Johnston, Frances Benjamin, photographer. Carlisle Indian School, Carlisle, Pa. Chapel Service , 1901. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2004676455/.
This photograph offers valuable insight into the history of Native American assimilation in both the United States and Canada. It depicts Native American children forcibly removed from their reservations and sent to one of 408 residential schools in the United States or 139 residential schools in Canada. Operated by various religious organizations, these schools were founded on the philosophy famously articulated by Captain Richard Henry Pratt in his 1892 speech at the National Conference of Charities and Correction in Denver, Colorado: “Kill the Indian and save the man.”
In 1879, Captain Richard Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, which became the framework for future federal boarding schools in the United States. Native American children were taken from their reservations and sent to these federal boarding schools. Pratt’s philosophy, to “kill the Indian” to “save the man,” meant that administrators of the schools forced Native Americans to speak English, wear Anglo-American clothing, cut their hair, change their names, and act according to US values and culture. Assimilation into popular American culture was the goal, and students were segregated by gender, the boys wearing military-style uniforms and the girls wearing European-style dresses. Considered “savages,” children were malnourished, beaten, and forced into isolation if they attempted to cling to their well-known and time-honored Native American traditions.
This photograph displays what is presumed to be a chapel service taking place with young Native American men at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a boarding school for Native American children, that operated from 1879 to 1918 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
- How might this image reflect the broader policies of assimilation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
- What do the individuals’ clothing and posture suggest about their roles or status in the scene?
- How are the individuals in this photograph positioned, and what does this suggest about authority, power, or hierarchy in the scene?
- How might the fact that this is a staged or posed photograph influence its historical reliability?
Common Core Literacy Standards, Ohio Learning Standards for Literacy in History
RI.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
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Students can cite strong textual evidence from accompanying texts or descriptions of the photo to support an analysis of assimilation policies.
RI.9-10.7: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
- Evaluate the integration of the visual information (photo) with textual data (e.g., accounts from Native American students or government documents).
Literacy.W.9-10.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
- Integrate information from multiple sources (e.g., photo analysis, texts, interviews with Indigenous voices).
RH.9-10.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending
to such features as the date and origin of the information.
- Date and Origin: Provide students with the background that this is a classroom at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a government-run boarding school established in 1879 to assimilate Native American children into white culture. Ask students to analyze visual details: Who is present? What is the setting? What do the details suggest about the time period and purpose of the school?
RH.11-12.3: Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
- Provide students with textual evidence, such as:
- Excerpts from Richard Henry Pratt (founder of the school), who said, “Kill the Indian, save the man.”
- Testimonies or writings from Native American students who attended the school.
- Ask students to evaluate which explanation (the school provided Native Americans with practice education and opportunities or the school was designed to enforce cultural erasure and maintain social hierarchies) is better supported by the combination of the textual evidence and the visual evidence in the photo.
- The Carlisle Industrial Indian School, the model for other federal boarding schools for Native American children, provides essential context for understanding the intergenerational trauma experienced by Native American communities in the United States and Canada. Knowledge of the federal boarding school system is crucial for fully appreciating works such as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, There, There by Tommy Orange, and poetry by Indigenous authors.
- This photograph can also be paired with the widely available “before” and “after” images of Native American students at these boarding schools to foster deeper analysis. For example, a discussion question could ask: What do the differences between these images reveal about the reality versus the intent of assimilation policies?
- Additional Discussion Questions:
- What parallels can be drawn between historical assimilation policies and current debates about cultural preservation?
- How can we use history to guide efforts toward reconciliation and healing?
- How do the practices of the Carlisle School relate to current discussions about cultural identity and education?
- What parallels can you draw between the assimilation efforts depicted here and other historical or contemporary efforts to reshape cultural identities?
- What effects might forced assimilation have had on the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, and spiritual practices?
- How does acknowledging generational trauma contribute to understanding and reconciliation in society?
- Historical Context of Forced Assimilation: The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was a tool for cultural erasure, where Native American children were removed from their families, prohibited from speaking their native languages, and forced to adopt Euro-American customs. This raises ethical concerns about government-sanctioned cultural genocide.
- Emotional and Intergenerational Trauma: For Native American students or those with connections to Indigenous communities, discussing this history might evoke feelings of sadness, anger, or trauma. The legacies of these boarding schools, including the abuses committed against children simply for being Native American, continue to affect Indigenous peoples today.
- Portrayal of Native Students: In the photo, the children appear disciplined and assimilated, which might provide a sanitized or misleading view of the boarding school experience. It risks obscuring the reality of mistreatment, abuse, and loss of identity endured by these children.
- Omission of Indigenous Voices: If the discussion focuses solely on the government’s intent or the image itself without centering Indigenous perspectives and experiences, it risks perpetuating a narrative that marginalizes the victims of these policies.
- Educating the Indians - a female pupil of the government school at Carlisle visits her home at Pine Ridge Agency/from a sketch by a corresponding artist. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation South Dakota, 1884. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90712911/.
- This illustration shows a female student returning to her reservation after attending the Carlisle Indian School, juxtaposing her Western attire with her family’s traditional lifetype. This image explores themes of disconnection and identity conflict.
- Flandreau Indian School, South Dakota, choir. Flandreau South Dakota, None. [Between 1909 and 1932] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90711013/.
- This is a photo of students posing as part of a school choir. This photo highlights aspects of cultural indoctrination, such as how music and other arts were used to promote assimilation.
- “‘Kill the Indian in Him, and Save the Man’: R. H. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans | Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center,” n.d. https://carlisleindian.dickinson.edu/teach/kill-indian-him-and-save-man-r-h-pratt-education-native-americans#:~:text=This%20resource%20includes%20the%20full,and%20Correction%2C%20held%20in%20Denver.
- “‘Kill the Indian, Save the Man’: Remembering the Stories of Indian Boarding Schools,” n.d. https://www.ou.edu/gaylord/exiled-to-indian-country/content/remembering-the-stories-of-indian-boarding-schools.
- “The Carlisle Indian Industrial School: Assimilation With Education After the Indian Wars (Teaching With Historic Places) (U.S. National Park Service),” n.d. https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-carlisle-indian-industrial-school-assimilation-with-education-after-the-indian-wars-teaching-with-historic-places.htm.
- Dawn Cordeiro, Mel Rising, ed. “Abinoojiinyiwi.” The Anchor, November 14, 2022. Accessed December 8, 2024. https://www.anchorweb.org/post/abinoojiinyiwi.