform to the school program. They could be brutally treated if they did not conform to the school regime. The children's hair was cut, they were given uniforms, and only allowed to speak English. They were punished if found speaking their own language. This goal of the schools amounted to destroying Native American culture. Colorado University professor Ward Churchill has done some useful research on conditions at these schools. Unfortunately his political activism and ethical lapses undermines his academic work. Thus while his research on this subject is detailed, one has to view it with some caution. It was thought at the time to be in the children's best interests. The history of these schools is, however, now seen as an embarassing chapter in the history of American education.

Chronology

A wealth of photographic matrial exists documenting the Native American boarding schools, from the earliest years in the 1870s. Administrators at the school in fact liked to take before and after portraits of the children. fascinting set of photographs can be found at An Indian Boarding School Photo Gallery. The first children arriving at these schools had long hair and traditionl clothing. We thought that the image on the page here probably dates from the 1910s. A reader writes, "The bobbed hair on the girls looks more like the 1920s, as do the coveralls worn by many of the boys." I think the reader is probably correct. We would guess the early 1920s.

Clothing

Many of these schools had uniforms, but we do not yet have details. The children look to be wearing basic uniforms, although there are notable differences. Some of the boys wear overalls, others shirts and pants. The girls wear white dresses. Some of these dresses are identical, but others have some differences.

Individuals

The great Jim Thorpe attended one of these schools.

Individual Schools

We have found images of several Native American schools. Some of the scools are well known, such as the Carlisle Indian School. Other schools we have found no information. There were several different kinds of Native American schools. There were schools on the reservations, some of which were boarding schools. There were the off reservation boarding schools we are discussing on this page. And there were segregated public schoolss for Indians. Most of these schools were located in southern states. There were also regular public schools in which sime Native American children may have attended.

Assessment

The experiences of the children have been described by several authors. It was a wrenching experience. And authors have described the poor conditions at the school. Quite a number of children died at these schools or in efforts to return home. The one question I have not seen addressed is a comparison of how these children who went to these schools did in comparison to children who stayed home on the reservations. This is in part becuse some of the authors involved are more intent on assessing these schools on modern standards and painting a bleak picture rather than producing a ballanced assessment. In addition to not comparing the children's experiences with those of children at home, authors also do not mention thee rather severe conditions at boarding schools for even upper class children. Another useful comparison is conditions at facilities like contemprary orphanages. A good example of how these schools are presented is a site which tells us, "Indian boarding school students wore military uniforms and were forced to march. They were given many rules and no choices. To disobey meant swift and harsh punishment." Now this sounds terrible, but the author offers no perscpective. In fact many boarding schools for children from well-to-do families in America were military boarding schools where boys wore uniforms and these schools also had many rules and harsh discipline. In addition, drill in the 19th and early 20th century was considered both a form of exercize and a way of instilling descipline. It was used at many schools beside Native American boarding schools. We do not mean to say that the Native American boarding schools were nice places to go to school, but we do think that some of the criticisms of these schools are critisisms of 19th century education rather than the boarding schools themselves. There is plenty to criticize about these schools, but with an author attempts to undersand the general nature of 19th century education, then his work has to be viewed with some caution. Most of the problems associated with these schools flow from the fact that they were boarding schools nd their prents poorly educated and poweless. Thus they were particularly vulnerable. The same is true in some orphanages at the time. The cultural differences of the children and the desire of authorities to force the children to adopt white culture put the children in an especially difficult situation.







HBC





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Created: 12:59 AM 2/4/2006
Last updated: 4:51 AM 8/1/2006