In the 1910s, the United States government’s policy toward Native Americans was one of forced assimilation, and its most powerful tool was the off-reservation boarding school. These schools were founded on an inhumane principle of eliminating the “Indian” to save the man. This means children were taken from families, usually by force, and put into boarding schools. At these schools, their hair would be cut, they would be dressed in military-style uniforms, and forced to abandon their native tongue. These gripping photographs show this profoundly complex time in American history and were often used as marketing material to show everyday Americans what kind of “progress” was being made by the policies. Looking back, these photos tell the heartbreaking story of a systematic effort to erase an identity, rather than a governmental success.
#1 Fort Shaw Indian School Basketball Team 1904 World’s Fair
Image source: Jessie Tarbox Beals
#2 Group Of School Girls, Many Indigenous, At Fort Spokane
Image source: National Park Service
#3 Before Entering School
Image source: sapiens.org
#4 While Teaching On The Hopi Reservation In Arizona, Bratley Likely Posed This Image Of His Student Ruth Honavi Having Her Hair Made Up In The Butterfly Style
Image source: sapiens.org
#5 Hotograph Of Children And Grounds Of Carson/Stewart Indian School
Image source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
#6 Young School Grirls Attending Sewing Class At Albuquerque Indian School
Image source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
#7 Students At The Carlisle Indian Industrial School In Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Image source: J.N. Choate, courtesy of the Cumberland County Historical Society
#8 Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania
Image source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
#9 Female Students Posed Outside, Sac And Fox Indian Schools, Oklahoma, Circa 1910s
Image source: Newberry Library
#10 Carlisle School Students
Image source: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University
#11 Chiricahua Apaches Four Months After Arriving At Carlisle
Image source: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University
#12 A Children’s Program; Washington’s Birthday
Image source: National Park Service
#13 Native American Girls Were Trained To Be Productive, Subservient Homemakers In The Mold Of Victorian Norms
Image source: sapiens.org
#14 Boys Were Schooled In Farming, Carpentry, And Metalworking
Image source: sapiens.org
#15 Living Conditions At The Schools Were Stark. Children Lay Three To A Bed At The Cantonment Boarding School On The Cheyenne And Arapaho Reservation
Image source: sapiens.org
#16 At The Cantonment Boarding School, Children Erected Play Tipis That Allowed Them Some Measure Of Staying Connected To Their Plains Cultures
Image source: sapiens.org
#17 Very Early Class Of Young Boys With Flags At The Albuquerque Indian School
Image source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
#18 School Girls Participating In A Festival At The Albuquerque Indian School In New Mexico
Image source: National Archives and Records Administration
#19 Young Native American Children Learn To Sing A Song At The Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Image source: National Museum of the American Indian photo
#20 Group Of Indian Boys From The Mission School In Sitka
Image source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
#21 Students In An Art Class At Phoenix Indian School
Image source: Office of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior
#22 Little Girls Praying Beside Their Beds, Phoenix Indian School, Arizona
Image source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
#23 Mary R. Hyde, Matron, And Students
Image source: J. N. Choate
#24 Teacher And Young Boys Posed For Photograph At A Native American Boarding School
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
#25 The Photographer Is Unknown, But It Was Likely Taken By Frank Fuller Avery, The Superintendent Of Fort Spokane Indian Boarding School
Image source: National Park Service
#26 Children Working In A School’s Garden
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
#27 A Photo Of Home Economics Class At The Pipestone Indian Training School In Minnesota With Several Girls In Aprons Working On Kitchen Tasks
Image source: Pipestone County Historical Society via Minnesota Digital Library
#28 Students And Staff Of The Pipestone Indian Training School In Minnesota Posing For A Photo By A School Bus
Image source: Pipestone County Historical Society via Minnesota Digital Library
#29 Hotograph Of Children And Grounds Of Carson/Stewart Indian School
Image source: Bureau of Indian Affairs
#30 Photograph Of Children And Grounds Of Carson/Stewart Indian School
Image source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Follow Us
