Student Research Worksheet

1. What was the name of the first federally supported off-reservation American Indian boarding school?

1. Who established the school?

 

2. Why was the school established?

 

Refer to these sites for information regarding the first boarding school:

Assimilation Through Education: Indian Boarding Schools in the Pacific Northwest, by Carolyn J. Marr. This essay examines the beginning of the Indian boarding school movement and the operation of northwestern American Indian schools.

Indian Education at Carlisle. [The New England magazine./Volume 18, Issue 2, April 1895.]
Written in 1895, this article gives an account of the establishment of Carlisle Indian Industrial School and background information on Captain Richard Henry Pratt. Includes illustrations and photographs.

Origin and History of work at Carlisle.[ The American missionary./ Volume 37, Issue 4, April 1883]
This article was written by Captain Pratt, the founder of Carlisle.

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School site features the school's history, photographs and stories of students who attended Carlisle, and a virtual tour of the school.

Native Americans and the Law
The Central Michigan University Library offers a subject guide to Native Americans and the Law.

2. Describe life for an Indian student at the boarding schools.

1. What kind of work-related skills were assigned to boys and what work skills were assigned to girls?

 

2. How were they expected to dress and to wear their hair?

 

3. What were they expected to learn besides vocational skills?

 

4. What were some of the students' recreational activities?

 

5. How long did they stay at the boarding schools?

 

6. How often were they allowed to go home?

 

Refer to these sites for information regarding life at the schools.
Challenges and Limitations of Assimilation
This site uses quotations from interviews of former students and text from school reports to provide a better understanding of the boarding school experience.

Native Americans and the Law
The Central Michigan University Library offers a subject guide to Native Americans and the Law.

Assimilation Through Education: Indian Boarding Schools in the Pacific Northwest
This special presentation is found within the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest collection. "Carolyn J. Marr , Librarian at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, examines the operation of northwestern Indian schools in her essay on one of the most effective means government officials used in their attempt to eradicate traditional native institutions."

Former Indian Boarding School Websites
Scroll down on the Resources Page for information on the establishment and history of individual schools.

3. Do you think that the government's experiment with assimilating Indians into American culture was successful? Give reasons for why or why not.

Refer to the Resources Page for help regarding this question.

Further Research: What would you like to know?

List two questions you have about American Indian boarding schools that weren't answered in the readings.