Boarding School Blues

by Trafzer, Clifford E.

• ISBN13: 9780803294639
• ISBN10: 0803294638
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

Like the figures in the ancient oral literature of Native Americans, children who lived through the American Indian boarding school experience became heroes, bravely facing a monster not of their own making. Sometimes the monster swallowed them up. More often, though, the children fought the monster and grew stronger. This volume draws on the full breadth of this experience in showing how American Indian boarding schools provided both positive and negative influences for Native American children. The boarding schools became an integral part of American history, a shared history that resulted in Indians "turning the power" by using their school experiences to grow in wisdom and benefit their people.The first volume of essays ever to focus on the American Indian boarding school experience, and written by some of the foremost experts and most promising young scholars of the subject,Boarding School Bluesranges widely in scope, addressing issues such as sports, runaways, punishment, physical plants, and Christianity. With comparative studies of the various schools, regions, tribes, and aboriginal peoples of the Americas and Australia, the book reveals both the light and the dark aspects of the boarding school experience and illuminates the vast gray area in between.Clifford E. Trafzer is a professor of American Indian history, director of public history, and director of graduate studies at the University of California, Riverside. His many books includeAs Long as the Grass Shall Grow and Rivers Flow: A History of Native Americans. Jean A. Keller is an adjunct professor of American Indian studies at Palomar College in San Marcos, California, and a private cultural resources consultant. She is the author ofEmpty Beds: Indian Student Health at Sherman Institute, 1902-1922. Lorene Sisquoc is the curator of the Sherman Indian Museum in Riverside, California. She teaches Native American traditions to high school students and instructs extension classes in Native American studies.

Author Biography

Clifford E. Trafzer is a professor of American Indian history, director of public history, and director of graduate studies at the University of California, Riverside. His many books include As Long as the Grass Shall Grow and Rivers Flow: A History of Native Americans. Jean A. Keller is an adjunct professor of American Indian studies at Palomar College in San Marcos, California, and a private cultural resources consultant. She is the author of Empty Beds: Indian Student Health at Sherman Institute, 1902–1922. Lorene Sisquoc is the curator of the Sherman Indian Museum in Riverside, California. She teaches Native American traditions to high school students and instructs extension classes in Native American studies.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
Preface	xi
Introduction
Origin and Development of the American Indian Boarding School System	1	(34)
CLIFFORD E. TRAFZER, JEAN A. KELLER, AND LORENE SISQUOC
1. Beyond Bleakness
The Brighter Side of Indian Boarding Schools, 1870-1940	35	(30)
DAVID WALLACE ADAMS
2. "We Had a Lot of Fun, but of Course, That Wasn't the School Part"
Life at the Rainy Mountain Boarding School, 1893-1920	65	(34)
CLYDE ELLIS
3. The Man on the Bandstand at Carlisle Indian Industrial School
What He Reveals about the Children's Experiences	99	(24)
JACQUELINE FEAR-SEGAL
4. Putting Lucy Pretty Eagle to Rest	123	(8)
BARBARA C. LANDIS
5. Loosening the Bonds
The Rapid City Indian School in the 1920's	131	(24)
SCOTT RINEY
6. Hail Mary
The Catholic Experience at St. Boniface Indian School	155	(19)
TANYA L. RATHBUN
7. Learning Gender
Female Students at the Sherman Institute, 1907-1925	174	(13)
KATRINA A. PAXTON
8. Through a Wide-Angle Lens
Acquiring and Maintaining Power, Position, and Knowledge through Boarding Schools	187	(15)
MARGARET CONNELL SZASZ
9. Indian Boarding Schools in Comparative Perspective
The Removal of Indigenous Children in the United States and Australia, 1880-1940	202	(30)
MARGARET D. JACOBS
10. The Place of American Indian
Boarding Schools in Contemporary Society	232	(11)
PATRICIA DIXON AND CLIFFORD E. TRAFZER
About the Editors	243	(2)
Index	245