The Problem With Indian Boarding Schools

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Learning Carpentry at Haskell Indian Junior College (1900-1924) courtesy Library of Congress

The Meriam survey took about a year to complete, and team members visited numerous Indian boarding schools. In general, they found schools overcrowded, the food poor, and child labor rampant. The team also observed that, “In a number of schools the girls sleep at night like prisoners with the windows nailed down and the door to the fire escape locked so that by no chance may boys enter or girls leave the building.”

Spokane Schoolgirls, Fort Spokane, courtesy Library of Congress

The Meriam Report concluded that government boarding schools acted against the development of wholesome family life. The original intent of the boarding school system was to educate the children and then absorb them into the white population. The absorption plan failed, but  family ties were often broken. “Many children today have not seen their parents or brothers and sisters in years,” said the report.

Interestingly, a report written by assistant commissioner of Indian Affairs, Edgar B. Meritt, in 1926 stated: The Indian Bureau is conducting one of the most efficient school systems among the Indians to be found anywhere in the United States or the civilized world.”

Indian Boys Doing Laundry, Carlisle School, 1901, courtesy Library of Congress

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The Problem of Indian Administration

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Health Care to Native Americans and Meriam Commission, courtesy National Institutes of Health

Health Care to Native Americans and Meriam Commission, courtesy National Institutes of Health

The Meriam Report (see last post) summed up its findings in the first chapter. The survey team found that the causes of then-current Indian conditions were so interrelated that they couldn’t be teased out from their effects. Instead, cause and effect formed a vicious circle of poverty and lack of adjustment. The team decided it was best to simply report on the conditions it found. The following are abbreviated examples:

1. Health. The health of the Indians as compared with that of the general population is bad.

2. Living Conditions. The prevailing living conditions among the great majority of the Indians are conducive to the development and spread of disease. With comparatively few exceptions the diet of the Indians is bad. It is generally insufficient in quantity, lacking in variety, and poorly prepared.

— The housing conditions are likewise conducive to bad health.

3. Economic Conditions. The income of the typical Indian family is low and the earned income extremely low.

4. The Causes of Poverty. The economic basis of the primitive culture of the Indians has been largely destroyed by the encroachment of white civilization.

The Meriam Report explained its findings in great detail, to the embarrassment of federal officials.

Teepee, Mescalero Reservation, 1936, courtesy Library of Congress

Teepee, Mescalero Reservation, 1936, courtesy Library of Congress

Typical Indian Home (Flathead Reservation, 1909), courtesy Library of Congress

Typical Indian Home (Flathead Reservation, 1909), courtesy Library of Congress

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The Meriam Report

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Secretary of the Interior, Hubert Work, tried to get a feel for conditions within the Indian population under his control. Muckrakers at the time were divulging a number of abuses, and after several unsatisfactory attempts to get to the bottom of them, Work contacted the Institute for Government Research.

Hubert Work

Hubert Work

In 1926, the Institute gathered a team of experts headed by Lewis Meriam, to survey reservations, schools, and other Indian Bureau facilities. Other team members were: Ray Brown, Henry Cloud, Edward Dale, Emma Duke, Herbert Edwards, Fayette McKenzie, Mary Mark, W. Carson Ryan, Jr., and William Spillman.

The team had little of the partisanship or bias that typical investigators took to the field, and on February 21, 1928, they presented Work  with a report called “The Problem of Indian Administration” that didn’t mince words. My next two posts will detail some of their findings.

 

Sample of Meriam Report

Sample of Meriam Report

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Insane Asylum Population

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Pennsylvania Institute for Feeble-Minded Children Drum and Bugle Corps, circa 1900

Pennsylvania Institute for Feeble-Minded Children Drum and Bugle Corps, circa 1900

The Canton Asylum for Insane Indians had a fairly stable population, since so many patients had epilepsy or other chronic conditions. Dr. Hummer also felt that “defectives” should not be released even if they were doing well under his care, as they could have problems later.

In 1927, Hummer had a number of patients who did not fit the profile of most asylum patients. Amelia Moss was 10 years old, Henry Frenier was 12, Richard Fairbanks and E.F. Mahkimetass were 14. Winona Faribault (born to patient Elizabeth Faribault) was 9 months old, and had been already diagnosed as an imbecile.

Kentucky Institute for Feeble Minded Children

A Case of Paralysis in an Insane Child, 1899, courtesy National Institutes of Health

A Case of Paralysis in an Insane Child, 1899, courtesy National Institutes of Health

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Insane Asylums and Economics

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Lakota Camp, 1891, probaby near Pine Ridge Reservation, courtesy Library of Congress

Lakota Camp, 1891, probably near Pine Ridge Reservation, courtesy Library of Congress

Though insane patients were not always embraced by the communities around asylums, communities were often glad to have the institutions near them. Asylums meant jobs, and even small ones could have an economic impact. When the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians opened, residents desired the available positions.

Andrew Hedges, a full-blooded Santee Sioux Indian and the asylum’s first patient, arrived to the delight of the asylum staff on the last day of 1902. They met him at the train station, though this was probably the only time the entire staff turned out for a new patient. The greeters were Mrs. Seely (the financial clerk’s wife) was the matron, Mrs. Turner (the assistant superintendent’s wife) was the seamstress, W.F. More was the attendant, and Hannah Mickelson was the cook.

Canton’s newspaper noted that “Notwithstanding the most specific promises and a petition largely signed by prominent republicans of our city, and county, Mrs. Naylor was not given a position at the asylum.”

By 1927, 21 people were employed at the asylum besides the superintendent. Though Canton residents appreciated the asylum’s jobs, the work was often unpleasant. Attendants came and went with regularity. Dr. Hummer found the lack of trained, dedicated professionals a particularly frustrating aspect of running the asylum.

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Canton, SD Sports

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Flandreau Indian School, courtesy Library of Congress

Flandreau Indian School, courtesy Library of Congress

Citizens of the small town of Canton, SD found plenty of ways to amuse, educate, and uplift themselves. Their baseball team, the Sunflowers, enjoyed a rousing game of ball and both hosted and visited nearby opposing teams.

On a fine Saturday in May of 1904, the Sunflowers played a team from Rock Valley and beat them soundly: 23 to 1. A reporter’s derisive comment was that “if they should want another game with Canton they had better play the Canton Juniors.”

Canton’s team played a game the following Tuesday with Flandreau Indian school’s students. Flandreau began the game. The pitcher began well; however, errors in the infield allowed four quick scoring runs. Canton made its own share of errors (6 to Flandreau’s 9), but won the game at 10 to 7. The paper noted that the Flandreau boys were “a splendid lot” who showed good sportsmanship.

Rain washed out that week’s Wednesday game, which was postponed until Thursday. Another regular game was scheduled for that Friday with the Flandreau school, which took place too late for the outcome to get into press.

American Indian Boys Baseball Team in Idaho, courtesy Library of Congress

American Indian Boys Baseball Team in Idaho, courtesy Library of Congress

Albuquerque Indian School Baseball Team, 1911, courtesy National Archives

Albuquerque Indian School Baseball Team, 1911, courtesy National Archives

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Wild South Dakota

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Mescalero Apache and Mountain Lion Pelt, circa 1883, courtesy Libary of Congress

Mescalero Apache and Mountain Lion Pelt, circa 1883, courtesy Library of Congress

Though Canton, SD could boast of a beautiful college and insane asylum, along with other substantial structures, it remained on the edge of the wilderness. The state was still a wide-open, empty place, and even settled areas weren’t far removed from the frontier environment.

The March 12, 1909 issue of The Sioux Valley News (published each Friday) noted that mountain lions were encroaching on settled territory in the Black Hills. The paper stated, “The lions have so far confined their meals to chickens, cats and other small live stock, but as several of the animals have come almost into town and seem unusually bold, hunting parties are being organized to rid the community of their presence.”

Hand-picking Corn in South Dakota, early 1900s

Hand-picking Corn in South Dakota, early 1900s

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Power at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians

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O.S. Gifford

O.S. Gifford

Asylum superintendents were powerful by the nature of their jobs (see previous post). The situation at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians especially consolidated power in its superintendent, simply because there was no other likely person to share it.

When Canton Asylum opened on the last day of 1902, superintendent O.S. Gifford (a non-medical man) used the services of his assistant superintendent, Dr. John Turner. Though Gifford was ultimately responsible for the asylum and could call all the shots–which he sometimes did to the detriment of patients–he realized that some authority had to go to Turner as the only medical person at the facility.

Dr. Harry R. Hummer

Dr. Harry R. Hummer

Harry R. Hummer replaced Gifford in 1908. Dr. Turner resigned after less than a year, fed up with Hummer’s arrogance and dismissive attitude. In August of 1909, Hummer received another assistant superintendent, Dr. L.M. Hardin, from the Leech Lake reservation. Early in 1910, Hardin quit in frustration. After that, Hummer never employed another physician at the asylum.

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Power at an Insane Asylum

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Dr. John Gray

Dr. John Gray

Superintendents were responsible for almost everything at an asylum. Though their responsibility might bog them down with administrative details, it also made their word law in the asylum. John Gray, superintendent of the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, was arguably one of the most powerful of these powerful men.

Gray fired anyone on his staff who disagreed with him, and carried on ill-natured vendettas against fellow doctors and superintendents whose policies he disliked. Gray enjoyed the limelight and was criticized for spending too much time testifying in trials as an expert witness. He edited the American Journal of Insanity for many years, but was often accused of refusing to publish articles about insanity and its treatment when they differed from his own.

Gray spent 34 years at Utica. In 1886, after testifying as an expert witness, Gray returned to his office in the evening. Henry Remshaw, who may have been temporarily insane, walked into Gray’s office and shot him in the face. Gray never fully recovered from the attack and spent his remaining four years of life in poor health.

New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica

New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica

Utica Crib, used for disruptive patients

Utica Crib, used for disruptive patients

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The Incurable Insane

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Waupaca County Asylum for the Chronic Insane, circa 1902, courtesy Wisconsin History and Genealogy website

Waupaca County Asylum for the Chronic Insane, circa 1902, courtesy Wisconsin History and Genealogy website

When asylums were first built, alienists had high hopes that their patients would be quickly cured. Most felt that if families could bring patients in soon after the onset of symptoms, therapy and a changed environment would be helpful. Superintendents tried to get patients, then, during the “acute” phase or within a year of their becoming insane.

Families didn’t usually act this quickly. They often tried to keep family members at home until their symptoms became too difficult to manage. Asylums began to get patients who had been insane for a long time, and there was not as much hope for a cure. At that point, asylums began to differentiate between acute and chronic care. They spent most of their energy with patients they thought stood a good chance of returning to society. Asylums provided little more than custodial care to the chronic insane, and institutionalization became a lifelong fate for these unfortunate patients.

Institutional Check

Institutional Check