Resources Page

American Memory Resources:

American Memory Collections:
Most of the materials used in this lesson are drawn from the following collections:

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest

Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian: Photographic Images

History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Collection of the Denver Public Library

The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals

Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991
 

American Memory Special Presentations:

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

Native American Women
This special presentation from the Denver Public Library offers a gallery of daily life for late-19th-century Native American women of the plains and the desert southwest.

American Memory Special Feature:

Immigration
This feature begins with an examination of what happened to the Native American as waves of immigrants arrived from other nations.

Other American Memory Collections used in this lesson:

Florida Folklife from the WPA Collections, 1937-1942

Omaha Indian Music

Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century

National Archive and Records Administration's Archival Research Catalog (ARC)

Directions for searching ARC, the Archival Research Catalog:

1. Click on the "Search" button on the ARC main page.
2. In the box "enter keywords" enter your search phrase.
3. Examples of search words to try: "Indian" and "boarding schools" or "Carlisle" (or school name of your choice) and "school".
4. Click on the "Go" button.
5. Click on "Digital Copy Available" to view the item.

Other Internet Resources:

Capt. Richard C. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans
"Kill the Indian, and Save the Man": Capt. Richard C. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans

Challenges and Limitations of Assimilation
This site uses quotations from interviews with former students and text from school reports to provide a better understanding of the boarding school experience.

Federal Education Policy and Off-Reservation Schools, 1870-1933
The Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University offers a discussion of federal education policy toward Native Americans and the experiences of American Indians who attended off-reservation boarding schools.

Naming the Indians
In this essay written in 1897, Frank Terry, Superintendent of U.S. Boarding Schools for Crow Indians in Montana, describes how and why American Indian students were given new names. The text is provided by the University of Virginia Library.

Simon Pokagon on Naming the Indians
Simon Pokagon, 1830-1899, a chief of the Potawatomi in Michigan, responds to Frank Terry's plan for renaming American Indians.

Internet Sites for Former Indian Boarding Schools:

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Chemawa Indian School

Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School

Santee Normal Training School

Sherman Indian Boarding School

Print Resources:

Teachers and upper grade students who want to gain a deeper understanding of the boarding school experience will find these books helpful.

Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928. Lawrence: University of Press of Kansas, 1995.

Archuleta, Margaret L., Brenda J. Child, and K. Tsianina Lomawaima. Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences, 1879-2000. Phoenix, Arizona: Heard Museum, 2000.

Bloom, John. To Show What an Indian Can Do: Sports at Native American Boarding Schools. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

Child, Brenda J. Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.

Ellis, Clyde. To Change Them Forever: Indian Education at the Rainy Mountain Boarding School, 1893-1920. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.

Horne, Esther Burnet. Essie's Story: The Life and Legacy of a Shoshone Teacher. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.

Johnston, Basil H. Indian School Days. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.

Lomawaima, K. Tsianina. They Called It Prairie Light: the Story of Chilocco Indian School. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994.

Riney, Scott. The Rapid City Indian School, 1898-1933. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999.

Trennart, Robert A. The Phoenix Indian School: Forced Assimilation in Arizona, 1891-1935. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.

Books for Students, Middle School and Up:

Eastman, Charles A. (Ohiyesa). From the Deep Woods to Civilization: Chapters in the Autobiography of an Indian. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1916.

Eastman, Charles A. (Ohiyesa). Indian Boyhood. New York: McClure Phillipps & Co., 1902.

LaFlesche, Francis. The Middle Five: Indian Schoolboys of the Omaha Tribe. Omaha: University of Nebraska Press, 1900.

Harper, Maddie. "Mush-hole," Memories of a Residential School. Toronto: Sister Vision Press, 1993.

Books for Students, Fourth Grade and Up:

Littlefield, Holly. Children of the Indian Boarding Schools. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 2001.

Standing Bear, Luther. My Indian Boyhood. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1931.

Sterling, Shirley. My Name is Seepeetza. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1992.

Zitkala-Sa. American Indian Stories. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, [1985], c1921.

Videorecording:

In the White Man's Image. "The American Experience." PBS Video. Alexandria, VA, 1998.