Tag Archives: Haskell Indian Junior College

One Big Family

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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