One Big Family

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Six Indian Chiefs at Roosevelt's 1905 Inaugural Parade, courtesy Library of Congress

Six Indian Chiefs at Roosevelt's 1905 Inaugural Parade, courtesy Library of Congress

Beginning shortly after the Civil War, the U.S. government realized that it needed to solve the “Indian Problem.” Debate raged for years concerning the capabilities of Indians, but eventually the consensus was that Indians could be assimilated into American culture.

Many people sincerely believed that Native Americans would be best served by adopting white culture. That meant owning their own land, farming and raising their own food, going to school, learning a trade, and learning English.

Assimilation also meant giving up spiritual practices, tribal customs such as communal ownership of land, and leaving behind traditional ways of dress, speaking, and relating to the greater world. Native Americans were pressured to join the U.S. culture, but only on its terms.
Learning Carpentry at Haskell Indian Junior College (1900-1924) courtesy Library of Congress

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

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

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

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Insensitivity, Part Two

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Mentally Defective Child, 1913, courtesy Library of Congress

Mentally Defective Child, 1913, courtesy Library of Congress

People (of all races) tended to be insensitive to the mentally ill. Institutionalized patients were lucky to be called “unfortunates” or something similar, but were just as frequently referred to as “defectives.”

Moron, imbecile, idiot, and other words that today we cringe to hear, were used frequently and had clinical meanings that denoted particular degrees of intelligence. However, to call someone a moron, for instance, instantly belittled the person, whether it was meant clinically or descriptively.

Americans frequently found humor in mental deficiency, and in the 1940s a comic book called “Little Moron,” written by Abbott Hoecker and Clydene Oliver (Heck and Ilda) surfaced. “Little moron” jokes were popular for years, though they don’t seem to be as acceptable nowadays.

Little Moron Comic, 1940s

Little Moron Comic, 1940s

Sizstor, A Little Moron Character

Sizstor, A Little Moron Character

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Labeled Inferior

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Anti-mascot logo

Anti-mascot logo

Labels such as Native Americans, American Indians, First Peoples, and other names for the indigenous people of the American continent, are an attempt to repudiate the negative terms frequently used in the past.

During the period when the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians existed, labels in use to describe Native Americans included: injun, savage, redskin, wild indian, and squaw or buck, among others. Names indicate status, and these insensitive terms denoted the status in which Native Americans were held while they were being assimilated into U.S. culture. Denigrating terms reinforced the idea that native cultures were “bad” or inferior to the white one. Even when whites tried to use a more flattering term like “noble savage,”  they were at least unconsciously callous.

The controversy around the labels Native American and American Indian as a referencing term has become less heated. Polls show that either term tends to be acceptable. A preferred method of reference is by tribe: “This is Joe, a Seminole Indian,” for example.

Satirical Representation of Indian Culture, courtesy Library of Congress

Satirical Representation of Indian Culture, courtesy Library of Congress

Reservation Cartoon

Reservation Cartoon

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An Edict and An Exit

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Priest With Children at Indian Boarding School, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Priest With Children at Indian Boarding School, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Robert G. Valentine served as commissioner of Indian Affairs from June 1909 to September 10, 1912. Valentine ran into trouble when he issued his “religious garb” order, without prior approval from the secretary of the Interior. The order forbade anyone to display religious garb or insignia in Indian schools and missions. Though his edict applied to all religious orders, the primary people affected were Catholics.

His move backfired, and President Taft directed the secretary of the interior to revoke the edict. Valentine ended up resigning his position September 11, 1912, and a compromise measure was approved by the secretary: though no one currently working would be fired, there would be no further hiring of teachers who insisted on wearing religious garb. Valentine was investigated by Congress after his resignation, but was not prosecuted after being found guilty of six charges.

Valentine became a respected labor mediator, before dying in 1916 at the age of 44. The tiny community of Truxton Canyon, Arizona, changed its name to Valentine in 1910, to honor commissioner Valentine.

Drexel Indian School, White Earth, courtesy the archives of St. John's Abbey

Drexel Indian School, White Earth, courtesy the archives of St. John's Abbey

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Spare No Expense

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Indian Office , Washington, DC, circa 1920, courtesy Library of Congress

Indian Office , Washington, DC, circa 1920, courtesy Library of Congress

Each year, the House of Representatives conducted hearings on the Indian Appropriation Bill, to approve funding for all the expenses associated with schools and reservations. The Canton Asylum for Insane Indians also fell under this bill.

In 1912, commissioner of Indian Affairs, Robert G. Valentine, supplied information about the asylum’s expenditures the previous year. In 1911, the facility had been allocated $25,000, but only spent $20, 524.81. (Canton Asylum’s superintendent, Dr. Harry Hummer, was determined to come under budget each year).

Employee costs were highest, at $10, 791.18, and their subsistence came next at $4, 066.88. The next two most expensive items were construction and repairs, and then heat, light, and power.

Stationery and office supplies came to $205.88, and “miscellaneous” at $271.99.

The cost for medical supplies for the year: $172.13. Below is a picture of the medical staff at Tulalip Indian School; there are several student nurses besides the staff doctor and nurse. At the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, the superintendent was also the doctor and the only medical provider. Nurses were not employed there until nearly the end of the facility’s existence.

Medical Staff, Tulalip Indian School, 1912, courtesy Library of Congress

Medical Staff, Tulalip Indian School, 1912, courtesy Library of Congress

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Teach Your Natives Well

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Book for Indian Mothers

Book for Indian Mothers

There was no subject at all, it seems, in which the Indian could not benefit from a little instruction. The pamphlet at the left (created by the Department of the Interior) began with a friendly letter from the commissioner of  Indian Affairs, Cato Sells.

It advised Indian mothers not to feed their babies on demand, but by the clock. It also discouraged strapping babies into the traditional cradle, so they could be carried on the mother’s back.

The pamphlet did warn about serious diseases rampant within Indian communities, like smallpox and consumption. People who might be infected with consumption (TB) were advised not to swallow their spit, as it could then carry the disease to the stomach and bowel. With more practicality, it advised all Indians to get vaccinated for smallpox.

Baby in Cradle, Department of Interior pamphlet

Baby in Cradle, Department of Interior pamphlet

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A Working Society

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Navajo Woman at Work on Blanket, (between 1890-1920), courtesy Library of Congress

Navajo Woman at Work on Blanket, (between 1890-1920), courtesy Library of Congress

Like most other societies, Native Americans usually incorporated well-defined gender roles within their various groups. Men hunted, fought in battle, negotiated treaties and agreements, and made decisions about moving.  Men were chiefs, medicine men, and priests, though women could also take on these roles at times.

Women raised children, farmed if the society were agricultural, tanned skins and preserved food. Though their home-making roles were similar to white women’s, Native American women typically had more power. In Cherokee society, women owned land. Plains Indians traced their lineage through their mothers. Iroquois women controlled their families and could initiate divorce, and Blackfoot women owned the tipi in which their families lived. One important difference between Native American and white societies was the respect women received for their contribution to the home.

Returning War Party, courtesy Library of Congress

Returning War Party, courtesy Library of Congress

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Home Sweet Home

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Mud Lodge (Winter Home) courtesy Missoury Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library

Mud Lodge (Winter Home) courtesy Missoury Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library

Though teepees often represent Native Americans’ homes, they are merely a stereotype. Native American housing actually reflected the land and climate in which various peoples lived, their lifestyles, and the building material available. Earthen lodges (hogans, sod houses) were advantageous in harsh climates because the earth would protect families from severe weather. They were also a good choice in areas without thick trees.

Some tribes established camps that could be quickly dismantled and moved; they relied on structures like teepees and wickiups. Nations that settled in one spot, however, could build sturdier, more permanent structures. The Pueblo Indians in the desert southwest took advantage of easily procured mud and straw to build thick adobe complexes that were meant to last for years.

Sac and Fox Bark House, circa 1885, Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library

Sac and Fox Bark House, circa 1885, Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library

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Nipped in the Bud

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State of Sequoyah, 1905, courtesy McCasland Map Collection, Oklahoma State University

State of Sequoyah, 1905, courtesy McCasland Map Collection, Oklahoma State University

After unassigned lands in Indian Territory were taken to form Oklahoma Territory in 1890, it became obvious that white settlement would continue in that area. By 1902, representatives from the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole) were proposing statehood for Indian Territory, which still existed in the eastern part of present day Oklahoma. The new state would be called Sequoyah, after an esteemed Cherokee man who had developed the Cherokee alphabet.

A constitutional convention met in 1905. Delegates drew up a constitution, established boundaries, and elected delegates to petition Congress for statehood. Easterners pressured president Theodore Roosevelt not to consider this idea, and Roosevelt eventually decided that only one state could enter the union: Oklahoma. Today, Oklahoma has the second-largest native population of any state.

William Henry Davis Murray, White Delegate to Sequoyah Convention

William Henry Davis Murray, White Delegate to Sequoyah Convention

Chief Pleasant Porter, Sequoyah Convention Chair

Chief Pleasant Porter, Sequoyah Convention Chair

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