The Carlisle Indian Industrial School (established in 1879) has become an infamous school that attempted to eradicate the indigenous way of life. Lt. Richard Henry Pratt began the school as a way to educate the students and used his motto "Kill the Indian, but save the man" to justify his goal of Americanizing the children at the school. He ran the school with military teachings, and the students were either drafted or enlisted into the school. It wasn't the only school that catered to this way of thinking but it was the most famous, and within its halls people from humble beginnings went on to change their world. The alumni of the institution has included teachers, soldiers, nurses, store clerks, butchers, carpenters, farmers, ranchers, mechanics, waitresses, doctors, actors, professors, professional athletes and important tribal leaders.
The Sports Heroes of Carlisle
The first athleate to be discussed, and most well known of these alumni is the famous Jim Thorpe (Pottawatomi/Sac & Fox). He went from reservation child, to Carlisle football player, to professional baseball figure, a known Olympic Track medalist, and silent movie actor. Coach Glen "Pop" Warner aided the Carlisle football team for a number of years. He was not a graduate of Carlisle, but did dedicate a section of his life to helping students achieve their best at many institutions. One of the students under his watchful eye was Jim Thorpe.
Another recognized name is Charles Bender or "Chief" Bender (Chippewa). He played for the Philadelphia Athletics as a pitcher from 1903 to 1917, after he was expelled from Carlisle in 1902. In 1953, he was inducted as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Leon Miller "Chief" (Cherokee) was class of 1915. He graduated as an engineer, and his first big job was the installation of a safe at the CHASE Manhattan Bank. He was a lacrosse coach at City College of New York for 30 years, and became only 1 of 3 native people to be honored as a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Americanized Leaders and Politicians
Chauncey Yellow Robe (Lakota) was part of the early years of the Carlisle graduates, and was class of 1895. For many years he taught military tactics in over half a dozen Indian schools around the nation. He attended the World's Fair as part of the entertainment, and was even in the first Native American cast silent movie, the Silent Enemy. Later in life, he became the chief of his people. In 1927, he contemplated running for Congress, but died before he was able to begin his campaign. Sylvester Long (rumored to be Blackfoot, enrolled as half-Cherokee, thought to be a fraud) was also in the movie, the Silent Enemy, as the hero. Sylvester Long went on to call himself Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance. During his life, he wrote and published an autobiography, which was self titled, and it is considered that it was written at the high point of his career.
Andrew Cuellar (Absentee Shawnee) graduated from Carlisle in 1918, and died in 2002 as the last authenticated survivor of Carlisle. During his life after graduation, he worked for the Ford Motor Company. He left the company to marry and get a job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (B.I.A.) on the Menominee Reservation. He then was transferred to the B.I.A. offices in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He finished his career as a B.I.A agent in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Educators and Doctors of Merit
Another early year Carlisle alumni was Doctor Josiah Powlas (Oneida), class of 1891. When he graduated, he was first a teacher at an undisclosed day school, and went to college and medical school. After medical school, he became a doctor and worked as Agency doctor in the Mission Hospital at Oneida. As time went on, he became a chairman of his township, and the President of Carlisle Alumni Association. His last title was a member of the Executive Committee of the American Indian Association.
Few people know the history of the Puerto Rican population that lived at Carlisle for a number of years. One successful student from this country was Doctor Juan Jose Osuna. Doctor Juan Jose Osuna attended Carlisle from 1901 to 1905. He then returned to Puerto Rico to work at the University of Puerto Rico, and become a leading scholar and educator, who co-founded the University Editorial House. His book, A History of Education in Puerto Rico, has continued to be used as a necessary college text book by the University of Puerto Rico, in Puerto Rico. Another Puerto Rican of notoriety is Enrique Urrutia. As soon as he graduated from Carlisle, Urrutia joined the Puerto Rican Provisional Regiment and became a part of the first group of Puerto Rican officers in the United States Army and retired as a colonel after serving in both of the World Wars.
These people are just an example of the children who were taken from their homes, made to forget their cultures, their languages and their families. Some of them did just that; they left home, never to return. Others decided to take their experiences at Carlisle and other industrial schools and bring their tribal people into the modern era. The schooling at Carlisle Indian Industrial School was not the best education, but it did sow the seeds of change that would continue to grow far after it closed in 1918.
- Carlisle Indian Industrial School Archives Includes the newsletters of the Indian Helper, the Red Man And Helper, the Red Man, the Indian Craftsman, the Carlisle Arrow, and the Arrow.
- Carlson, Paul H. (1998). The Plains Indians. Texas A&M University Press.
- Fowler, Loretta. (2003). The Columbia Guide to: American Indians of the Great Plains. New York, New York: Columbia University Press.
- Rosa, Sonia. The Puerto Ricans at Carlisle Indian School.
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