1879: First off-reservation boarding school for Native children opens

Congress authorizes the establishment of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. The school's first superintendent, Captain Henry Pratt, selects an abandoned army barracks as a school building. Pratt, who advocates “Americanization” and cultural assimilation, famously states, “Kill the Indian and save the man.”

“Almost immediately our names were changed to those in common use in the English language ... I was told to take a pointer and select a name for myself from the list written on the blackboard. I did, and since one was just as good as another, as I could not distinguish any difference in them, I placed the pointer on the name Luther.” —Luther Standing Bear, My People, the Sioux, 1928, concerning his first experiences at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879

Theme

Federal-Tribal Relations, Native Rights

Region

Northeast