Board of Indian Commissioners, courtesy Library Company of Philadelphia
The federal government has long provided for inspection in most areas over which it has control, and Indian reservations were no exception. In 1904, the legislature published Laws and Treaties, Vol. I, which outlined laws, policies, and procedures pertaining to its “Indian Affairs” responsibilities. Continue reading
Morningside Hospital Patient Ward, circa 1935
When Dr. John Maurice Grimes inspected mental institutions in the U.S. (see last two posts), he discovered that the federal asylum in Washington, DC, (St. Elizabeths) was overcrowded. Continue reading
Living Quarters in an Insane Asylum
Nearly every patient in an insane asylum wanted out. Asylum superintendents often put up roadblocks to this when they didn’t feel a patient was well enough to go home; there are many accounts of clashes between the asylum’s medical staff advising against removal, and patients’ families who thought they looked or seemed well enough to come home. Continue reading
Portrait of An Insane Woman, by Hugh Welch Diamond, 1852
Treatment for mental disorders was generally hit-or-miss in most insane asylums, and many superintendents embarked on experimental procedures simply because there weren’t any reliable ways to help patients. Some treatments were more bizarre than others, and unfortunately, some of the treatments aimed at female patients were based on mistaken physiology-based causes of insanity. Continue reading
Mounted Dakota Sioux Indian Police, Rosebud Agency, 1896
Peter Thompson Good Boy was sent to the Government Hospital for the Insane (St. Elizabeths) even though he lived in South Dakota and should logically have been sent to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians. Except for his accusation that a neighbor had instigated his diagnosis and deportment, Good Boy displayed no signs of psychosis, exhibited exemplary behavior at St. Elizabeths, and had received an offer of employment. Continue reading
Law West of the Pecos Judged Horse Thieves Harshly, photo taken of Langtry, Texas in 1900, courtesy National Archives
After being accused of horse theft, Peter Thompson Good Boy met an Insanity Commission in South Dakota and was adjudged insane. Oddly, he was sent to the government hospital in Washington, DC instead of the much closer Canton Asylum in SD. Continue reading
Rosebud Indian Agency, courtesy South Dakota State Historical Society
Many patients at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians did not receive a formal hearing or doctor’s examination before being sent to the asylum. Authorities at least went through the motions with Peter Thompson Good Boy.
He was accused of stealing a horse on the Rosebud Reservation, and spent some time in the Deadwood, SD jail while awaiting trial. Continue reading
Blackfoot Family
Many (white) observers over the years believed that insanity was rare among Native Americans. Their conclusion was born out during the Indian Bureau survey that tried to assess the need for a special asylum for insane Indians; among the thousands and thousands of Indians living on reservations, fewer than a hundred could be identified with mental problems. Continue reading
Asylums Were Usually Open to Visitors
Until much later, inspections of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians tended to focus on its physical assets rather than the patients (see last two posts). When Inspector Breid made his detailed comments about the state of the asylum’s floors in 1912, Superintendent Hummer’s reply to his concerns was just as detailed.
Interior, First Floor, Staircase and Gallery, Welfare Island, Insane Asylum, New York, New York County, courtesy Library of Congress
The Canton Asylum for Insane Indians was inspected many times throughout its life. However, inspectors tended to focus on “things” rather than people. In a January, 1912 report that discussed some sewer problems at the asylum (see last post), Inspector Jacob Breid also discussed–in detail–the physical condition of the building. Continue reading