Carlisle Indian Industrial School Research Pages.

(1879 - 1918)

"The common schools
are the stomachs of the country
in which all people that come to us
are assimilated within a generation.
When a lion eats an ox,
the lion does not become an ox
but the ox becomes a lion."
...Henry Ward Beecher*

"If the Great Spirit had desired me
to be a white man
he would have made me so
in the first place.
He put in your heart
certain wishes and plans;
in my heart he put
other and different desires.
Each man is good
in the sight of the Great Spirit.
It is not necessary,
that eagles should be crows."
..Sitting Bull (Teton Sioux)

Tom Torlino, 1883, on arrival to Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Tom Torlino, Navajo. Carlisle Indian School 1886 - 3 years after arrival

INTRODUCTION

These pages are designed, written and executed
with the purpose of offering glimpses
into the Carlisle Indian School and its history.

The Carlisle Indian School's mission was to shape identity.

In its infancy, that shaping meant to transform American Indian children
to resemble their so-called civilized American brothers and sisters.
As the experiment progressed, that purpose shifted to one of "influence"
rather than "transformation," to quote Francis Leupp,
U.S. Indian Commissioner, 1904.

It is our purpose to respectfully honor those students
and their descendants who lived the experiment,
to celebrate with those who prospered from it,
and to grieve with those whose lives were diminished by it.

This is a history that belongs to all Americans
- the identities of all Americans
are shaped by the Carlisle experiment.

Much of the text on these pages reflect the collaborative efforts of
Barbara Landis and Genevieve Bell, and are not associated
with the Cumberland County Historical Society.
Our express purpose in keeping this history alive is to
encourage historians to envigorate a troubling conversation
and to deliver
the Carlisle Indian School student names
to their respective nations.

- Barbara Landis

I am grateful for the generous support
of these pages by the

VIOLA WHITE WATER FOUNDATION

and any research fees or donations may be made to:

Viola White Water Foundation
PO Box 126128
Harrisburg PA 17112

*THE RED MAN, VolumeX, No. 6, July and August, 1890.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Needs Help after Devastating Ice Storm. Please Help! January 28, 2010

Thorpe Film to Premiere in NYC November 19

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Jim Thorpe