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♦♦♦♦
A DEEP MAP
OF
HASKELL INDIAN NATIONS
UNIVERSITY
by
Joseph Claunch, Sheila Crawford
Aaron Edenshaw, Richard Lary
Samatha Pete & Blaine Wise
♦♦♦♦
1
�Printed at the Navarre Hall Printing Center
May, 2006
Haskell Indian Nations University
Lawrence, Kansas 66046
All regulations pertaining to Federal printing policies apply.
Views expressed in the essays are those of the authors only and are
not necessarily the views of the university.
2
�♦♦♦♦
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction,
by Denise Low / 4
Mapping Haskell’s History of Land Transaction,
by Richard Lary / 6
First Students at Haskell: 1884-1889,
by Samantha Pete / 19
Haskell Boarding School Era: Transition Years of 1900 to 1902,
by Sheila Crawford / 28
A Decade of Change: Haskell Activism in the 1970’s,
by Blaine Wise / 39
American Indians in Public Schools: A Continuing Challenge,
by Joseph L. Claunch / 49
Spirits Residing on Haskell Campus,
by Aaron Edenshaw / 65
♦♦♦♦
3
�4
�♦♦♦♦
Introduction
by Denise Low
Seniors enrolled in American Indian Literature Seminar, a symposium
requirement for the American Indian Studies bachelor degree program, completed
research projects on the topic of a deep map of Haskell Indian Nations University. The
term “deep map” comes from cultural geography, meaning a multidimensional chart of a
specific site, including geology, history, literary history, natural history, weather,
interviews, journalism, and science. This vertical view of a small area unpacks into
complex interweaving of natural facts and human experiences. Student Richard Lary
defines a deep map as “the layout of the land, but also mapping the history of a certain
place through stories and the feelings held by people that are some how connected to this
place.” The human dimensions as well as the physical contours all create a descriptive
gazetteer.
The responses to this topic show Haskell as a dynamic location. Janet Allen
interviewed Haskell community members who grew up at Haskell, as children of staff
members. They reconstruct, in their conversation, a Haskell that no longer exists as a
physical reality, but rather as a shared set of memories. Many of the buildings they knew
are gone, and many of the people, yet their remembered reality continues to exist. The
interviews are available at the Haskell Cultural Center archives, on video tape, rather than
within this publication.
The first essay, “Mapping Haskell’s History of Land Transactions”
by Richard Lary, catalogues the literal mapping the land and landscape known as Haskell
Indian Nations University. He reconstructs the original 280-acre holdings given to
Haskell by Lawrence townspeople in 1884; the parcel additions as Haskell grew to over
1011 acres; and the diminished boundaries as U.S. termination of Indigenous tribes
policies in the 1950s reduced landholdings. Today Haskell is 319 acres. His maps, charts,
and references to Douglas County quick deeds give a needed foundation for
understanding the legal title to the land base.
Samantha Pete’s essay “First Students at Haskell: 1884-1889” summarizes the
hardships endured by both staff and students during the first years of the institution.
Government policy mandated a European-derived and Christian, rather than Nativecentered, curriculum. Readers may find it surprising how much interaction occurred
between townspeople and Haskell during that era. Charles Robinson, the first governor of
Kansas, was a superintendent. University of Kansas students hosted Haskell students for
Bible study classes on Sunday afternoons. This interaction continued into the 1890s,
when James Naismith, innovator of basketball, coached basketball at Haskell as well as
KU. Pete gives the early Haskell history, which is the reference point for all subsequent
eras. Sheila Crawford's essay “Haskell Boarding School Era: Transition Years of 1900 to
1902” shows some of the adaptations Native people made to the school that allowed the
5
�institution to survive. Survival of Haskell is linked with cultural survival and sovereignty
today.
Blaine Wise studies the 1970s era of activism at Haskell in “A Decade of Change:
Haskell Activism in the 1970s” to see what occurrences related to the civil rights issues
of the day. He documents the visits of member of the American Indian Movement to the
Haskell campus and to Lawrence. The Longest Walk of 1978 stopped at Haskell, and
AIM members Russell Means, Dennis Banks, and Clyde Bellecourt were among the well
known figures who participated. The student newspaper The Indian Leader suggests
some of the tension surrounding these events as well as the death of a Haskell student at
the hands of the Lawrence police in 1977.
Joseph L.Claunch examines the public school environment of the present day to
see if assimilationist school designs, such as that of 19th century Haskell, have changed.
He reviews public educational policies from colonial times to the present, and then
interviews Lawrence school employees to gain perspective on Native students’
experience in 2006. Many of these students are children of Haskell students, staff, and
faculty. He finds that “90% of the total Indian student population attends public school
systems, like Lawrence Public School District 497,” and in the public schools, Native
students are isolated as small minorities, less than 1% of most schools’ total school
population. Many Haskell college students come from similar public school situations. In
Lawrence, 482 Indian students make up 4% of the total enrollment. Claunch examines
their educational experience.
A final response to this research topic is Aaron Edenshaw’s essay on spirits and
ghosts who continue to have existence in Haskell stories. Few people have spent time at
Haskell without becoming aware of this type of experience. Several articles document the
spirits, and within the oral tradition of the school, even more stories abound. This
dimension is not usually thought of as part of an atlas, yet the cemetery, Pocahontas Hall,
and other places on campus have well known associations with specific supernatural
experiences.
At the end of the semester, Lary summarized his experience:
I have learned through the Deep Mapping project of Haskell campus that
applying this concept to a certain place such as Haskell adds character as
well as new dimensions to the school as a whole. It allows for a broader
view of Haskell, and lets the stories and experiences of people that have
been influenced by Haskell over its long history live on. In my opinion the
best thing about Deep Mapping Haskell is that it shows to those who have
no affiliation with Haskell that it is more that just land and buildings. It is
a living breathing entity to anyone that has experienced Haskell.
These six essays, and the videotaped interviews deposited in the Cultural Center archives,
add to the richness of the Haskell experience. I am grateful to the student writers for
letting me be part of this process.
Denise Low
Haskell Indian Nations University, May 2006
6
�♦♦♦♦
Mapping Haskell’s History of Land Transactions
By Richard Lary
The amount of changes that the Haskell campus has seen is great, so in order to
narrow the scope of research, this paper focuses on the campus land boundaries. The
amount of land held by Haskell was at one point in time much larger than the present day
campus. To gain an understanding of exactly what areas of land surrounding campus
were at one time owned by Haskell, sectional maps and descriptions of land sales are
utilized to show how Haskell obtained the land and what events occurred to cause the
land to no longer be in the possession of the school. The land holdings of the school
throughout the years grew to be close to three times the amount currently held, and much
land was lost, but the 2006 campus still is larger than it was upon its opening in 1884. In
our society land is one of, if not the most, valuable possessions. That being said, it is of
great importance that the remaining land held in the possession of Haskell be cherished
and steps taken to ensure possession so Haskell can live on for the benefit of Native
people for generation to come.
Haskell History
Haskell, originally founded to aid in the assimilation of the American Indian into
American society, has transformed over its 122-year history to become a university that
empowers Native people. Haskell is a very special place to anyone who has ties to it. This
is precisely why those who care for Haskell and wish to see it last for future generations
need to have an understanding of Haskell’s past and what changes it has endured, to learn
from the past to preserve for the future. To better understand the land issues that surround
the school, one must take into consideration the background of Haskell and how it
became the university that it is known today.
The school known as Haskell was not known as that when its doors officially
opened in 1884. Indian Industrial Labor Institute is what the school was first known as
until about 1885. The name “Haskell” was officially chosen for the school by the
Secretary of the Interior in honor of Dudley C. Haskell, representative of the Second
Congressional District of Kansas, who had been permitted to suggest the location of the
school in Lawrence (Haverty 3). For the first ten years Haskell’s academic training did
not go past the eighth grade. The students were taught mostly how to work in certain
trades such as tailoring, wagon-making, blacksmithing, harness-making, painting, shoemaking, and farming for the boys and cooking, sewing and homemaking for the girls.
According to the 1929 Haskell Arch dedication program, “A ‘normal school’ was added
because teachers were needed in the students’ home communities. By 1927, the
secondary curriculum had been accredited by the state of Kansas and Haskell began
offering post-high school courses in a variety of areas” (Haskell 2).
7
�These post-high school courses were not valued as much when Haskell made a
switch in the focus of its curriculum. According to Haverty, “Industrial training became
an important part of the curriculum in the early 1930’s and by 1935 Haskell began to
evolve into a post-high school vocational technical institution. The secondary program
was gradually phased out and the last high school class graduated in 1965. The school
began the process of converting into a junior college. In 1970, Haskell Institute officially
became Haskell Indian Junior College. In 1992, after a period of planning for the 21st
century, the National Haskell Board of Regents recommended a new name to reflect its
vision for Haskell as a national center for Indian education, research, and culture
preservation. In 1993, the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs (U.S. Department of the
Interior) approved the change, and Haskell became, “Haskell Indian Nation University”
(Haskell 2).
This brief summary of Haskell’s history documents the changes in academic
focus over the years. As sure as the academic focus changed over the years, the shape and
size of Haskell’s campus land has also drastically changed. The land holdings seem to
change for one reason or another along with academic shifts. Regardless of the reason,
Haskell land holdings have dramatically increased and decreased over its existence. This
brings back the main point, the changes in Haskell’s campus including where Haskell
received the land from, as well as when and to whom ownership was transferred.
Land Transactions History
In 1883, the citizens of Lawrence, Kansas, donated 280 acres on which to erect an
industrial school. Although the land was donated to the United States government, the
citizens of Lawrence originally paid $9,300 for it. Oscar E. Learnard and his wife Mary
E. Learnard conveyed to the United States the 280 acres in a deed, dated April 4, 1883,
less land dedicated to right of way for the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston
Railroad. The deed was approved by the Attorney General on June 7, 1883 and was
recorded in Misc. Records Vol. 2, p.52 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This first area of land that
was donated made up the original campus. Only about half of this 280-acre plot still
remains as a part of Haskell’s campus. The portion of the plot that is no longer in
Haskell’s possession is all wetlands area (Appendix 1).
After this initial donation of 280 acres that make up tract 1 (see tables and maps in
appendix for further information), Haskell obtained 8 addition tracts in the period
between 1884 and 1936. Under the Indian Appropriation Act, tract 2 was purchased from
James W. Alderman and Adeline W. Alderman. This tract consists of 200 acres and was
sold for $17,500 on Jan. 18, 1887. The title was declared valid by the Attorney General
on May 19, 1887, and the deed is recorded Vol. 2 of Deeds, p. 64 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed).
This area, which consisted of 200 acres, still remains a large part of Haskell’s campus,
including the powwow grounds, nature walk, and half of the wetlands area that is still in
Haskell’s possession. The purchase of the land that encompasses tract 2 marks the
beginning of a trend that Haskell went through from 1887 1936. This trend seems to be a
policy of land acquisition (Appendix 1).
8
�The first purchase of land, tract 2, was not the only one made that year. Tract 3
was purchased from Oscar E. Learnard and his wife Mary E. Learnard under the Indian
Appropriation Act. The tract consists of 10 acres and was sold March 7, 1887, for $4,000.
This tract is subject to the right of way claims of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and
Galveston Railroad, and this was approved by the Attorney General on June 3, 1887. The
deed is recorded in Misc. Records Vol.2. p.65 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This land is still a
part of campus and consists of the land on which the Coffin Complex sits, the practice
field, and the land on which the Auditorium, Hiawatha, and Tecumseh sit (Appendix 1).
The next land purchase was not until about three years later. The land that makes
up tract 4 was purchased from Oscar E. Learnard and his wife Mary E. Learnard, under
the Indian Appropriation Act, approved August 19, 1890. This tract was sold on
December 10, 1890 for $7,600 and consists of 153.60 acres. The deed was approved by
the Attorney General February 8, 1891, and it is recorded in Misc. Records, Vol. 2, p.
425 (Dg. Co. Quick Deed). Only a small portion of this tract remains in Haskell’s
possession. This entire area is wetlands and sits on the south side of what is now 31 st
street (Appendix 1).
The next area of land acquired was on the northern side of campus. Tract 5 was
purchased from Fred Messenger Lowe and wife under the Indian Appropriation Act,
approved August 19, 1891. The tract consisted of 9.64 acres and was sold January 31,
1891, for $1,923. The deed was approved by the Attorney General June 19, 1891. Title is
vested in the United States, and the deed is recorded in Misc. Records Vol. 3, p.33
(Dg.Co. Quick Deed). Haskell still remains in possession of most of this plot that holds
Stidham Union, Winona, and the Health Center. The land that the Health Center sits on is
the only part of that tract that Haskell no longer has control over (Appendix 1).
The next area of land added to the campus was on the south side, and it consisted
of all wetlands. Tract 6 was purchased from Anna Johnson and her husband Swan
Johnson under the Indian Appropriation Act, approved May 27, 1902. The tract consisted
of 91 acres and was conveyed to the United States for the amount of $8,000. The title was
declared valid by the attorney General on October 6, 1902 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This
tract of land was the furthest south that the campus has ever gone. None of the land that
tract 6 consisted of is under Haskell control. This area was the southeast border of the
campus, but it was not the only land that made up the southern border of campus
(Appendix 3, Map 1).
There was one more tract that was acquired, which makes up the majority of the
southern border that runs along the Wakarusa River as well as a small portion of land
south of the river, and this would be tract 7. This tract was purchased from William H.
Armstrong and his wife Anna H. Armstrong under the Indian Appropriation Act
approved May 27, 1902. The tract contains 237.40 acres and was sold to the United
States on July 26, 1902 for $21,000. The title was declared valid by the Attorney General
on October 27, 1902, and the Secretary authorized the purchase. The deeds were recorded
in Vol. 5 of Misc. Records. pp.176-177 (Dg. Co. Quick Deed). The small area of land
south of the Wakarusa was no longer in the possession of Haskell when the majority of
that tract transferred out of Haskell’s control (Appendix 3, Map 1).
9
�The purchase was made possible by the provisions of the Act of March 4, 1929.
The sum of $20,000 was appropriated for the purchase of land at Haskell. The land was
purchased from Mary E. Learnard for $19,400. Note how $20,000 was set aside for this
purchase, but somehow only $19,400 went toward the purchase. The discrepancy is
unaccounted for. The tract consists of 30 acres and was sold to the United States on
October 11, 1929. The title was declared valid by the Attorney General on January 6,
1930. The deed is recorded in Deed Book Vol. 28, p. 77 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This tract
consists of the land on which the Haskell Football Stadium sits, and was the last purchase
for about the next seven years (Appendix 3, Map 1).
The area of land that tract 9 consists of was the last purchase of land made by the
United States for use by Haskell. This tract consisted of 1.84 acres and was purchased in
1936. Information on this tract concerning from whom it was bought, and how much
money was exchanged is scarce. This area of land is now the location of the Haskell
Cultural Center. The purchase made to obtain the small area of land marks the end of the
land acquisition trend at Haskell (Appendix 3, Map 1).
Disposals of Land after Public Law 47
Haskell remained in possession of most of this land until 1956. With the
exception of 13.65 acres of tract 7, no land was transferred out of Haskell’s control until
Public Law 47 was passed on June 4 1953. Public Law 47 provided for land transfers of
Federal Indian school real estate:
In 1953 the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 1242 (Public Law 47) which
provided for the exclusive legal method of transferring "Federal Indian
School Property." The law authorized the Secretary of Interior to transfer
Federal Indian School Property up to a maximum of 20 acres per recipient.
(Hatsu)
Under this law, 691.73 Haskell acres were declared surplus and transferred out of Haskell
control from 1956 through 1958. In anticipation of P.L. 47 being passed, Haskell began
to rent tracts of land in Sunflower, where the former ammunitions factory stands.
Sunflower is an area between Eudora and Desoto, Kansas, about 25 miles east on
Highway 40. Haskell started to rent these areas of land, approximately 441 acres, in 1952
until about 1958.
This issue of Haskell renting tracts of land raises the question, if Haskell had to
rent land to accommodate its needs, why was the land in its possession declared as
surplus? Although one can speculate, the answer to this question is unknown. One thing
to take into consideration is that during this period of time that P.L. 47 was passed, the
United States government was acting under a termination of American Indian tribes
policy during the Eisenhower era:
In 1953, the United States Congress and President Dwight
Eisenhower accepted the arguments presented by a small group of
members of Congress and approved a new federal Indian policy designed
to free the federal government from its unique guardianship role over
10
�Indian tribes and to bring about the dissolution of tribes. Formalized in
House Concurrent Resolution108 and Public Law 83-280, the immediate
effect of the legislation was to mandate that Nebraska and four other states
assume civil and criminal jurisdiction over all "Indian country" within
their boundaries. Other states were extended the option of assuming such
jurisdiction. (Norgren)
This policy may account for the decisions to reduce rather than expand land
holdings. No matter what the reason, in 1953 after World War II, this land was declared
surplus and ready to be transferred out of Haskell control. All transactions concerning
Haskell lands from this point on were sales and are referred to in documentation as
“disposals.” These land transaction are the events that have shaped the campus into what
it is today.
The disposals were made pursuant to provisions of the Act of June 4, 1953 (67
Stat. 41; Public Law 47). As a direct result of the passing of this law, Haskell surplus land
was transferred over to various groups and organization around Lawrence. The following
information covers where the land was transferred, what tract the land came out of, and
what it is being used for as of today. The information is summarized in tables and maps
in the appendices.
The City of Lawrence was given 20 acres that were used for Broken Arrow
School on July 24, 1957. These 20 acres came out of the land that Haskell acquired when
tract 2 was purchased in 1887. There was an amount of one dollar attached to this
transaction, but was not for the land, but a transaction fee. (Appendix 3, Map 2).
The Wakarusa Township obtained 5 acres that are being used for the Fire
Department that is located between Broken Arrow Park and the remaining Haskell
campus. The land was transfer on July 24, 1957. This area also came out of Haskell tract
2 that was purchased in 1887. (Appendix 3, Map 2). Douglas County also obtained a 20acre plot out of Haskell tract 2. This area is now known as Broken Arrow Park, which is
located on the corner of Louisiana and 31st Street. The land was officially transferred on
December 23, 1957 (Appendix 3, Map 2). The next transfer was to School District No.
60. The amount of land transferred was 20 acres. These 20 acres came out of Haskell
tract 2, and the transfer was made official on February 14, 1958. This land is now being
utilized as South Junior High, and this is located between Broken Arrow School and
Broken Arrow Park (Appendix 3, Map 2).
The next area of Haskell land that was transferred is located on the south side of
31st running adjacent to Haskell Ave. It was transferred to the Kansas Forestry Fish and
Game Commission on May 29, 1958 and consisted of 20 acres that came out of the
original 280 acres that Haskell was donated in 1883. The land is kept as a wetlands
wildlife reserve, under the state of Kansas’ jurisdiction (Appendix 3, Map 2).
The University of Kansas also obtained a 20-acre area of land directly north of the
plot obtained by the Fish and Game Commission. It is located on the corner of Haskell
Ave and 31st Street. The land was officially transferred on November 3, 1958 and was
11
�part of the original campus land donated in 1883. It is a part of the wildlife reserve
(Appendix 3, Map 2).
The last two transfers that took place are also the biggest and smallest land
amounts out of the 691.73 acres that were transferred out of Haskell’s control. The
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, a federal agency, received the largest transfer of
572.68 from the Department of Interior. This area includes all of tract 7, all of tract 6, the
majority of tract 4, and the remaining wetlands out of tract 1. This is now the area known
as the “Baker Wetlands” (Appendix 3, Map 3).
The last transfer and also the least went to Public Health Services. The small area
consisted of .4 acre and came out of Haskell tract 5. The transfer was made official on
June 27, 1958 and is now the Haskell Indian Health Center (Appendix 3, Map 4).
Conclusion
All these land transfers have shaped Haskell’s campus into what we know today.
Over the years Haskell’s land holdings have gone from the original 280 acres to 1,011
acres and then back down to the 319 acres that make up the campus in 2006. Two-thirds
of Haskell’s campus was lost in less than two years. More research into archives may
reveal changes in government and BIA policies that contributed to this change. This loss
of land raises the question, is Haskell important to us as a Native people, and if it is, what
steps are we going to take to insure that Haskell will be here for future generations?
The information on the purchases and transfers of lands by the United States for
the use of Haskell is cut and dried. Through my research, however, I have found out that
although the facts on the land acquisitions are clear, other information that I found was
not so accurate. I learned just because information is published does not automatically
make it one hundred percent reliable, such as the conflicting information concerning the
date the school was named Haskell.
One conclusion that I have came to by evaluating the facts that surround the
Haskell land dealings is that the school itself does not have any real say in the matter. I
have come across a lot of information concerning the Haskell land holdings over its 122year history. One thing that I have found is that situations surrounding these transactions
lead to questionable business dealings when concerning the buying and transferring of
Haskell lands to the community around Lawrence.
In conducting this research, I have gained a new understanding and respect for
Haskell land. The one thing that made me think—in fact it kind of frightened me—is how
quickly and easily Haskell land was taken out of our control. I say “our” in reference to
Native people, because I believe that Haskell is Indian Land. We as a Native people
know the value of the land that we have lost, and we need to protect and preserve that
which we still retain. So in conclusion, I’ll raise the question once again. Is Haskell
important to us as a Native people? If it is, what will we do to ensure its survival for our
future generations?
12
�Works Cited
Aerial map. Haskell campus, 1966. USDA,NRCS, Lawrence Ks.
Aerial map. Haskell campus, 1975. USDA,NRCS, Lawrence Ks.
Aerial map. Haskell campus, 2005. USDA,NRCS, Lawrence Ks.
Crop rotation map. Haskell campus, 1919. Haines Collection, Haskell University.
Douglas County Quick Deeds. Courtesy of Dr. Haines. Haskell University: Lawrence Ks.
Haines, Dr. Chuck. “Haskell Industrial Labor Institute: An Indian Child Labor School”.
Lawrence Ks: Haskell University, 2006.
Haskell Celebration. Official Program. Lawrence Ks: October 30, 1926.
Haskell Annual Commencement Powwow. Official Program. Lawrence Ks: May 14, 2000.
Hatsu, Su. “The Stolen Indian Wetlands.” Accessed 3 May 2006. <
http://www.larryville.com/articles/SLT/stolen.htm>
Haverty, Thelma D. Buildings on the Haskell Campus: Past and Present. Lawrence Ks:
Interior, Haskell Press, 1975.
Hawkins, Charlie. Private conversation. 10 Feb 2006.
Norgren, Jill. Review of Imperfect Victories: The Legal Tenacity of the Omaha Tribe 1945-1965, by Mark R.
Sherer. Vol. 9 No. 11 (November 1999) pp. 476-478. Law & Politics Book Review.
<http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/scherer.htm>
Ogden, Willy. Private conversation. 10 Feb 2006.
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, memo of understanding with Department of Interior. Kansas Collection,
Spencer Special Collections Library, University of Kansas, 3 Nov. 1958.
Original deeds and other documents are courtesy of Dr. Chuck Haines, Haskell Indian Nations University,
Lawrence.
13
�Appendix A
Haskell Land Transactions
This table list the information involved in the obtaining of land by the Federal
government for the use by Haskell. Basic information over the transactions that were
made laid out in one source is a valuable resource to aid in the understanding of the chain
of events that have shaped Haskell into the area that is known today. Having these facts
in reference source adds order to the information and allows for quick access to certain
dates and facts.
Table No. 1
Section
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 4
No.5
No. 6
No. 7
No. 8
No. 9
Totals
Previous Owner(s) Total Acreage Amount Paid
Oscar and Mary 280 Acres
Donated
Learnard
James and
200 Acres
$17,500
Adeline
Alderman
Oscar and Mary 10 Acres
$ 4,000
Learnard
Oscar and Mary 153.60 Acres
$ 7,680
Learnard
Fred Messenger 9.64 Acres
$ 1,928
Date of Sale
June 7, 1883
May 19, 1887
June 3, 1887
February 6,
1891
June 19, 1891
Anna and Swan
Johnson
William and
Anna
Armstrong
Mary Learnard
91 Acres
$ 6,000
July 16, 1902
237.40 Acres
$ 21,000
July 26, 1902
30 Acres
$ !9, 400
January 6, 1930
Unknown
1.84 Acres
1,013.48
$ unknown
$ 77,508
1936
14
�Appendix B
Haskell Land Disposals
This table covers the land transfers made between Haskell and the surrounding
community. It includes who the land was transferred to, the amount transferred, and the
date that the transfer was made official. This will add in quick access of Haskell land
disposal information.
Table No. 2
Transferred To
City of Lawrence
Wakarusa Township
Douglas County, Kansas
School District No. 60
Kansas Forestry Fish and
Game Commission
University of Kansas
Bureau of Sport Fisheries
and Wildlife
Public Health Services
Totals:
Amount of Land
20.00 Acres
5.00 Acres
20.00 Acres
20.00 Acres
20.00 Acres
Date of Transfer
July 24, 1957
July 24, 1957
December 23, 1957
February 14, 1958
May 29, 1958
20.0 Acres
572.68 Acres
November 3, 1958
November 3, 1958
.4 Acres
678.08
+ 13.65
691.73
June 27, 1958
15
�16
�17
�18
�19
�♦♦♦♦
First Students at Haskell: 1884-1889
By Samantha Pete
When it comes to history of Native Americans, there is certain history that many
people do not know about. Haskell Indian Nations University has a lot of history and has
become a historical landmark in Indian country all over the United States. If asked, most
Native Americans will have said they have either heard of Haskell, attended Haskell or
has had a relative or parent attend. The one thing that most people do not know about is
the very first history of the very first students who attended Haskell or how Haskell was
even established and why. There is some evidence about what students did in their daily
lives or what happened to them while attending Haskell, and after they graduated
Haskell, but this evidence has not yet been told to the public. The public may not also
know how Haskell was established but may know the fact that it was turning the Indian
into the white man. When it comes to the first students at Haskell, those students became
a part of history in the Haskell community and Indian country. Evidence will be provided
if students participated in any events that went on at Haskell and provide almost daily life
activity that each student went through. Also, these students provide the evidence of how
Haskell was established and the main reason why.
The first students who attended Haskell did not know what they were getting
involved in when they attended this training school, and their survival shows how far
Haskell has come since it first opened. Students in 1884 did not have the same experience
that Haskell students have today. Without having those students who survived the very
first years, Haskell would not be what it is today: a university. With the first students at
Haskell, the number of enrolled students eventually increased over the five years from
1884 to 1889, but also there also was an increase in students who did not survive while
attending Haskell. These students are important, in how they became a part of history.
Personal information will be provided for selected students who attended Haskell and
also some who died at Haskell.
When Haskell was first established, it was because of a bill that was passed by
Congress to establish non-reservation boarding schools for Native Americans children.
On May 10, 1882, the Congress of the United States passed the Indian Appropriation Bill
for the fiscal year of 1883: “This bill, signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on
May 17, 1882, included an amendment that provided for the establishment of three nonreservation boarding schools in the Middle West: Chilocco, Oklahoma; Genoa, Nebraska;
and Lawrence, Kansas” (O’Brien 9). The site of one of the boarding schools was
Lawrence, home of Dudley C. Haskell, who was the representative of the Second
Congressional District and chairman of the House Committee on Indian Affairs.
Congressman Haskell had been permitted to select on of the locations in which he wish to
20
�represent and he eventually chose his hometown, Lawrence, Kansas (Granzer 18). The
citizens of Lawrence donated two hundred eighty acres of land south of the city for the
school site (Granzer 18). Haskell, from the beginning in 1884, was known as an
Elementary Boarding School (Self-Study Report).
The Committee of Indian Affairs called attention to the location to some of its
advantages because it is only “one hundred-fifty miles from Indian Territory, which is
Oklahoma, and within forty miles of certain reservations such as Potawatomi reservation
and Ottawa reservation” (Granzer 19). It was also close to other reservations: “Other
reservations included Kickapoo, Sac and Fox and Iowa and these reservations have
access to a large Indian population while keeping transportation costs low” (Vackovic
45).
In June 1883, there was a contract made of building three buildings for the school,
which were supposed to be done by March 1884, and on July 10, 1884, the buildings
were accepted by the government (O’Brien 10). The native limestone buildings occupied
the northwest corner of the campus, and each building was three stories high (Haverty 3).
The girls’ dormitory was built on the west side of the campus and the boys’ dormitory
was built on the west side of the campus (Haverty 3). The girls’ dormitory was later
known as Keokuk. This dormitory “consisted of the kitchen, dining room, sewing rooms,
the main rooms that women are suppose to be put to work in” (Haverty 3). Then there
were also rooms that were built for female employees and students. The boys’ dormitory,
later known as Osceola, was not really built for them, at least not the way the girls’
dormitory was built to accommodate women. Inside this dorm was located “the
administrative offices, the shoe shop, and the male employees’ rooms as well as the
students” (Haverty 3). Each dormitory had “a cistern and sick room, as well as
storerooms, bathrooms, and sitting rooms” (O’Brien 11). Eventually, these two
dormitories would combine, forming a dormitory for men. Sequoyah was one of the first
buildings that was built on campus. It was known as the Academic Building (Haverty
47). Students ranging from five to thirty-five years of age would be taught in the fiveroom building.
In early 1884, the school had to prepare for the students’ arrival in the fall
(Vackovic 45-46). A farmer, his assistant, a carpenter, and six Indian boys who had been
transferred to Lawrence from Chilocco were to prepare the school for its opening in early
September (Vackovic 45-46). The group cleared the school ground, “planted 400 fruit
trees, seeded the garden with sorghum, oats, millet, and potatoes, cleaned the buildings,
and transported materials from the railway station to the school” (Vackovic 46). Before
the school had opened its doors, the use of the children’s labor reflected the values of
industrial training, as well as the economic philosophy on which Indian boarding schools
were founded. Haskell depended on their students labor for the schools’ maintenance and
operation. Many of the tasks these students performed did not require a high level of
skills training. “Under the cloak of industrial training, students labored at menial jobs,
which defrayed operational costs but hardly benefited their educational development”
(Vackovic 46). The school was ready to open on September 1, 1884, once the buildings
and grounds were readied. In the first report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in
1885, Dr. Marvin gave a detailed account of the opening of the school:
21
�Twelve Indian boys from the Ponca Agency and two of the
Chilocco farm boys made up the initial enrollment. On September 16,
1884, three boys and five girls arrived from the Ottawa reservation in
Kansas. That made a total of twenty-two Indian boys and girls at Haskell’s
opening ceremonies held on September 17, 1884. (quoted in O’Brien 11)
Haskell was operated by the federal government, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and
United States Department of Interior (Self-Study Report). Dr. James Marvin, a former
Chancellor of Kansas University, was appointed the superintendent of Haskell. The first
day was described as: “The school opened with a principal and four assistants with the
transfer of Miss Hamilton, and she brought along with her a group of children, from the
Cheyenne Agency added a fifth assistant”(Arts 5). A sixth was approved in February, as
the rooms became too much crowded for effective work. One change was made by the
resignation of Miss Lathrop on account of impaired health, and the appointment of Miss
Whitcomb to fill the place (Arts 5). These teachers resided in the buildings, and assisted
in the supervision of the students and also in caring for the sick. Teachers also helped in
the dining hall. The principal, J.L. DuMars, served as assistant superintendent, in addition
to his duties as principal of the school (Arts 6).
The opening program for Haskell involved the entire Lawrence community.
Chancellor Joshua Lippincott of Kansas University delivered an address for the opening,
while other prominent local citizens participated in the ceremonies before an audience of
Lawrence residents (Vackovic 46). At the ceremony, Marvin explained to the public the
“underlying educational philosophy, and Haskell would guide Indian youths along the
road to ‘civilization’” (Vackovic 46). When addressing the audience he emphasized the
importance of the English language as well as Christianity, and according to the
Lawrence Daily Journal, further states that the school would provide:
Instruction to coming farmers and mechanics and housekeepers…Habits of
industry and economy have to be inculcated as essentials in right living. The
method of instruction and discipline are to promote self-reliance. Obedience to
proper authority promotes personal freedom in society. How to be a good citizen
is to be constantly enforced. (4)
Author Charles A. O’Brien stated below of how many children arrived at Haskell on
September 18, 1884 and three days later:
Twenty-one Pawnees arrived and three days later, the arrival of a wagon train
bringing forty-two Cheyennes and thirty-six Arapahoes created a stir at Haskell.
They came with their parents wearing paint and feathers. They spoke no English
the parents of these children were quartered in the girls’ building and were a
source of great interest and curiosity to the small English-speaking mixed-blood
children from the Kansas reservations. Part of the Cheyennes consisted of twenty
girls and six small boys who had been transferred with their teachers from Indian
Territory to test the possibility of training younger pupils, especially girls, away
from camp influences and associations. (12)
October 1 came, and there were 124 students who enrolled and by November 1, the
number had increased 52 students. A total of 176 students enrolled within these two
22
�months. By January 1, 1888, the student enrollment consisted of “two hundred eighty
students, sixty-one of those students were girls’” (O’Brien 12). During this time in 1185,
Colonel Arthur Grabowski was superintendent until 1886. Then in 1886 to 1888, Colonel
O. E. Learnard was superintendent. He was the final superintendent during the period of
1884 to 1889.
Haskell opened with the name Indian Training School in 1884 (Haverty 3). In
1887, the Indian Training School became known as Haskell Institute, re-named by the
Secretary of Interior in honor of Dudley C. Haskell.
Haskell’s first few months were filled with tragedies, which would have impact
on the enrollment figures. Due to a shortage of funds, the boiler house was not completed
until late November, leaving students without heat during an unusually cold fall
(Vackovic 47). Many children became ill, forcing Superintendent Marvin had to hire a
full-time nurse to care for the sick. In the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, during the school year of 1884 to 1886, 587 instances of illness or injury
occurred, and one of the first structures added to the campus was a two-story hospital
building that could accommodate up to thirty patients at a time (456). In mid-November
of 1886, six-month old Harry White Wolf died. He was one of the babies who were part
of the Cheyenne/Arapahoe group that had arrived in late September (Vackovic 47). Many
deaths occurred after the death of baby Harry White Wolf because that first winter at
Haskell, ten more students were buried in a small cemetery. Naturally, parents became
anxious about the children’s health, and several asked to have their children sent home
and also students who were sick wanted to go home, leave the school and some ran away
home (Vackovic 49).
The emphasis of the school in the beginning was based on assimilation, having to
teach the youth Native boys and girls to become productive members of the dominant
society. This meant the society of the white man, growing up and being more like the
white man. Students were required to attend boarding schools. They were taken from
their homes by agents, and they did not have a choice. A “semi-military system was
initiated at Haskell where students wore uniforms and marched to their classes and
exercised regularly” (Granzerr 27). This meant students had to take care of themselves
and do things on their own such as make their own uniforms, cook their own food, which
they grew in the gardens they tended, and build most of the furniture and buildings on
campus. The first students were taught to speak English, and their own tribal language
was not allowed or they would face consequences such as whippings or isolation from
others (O’Brien 14). When it came to students’ education, they studied “math, geography,
and other academic subjects, as well as cooking, sewing, carpentry, masonry, and
farming” (Arts 1). Having this education among the young Indian children, according to
the Bureau of Indian Affairs officials:
…would serve a dual purpose: first, as an educator of the Indian youth in
attendance, and second, as an educational influence among the Indian people.
This latter end would be achieved through those students who, instead of fitting
themselves for full participation in the non-Indian community, would choose
instead to return to their own people and perform missionary work among the in
the ideals, institutions, and arts of the dominant civilization. In this way, as
23
�teachers and interpreters they would provide knowledge and examples of farming,
mechanics, and other needed industries to the agency Indians. (Granzerr 28)
At Haskell, as well as any other off-reservation boarding school, all conversation
and communication between students and teachers was in English, and it was like a rule
or a law. In addition to students and teachers learning to speak and write English, Bureau
officials believed that it was also “necessary to inculcate habits of industry and thrift”
(O’Brien 14). The education these students were receiving was to provide them with
knowledge in the practical pursuits of life so students would become more self-reliant
and be able to earn a living for themselves after they graduated. (O’Brien 15).
In July of 1885, Dr. Marvin resigned and was replaced by Colonel Arthur
Grabowski. Under Superintendent Colonel Grabowski’s supervision, Haskell did not
improve. Superintendent Grabowski had to deal with the health problems and lack of
funding left behind by the previous superintendent Dr. Marvin. Grabowski, a military
man, quickly wanted to enforce a policy of strict discipline on the students. Grabowski
introduced a “military-like system that divided students into five companies of cadet
battalions that served to break up tribal groupings and any kind of resistance to school
rules” (Vackovic 50). Corporal punishment, as well as the introduction of a school prison,
were part of Superintendent Grabowski’s policy. His methods got the attention of others.
Even the Lawrence Tribune, for instance, criticized him for “his brutality and general
cruelty toward the students.” Many students refused to be treated that way and ran away
from school; others wrote letters home, complaining about their treatment (Vackovic 5051). Enrollment during this time dropped because of Grabowski.
In Students at Haskell Institute from 1884 to 1889, Mila Capes Altom described
any type of off-reservation boarding school as a place of assimilation:
The wide spread moral theory of the time period was that it was the “will of God”
to remove the savage form the child by means of education. This education
became common practice as a way to assimilate the Indians into the mainstream
of society. In order to accomplish this plan of assimilation the children were
removed from their families, homes, tribes, cultures and histories. Haskell
Institute was just one of several educational institutions where these plans were
carried out. It was during those first few years of operations by the educational
institutes that not only were personal and tribal identities lost, but also those of
whole families and tribes. (1)
The first students at Haskell survived 1884 to 1889. In 1999, a ledger book was
found, all worn and deteriorating, that seemed to be the original enrollment and registry
records for the first five years of Haskell Institute, 1884 to 1889 (Altom 2). Bobbi
Rahder, Haskell Indian Nations University Archivist, came upon a handwritten listing of
students and made it into a new and improved ledger book that shows the first students at
Haskell. This ledger book gives the names of the students, both their white and Indian
names, their sex, age, date of arrival, location they arrived from and their parents or
guardians.
When it came to the very first students at Haskell, according to the ledger book,
there was a record of 238 students who were enrolled and only ten students will be cited
from the logbook as an example. These students were students who have arrived in
24
�September and October of 1884, when Haskell was in its early month of beginning its
training school. These students were here at the very beginning when Haskell was being
established, so it is best to let people know they were the first ones here. Here is an
example of the information that is provided about them in the ledger book:
White Name
Indian
Sex
Name
Sha pe l F
lo
Ke wa M
koo
F
Age
Arrived
Arrived From
19
9/19/1884
23
9/19/1884
15
10/25/1884
Te eet
M
13
9/19/1884
13
10/8/1884
15
9/19/1884
16
9/19/1884
8
HumF
kah-me
Con
M
socks ae
Tsla ha F
ta
Wilson, Anna
F
13
10/25/1884
9
Huffy, Henry
M
18
9/17/1884
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr
Shawneetown
, Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Osage Agen,
Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Shawneetown
, Indian Terr.
Oneida, Wisc
M
11
10/25/1884
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Baboylle,
Emily
Brown, John
Delaware,
Jane
Eyre, Willie
Pryor,
Josephine
Richards,
John
Wilde, Gertie
10 Trumbley,
Louis
Shawneetown
, Indian Terr.
Guardian
John
Brown
John
Pryor
Nicholas
Huff
Mick
Trumbley
In early 1886, former Kansas Governor Charles Robinson became Haskell’s third
superintendent (Vackovic 53). Robinson gradually succeeded in bringing up the school’s
enrollment and kept discipline with less abusive policies two previous superintendents.
By the end of the 1886 to 1887 school year, attendance was once again up to about 400
students, leading to overcrowded dormitories and classrooms (Vackovic 53). Life at
Haskell became easier to live despite the student’s bad health and the crowded
conditions. Students liked Robinson better than the two previous superintendents because
Robinson allowed them to interact socially, two evenings a week, and the Haskell band
was established. Haskell opened a school library, which included regional newspapers
(Anderson 86). Students supported their school because of Robinson as shown by Teresa
Tucquinn’s letter to the superintendent in 1888: “I think it’s nice to here. I think it is a
better place to be here than at home. You treat us very kind and thank you for your kindly
care” (Vackovic 55).
During the 1887 to 1888 school year, a three-story building, housing seven
industrial departments, was added to Haskell campus. In these departments, “male
25
�students would be able to receive training in blacksmith, tailoring, carpentry, printing,
wagon and harness making, tin smithing and shoemaking, as well as in farming, baking
and engineering” (Vackovic 55). The girls were taught domestic arts and sciences in the
new facilities. New dormitories and new dining hall were under construction and all other
land was “utilized for garden, field, meadow, and pasture” (Vackovic 54). Students
performed tasks to help keep the cost down on the school’s operational cost. In
Robinson’s annual report, he expressed this deeply held belief in Haskell’s mission:
When these hundred and fifty children of any tribe and nation demonstrate by
actual experiment that they can do all the work, under proper supervision,
required for their daily subsistence, all the work necessary to farm almost 500
acres of land to crest several substantial buildings of both wood and stone, and
also manufacture a good variety of articles in a neat an satisfactory manner,
besides attending school on half of each day, such children are well worthy of the
attention, the time, and the money expended on their behalf. (Vackovic 55)
Students who attended Haskell often did a summer “outing” program while they
were at school (Vackovic 54). Haskell students lived with white families to work either
as farm hands, or for the girls, as maids. The purpose of the program was to teach
students “Anglo-civilization” firsthand and to immerse them into dominant culture
(Vackovic 54). However, white families used the program as a cheap manual labor. Many
Indian parents were “reluctant to have their children leave school and especially, feared
for their daughters’ safety” when they were part of the outing program (Vackovic 55).
The school was highly regulated in military style. In 1887, the Lawrence Gazette
described how “bells regulated the behavior in the dining room, indicating when the
students were allowed to sit down, and when they were allowed to start eating” (Sears).
According to the article, “one boy oversaw the behavior of the whole table, while others
waited on the students” (Sears). In the early years, many more boys than girls attended
Haskell, requiring boys to perform “female” chores such as serving food and washing
dishes.
Christianity was also part of the school curriculum. While students were attending
school, they were required to attend church. During first Superintendent Marvin’s era, he
focused on “Christian morality as the key to knowledge and understanding of American
civilization” (Vackovic 254). He introduced “compulsory nondenominational services on
Sunday mornings, where he read biblical passages to the students, which the children
repeated after him” (Vackovic 254). In the afternoon, students attended Bible classes
often conduced at University of Kansas by KU students. The evening was devoted to the
children meeting once more to rehearse hymns (Vackovic 255). When Colonel
Grabowski was superintendent, he invited ministers from “the local Methodist,
Episcopal, Baptist and Congregational churches to hold a two-week series of revival
meetings, during which 130 students were baptized” (Vackovic 255). Haskell students
were often allowed to attend local churches and Bible classes, one of their few activities
off campus, provided that they were in chaperoned groups.
Homesickness was an issue for students, so the dorm staff were very important.
The matrons were expected to provide “motherly oversight of the boys, large and small,
as well as the girls” and she was to be “one of whom they will look for counsel – a
26
�woman of culture of high ideals, of practical wisdom and tact, to exert the best refining
womanly influence upon even the oldest of pupils” (Anderson 106). Harriet Kelsey
Haskell was one example of a substitute mother for these students, the widow of
Congressman Dudley C. Haskell. She was well liked for her kindness and positive
influence on the students.
Among the first enrollments, there is also the entry of death records. These death
records may only show those students who died while they were still here at Haskell, and
it does not count those students who went home and possibly died while at home. Some
who died at Haskell were not recorded because they may have been running away, and
others had no official diagnosis for their deaths (Altom 2). In Students at Haskell Institute
from 1884 to 1889, there is listed the record of the known deaths of students. The
following five students were students who were diagnosed with illness and died within a
year after arriving in the month of September and October during the years of 1884 and
1887. Some students were not diagnosed, so there was not cause of death for some
students. Here is an example of the information kept by officials on some of the deaths:
Arrived
10/8/1884
2
English Name
Wahshehotsa,
Thomas
Norman, Bradley
10/19/1884 No diagnosis
Pawnee
3
Valier, Samuel
9/1/1887
Pneumonia
Quapaw
4
Sears, Willie
9/15/1887
Accident
Sioux?
5
Walker, Susie
9/19/1884
Consumption Cheyenne
1
Diagnosis
No diagnosis
Tribe
Osage
Staff Notations
Died Jan. 11, 1885/
19 yrs old
Died Jan. 22, 1884/
23 yrs old
Died May 22, 1888/
10 yrs old
Died May 18, 1888/
11 yrs old
Died Aug. 29, 1886/
8 yrs old
During the period when Dr. Marvin was superintendent, when Harry White Wolf
was buried in the cemetery on campus, others were buried there. Altogether, the names
on twenty-nine graves did not appear in the school’s records, meaning that some deaths
occurred without being properly recorded (Vackovic 49). For example, in 1886, ten new
gravesites were marked in the cemetery, even though the annual report of 1886 did not
indicated any deaths at Haskell. During the 1887 to 1888 term alone, seventeen students
died, may of them as a result of “pneumonia and scrofula (a tubercular affliction)”
(Anderson 91-92). Many employees suffered from exactly the same diseases as the
students caused by the unhealthy living conditions at the school (Anderson 91-92).
After the first years of Haskell education, students spent more time working then
actually getting an education (Vackovic 57). Students did almost all the upkeep of the
buildings and grounds of the school. Haskell offered academic training only at the
primary and grammar school level, with classes focusing on the three R’s, American
history, and basic sciences, like biology (Vackovic 57).
When Haskell first opened its doors on September 1, 1884, enrollment gradually
increased over the years from an initial fourteen students to over a thousand students It
27
�was one of the largest off-reservation boarding schools maintained by the Federal
government (O’ Brien 1). Those students who survived their first years at Haskell became
a part of history, and if they had not survived Haskell, Haskell Indian Nations University
may not even exist today. Haskell has grown up since 1884 into what is now a university,
so it shows that Native Americans can succeed. All Native students need is
encouragement. That is where those very first students come in, dealing with the
hardships and surviving by not giving up their culture. Students in 1884 did not have the
same experience that Haskell students have today, and the point is to show the public
what these students went through while attending Haskell, starting with their education,
enrollment, deaths and their lives while at Haskell. Haskell started out as a training and
boarding school, then turned into a junior college, and now is a university. Without
having those students who survived those first years, Haskell would not be what it is
today.
Works Cited
Altom, Mila Capes. Students at Haskell Institute from 1884 to 1889. Lawrence: Haskell
Indian Nations University Department of Archives, 2000.
Anderson, Eric P. An Imperfect Education and American Indians at Haskell Institute,
Lawrence, KS: 1884-1894. M.A. Thesis. Department of History, Lawrence: University of Kansas,
1997.
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 1885
Arts, Bill. Haskell Highlights 1884-1978. Lawrence: Haskell Indian Nations University,
1889.
Granzer, Loretta Mary. Education at Haskell Institute: 1888-1937. M.A. Thesis,
University of Nebraska, 1937.
Haverty, Thelma P. Buildings on Haskell Campus: Past and Present. Haskell Indian
Junior College: Interior, Haskell Press, 1975.
Lawrence Daily Journal. September 18, 1884.
O’Brien, Charles A. The Evolution of Haskell Indian Junior College, 1884-1974. M.A.
Thesis, University of Nebraska, 1975.
Sears, W.H. “An Evening at Haskell Institute.” Lawrence Gazette. February 2, 1887.
Self-Study Report for the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Lawrence: Haskell Indian Junior College, 1978.
Vackovic, Myriam. Onward Ever Backward Never: Student Life and Students’ Lives at
Haskell Institute, 1888-1920. M.A. Thesis. Lawrence: University of Kansas, 2001.
28
�♦♦♦♦
Haskell Boarding School Era: Transition Years of 1900 to 1902
By Sheila Crawford
Haskell Institute is one of the many schools opened during the late 19th century,
and this time-period and has a history of its own:
Congressman D.C. Haskell, then representing the people of the
second congressional district, to locate an Indian Industrial
Training school at or near Lawrence provided the citizens would
donate a suitable site, a number of the leading business men
promptly subscribed the necessary funds, purchased two hundred
eighty acres of land and proffered it to the government as a
desirable site for the Indian School. (Lawrence 1)
The first years of Haskell saw a lot of hardship, but by 1900, student accounts in the
Haskell student newspaper showed students were adjusting to the boarding school. The
local population believed classes Haskell offered were better than most public school
education during this time (Lawrence 1). The education curriculum began with the basic
industry instructions. Emphasis was placed upon institutional training, because of the
necessity of teaching Indian boys and girls to earn their living in ways similar to their
white neighbors (Lawrence 1). The tribes had used their surroundings for agriculture,
gathering of foods, and hunting before the Whites arrived, and Native farming was the
beginning of land use and stock caring. Students built on this tradition.
Indians had educational needs to enable them to convert serious training into a
practical and wage earning power (Lawrence 2). Non-Indians would like to think that the
Indians were receiving better education because it could help in the future, but in reality,
they did not realize the sacrifices many generations had to go through to get there.
Transportation costs were high because of food, sleeping arrangements, and the type of
transportation used: “The area of the industrial school is so important because the use of
transportation will cost more monies. Haskell is the most centrally located school of its
type in the United States” (Lawrence 2). This helped with gathering Indians from
different areas around the United States, because of the railway system. Farming needs to
have certain land to cultivate the foods or cattle that given to the school from the
government. Haskell is located directly in the corn, wheat and stock raising section
(Lawrence 2). The stock raising helped with the food preparations at Haskell and the
crops would become of economic value. The beginnings of Haskell education were the
normal school and trade schools. Haskell Indian Nations University is now the first allIndian inter-tribal university in the United States (Background 1). The boarding school
era played a major part of the education that uses it presently.
Haskell Institute had a local newspaper that was issued to students and families to
show the events at the school and other boarding schools during this time. Industrial
training equipment for a printing plant that the Haskell publication started the monthly
29
�student paper (Ames 19). The Indian Leader had begun in 1897; the dates and events that
have occurred during this time can calculate most of the events that occurred during this
time. The new buildings during this era would include Curtis Hall, a new laundry, and
bakery (Haskell Growth).
After the first years of hardship, from 1884 to 1894, the school became more
stable. Students appeared to find benefits in the education, despite the hardships. The
focus of Haskell Institute during the 1900 to 1902 in the articles in the Indian Leader
show that assimilation to Anglo civilization occurred or did not occur or occurred partly.
An example of “civilization” can be viewed from the lessons taught during the boarding
school era. On September 28, 1900 an explanation of Sunday school lessons appears in
“Story of Samson: Judges 13, 14, 15 and 16. The Golden text- O Lord God, remember
me, I pray thee and strengthen me.” One other example would be held on October 14,
1900, with the Story of Saul: I Samuel 9 10:1 and 17-27. This includes the Golden text,
“Behold, to obey is better then sacrifice”(Sunday School). The process of assimilation is
strong in teachings of religious activities every Sunday and all children had to be present
in church.
The different activities that occurred in the government were viewed as
milestones in Indian issues. Charles Curtis of Kansas, member of the Kaw nation, was the
first Indian Congressman (Indian Congressman), and he was also vice president. Curtis
helped gain the right awareness about Indians during this era because he was of mixed
blood and chose not to harm his body with drugs or alcohol. These next examples
involved superintendent perspectives on religious activities, American names, personal
letters, and the future of the Indian students.
All of these topics cover the main issues that were addressed by Haskell Institute
administration in 1900 to 1902. In March 29, 1901 an article of the Industrial Training
School mentions the beginning of Indian education from a superintendent’s perspective
(Appendix I). In this article, the superintendent stresses the importance of government
control over Haskell Institute. He mentions Haskell history along with the enrollment of
students being six hundred. The heat was from steam and the light came from the
electricity. Supervision of all individuals was important because they have students that
will act in their nature to be Indian. Teachers were viewed as leaders in a model school
setting because they helped the students become civilized. Classes relied on religious
factors as well as the lessons and industrial training. Most commercial courses were
studies in a two-year study course. Graduating classes had many different
accomplishments because of jobs and other important information taught at Haskell
Institute in 1901. Assimilation was being accomplished, but also students had instances
of success.
An example of the hard teachings of Sunday school would be in February 9,
1900: “Sunday school would be the first step of civilization and the eighth grade
entertainment” (Appendix II). In Sunday school, the students studied a topic and the
reading of this topic. Then the topic and readings were put together to make the golden
text of a prayer. Every Sunday accounted for with a lesson plan or sermon from the priest
or head of the church. Mandatory Sunday school was in forced because the Christian
religion is important in “civilization.”
30
�The eighth grade entertainment is described as the orchestra plays the music. The
actors or students needed to portray themselves as a play would, but the drills were harder
and the audience was intense. The class honored Mr. Haskell by announcing all his
accomplishments with Haskell Institute. James Marvin was mentioned because he was
the superintendent of Haskell Institute in 1884, the first superintendent. The portraits of
each male represented in the eighth grade entertainment were the following: Dr. Marvin,
Charles Robinson, and Dr. Meserve. All these men had helped with the education of
students and the citizens.
Another article shows the education of the Indians into American citizens at
Haskell in March 16, 1900 (Appendix III). This article proves that it was not only up to
the teachers to help with education, but the student as well. If there was no equal
relationship or respect for the topics, the students will not become civilized. In the article
on Indian Education, it explains the practicing of all knowledge is God’s work. School
was not separated from religion. Becoming God fearing individuals was not the
traditional way of life for many different tribes or nations. Assimilation was the goal.
Ethical training was to help install the civil liberties that were fought for in the Indian
education system, according to the superintendent. This article was more of an annual
report by Miss Reel, superintendent.
While attending boarding schools, the names of Indian children had to be
“civilized” as individual family names in English were established on March 14, 1902
(Appendix IV). Students were given Anglo names. Traditionally, Indian names did not
just appear; the tribe handed them down periods of your life or the ceremony that the
ancestors give you the name. The names were the story of the process this individual had
to go through to receive the tribal name. All names have a meaning, including place
names, but the one that stood out was the Wakarusa, meaning thigh high (Ames 12).
Some names related to places that we are aware of to this day, such as Kansas, named
after a resident Indigenous Nation. Wakarusa River and its wetlands, known to traditional
people as a spiritual place, were part of the historical Haskell Institute. The land was part
of the original campus.
Personal letters by students showed their adjustment to the different culture. The
personal letters that students wrote for classes were published, like this one: “When I first
came to Haskell” and another, “My Home Life” July 27, 1900 (Appendix V). This
individual came to Haskell Institute in 1890 and was lonesome. The buildings had
increased over time, but are not all still intact. A fourth grade boy had been in the third
grade and went home only in June to visit family. This individual wanted to come back to
Haskell because it was a good place for him. He talks about having the memory of
walking down to the wet lands after Sunday school. The fourth grade boy mentioned “My
home life is different because this person had to help in the kitchen or cook.” This
individual is from a tribe or nation that lived in teepees or at least had ceremonies in
teepees.
After graduating from Haskell, one boy would like to impress the non-Indian by
his education (May 3, 1901 Appendix VI). Charles Edrick wanted to move forward in his
educational goals. He was in the Normal class that prepared students for the basic
education levels. He disagreed with the statement that all Indians are savages, and he
31
�wanted the chance to prove that he was honorable. These sources prove that Haskell
students wanted to be more educated, but recognized as Native American Indian and not
the “savage” stereotype. The young man wanted to be a physician and always remember
where he had come from. The encouragement that this young man had would make his
dreams to come true; he believed that even if pushed down he must pick himself up and
move on.
This student shows how Indians are raised with respect for themselves and other
members within their nations, as stated: “Indians are proud of their race and its rich
heritage of tradition, legend, and story” (Short Sketches). Not only is this true for the
boarding school era, but it was important to Haskell Institute because of the interaction of
tribal children at the boarding schools. The end of boarding schools started because of the
mistreatment that occurred to Indian children. They were “Punished for the practicing of
cultural traditions, native dress, and native language” (Archuleta 26). They were violently
treated by the schools matrons, teachers, and government officials. This included corporal
punishment and imprisonment. This had become the main reason the mistreatment had
occurred. Beatings, swats from rulers, having one’s mouth washed with soap or lye, or
being locked in the school jail were not uncommon punishments (Highlights 28). Imagine
the difference this made on the child that was punished for living the traditional way and
trying to communicate the only way he or she knew. The different regulations tied to
boarding schools kept the Indian children away from their families. Government policy
severely restricted visits home during the early boarding school era, but communication
between students and their families was steady and strong (Highlights 27). This
encouraged the students to write in English and the parents to learn English as well.
Many different health effects and children deaths had brought attention to the
mistreatment of Haskell children. They were “Issued government regulated clothing and
uniforms, fire- combed for lice, with kerosene, bathed, and had their cut”(Archuleta 26).
The health conditions were so bad that the children were stripped down to nothing and
scrubbed. “Some students bathed and scrubbed so hard that their skin would be red and
irritated.” This cruelty had continued until the Uniform Course of Study for the Indian
schools in August 1901 (Ames 14). This caused many different changes in the education
of Indian children at Haskell Institute.
The end of boarding schools had begun with this study in 1901, because the
conditions of boarding schools were not healthy for the Indian children. Later the
Merriam Report, 1924, pointed out shocking conditions in boarding schools, during the
late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and recommended not sending elementary age
children to boarding schools, and urged an increase in the number of day schools
(Reyhner 102). Day schools or public schools were under the control of the government,
but given to the state level for actual observations. States could regulate the funding for
all students that attended the education system. Indian children often transferred from
federal boarding schools, sometimes to a different area (Coombs 123). This was why the
decontamination process was given to new students being transferred, because the ill
children were separated from one another: “One danger was disease, especially trachoma,
influenza, and tuberculosis” (Short Sketches 38). These three diseases caused many
deaths at boarding schools in the early 1900’s.
32
�Boarding schools were designed to obliterate tribal identity, and transform Indian
people (Archuleta 116). This is why the government agreed with Pratt in the beginning
the immersion of the American way. These issues caused many different children to rebel
and run away from the schools: “Rebellion was common feature of government boarding
school life during 1900 to 1940” (Child 49). After being mistreated, the students had no
other way to run, but home was the only safe place they knew. The choice between the
oppression that occurred and the life style forced upon the Indians would not allow them
to have a complete Indian culture. Students rebelled: “Running away was the most
popular form of protest used by boarding school students, but certainly not the only kind
of rebellion” (Child 54). Some Native families encouraged the running away because
then they could see them and teach them the traditional life style. Boarding schools had
then spread across the United States of America, and all Native children were being
forced to attend. If the parents fought the authorities, they were cut off from receiving
their rations from the government.
The government during this time was paying the agents to gather children to force
them into the education system. This system caused many different events to happen to
Native children that caused them to shut down. The process was taken lightly by the staff
and other officials, but not by parents. Some parents had not seen their children after they
were taken away because they had passed away. Many tribes were effected by the loss of
children because the traditions were supposed to be passed down from one generation to
another. Now the civilization, or colonization, and the Native people become less aware
of the loss of traditions that are to return. Indian boarding school era was hard on the
Indian population because of the effects it had on the Indians as a whole.
Haskell Institute was a big part to the boarding school era because it was one of
the first inter-tribal schools. The deep mapping of Haskell Institute during the boarding
school era in 1900 to 1902 has proven Indian education valuable as well as oppressive.
Through understanding the effects of Indian boarding schools on families, history can
help understand life today. Balancing the positive and negative changes of Indian
children in boarding schools was difficult to overcome, but provided encouragement to
receive an education. Haskell is important to the Indian Education system back in the
1880’s as well as the Indian Education of today in 2006.
Works Cited
Adams, David. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience 18751928. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
Altom, Mila. Students At Haskell Institute From 1884 to 1889. Lawrence: Haskell Indian Nations
University Department of Archives, 2000.
“American Names.” The Indian Leader 14 Mar. 1902: 1.
Ames, William. Highlights of Haskell Institute: A Brief Sketch of the Half-Century of Indian Education.
Lawrence, Kansas: Haskell Institute, 1936.
Archuleta, Margaret; Child, Lommawaima. Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School
Experiences 1879-2000. Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2000.
Child, Brenda. Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1099-1940. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 2000.
33
�Coomds; Kron; Collister; Anderson. The Indian Child Goes to School: A Study of Interracial Differences.
Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1958.
Cobb, Amanda. Listening to Our Grand-Mothers’ Stories: The Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw
Females, 1825-1949. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000.
Edick, Charles. “What I Intend to Do After Leaving Haskell.” The Indian Leader 3 May 1901: 1.
Dr. Hailmann. “Industrial Training Schools.” The Indian Leader 29 Mar. 1901: 1.
Jackson, Curtis. Identification of Unique Features in Education at American Indian Schools. San Francisco,
California: R and E Research Associates, 1974.
Merriam; Webster. The Merriam-Webster Pocket Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1995.
Pearce, Roy. Savagism and Civilization: A Study of the Indian and the American Mind. Baltimore: John
Hopkins Press, 1965.
Roessel, Robert. Handbook for Indian Education. Los Angeles: Amerindian Publishing Company.
Reyhner, Jon. A History of Indian Education. Billings: Eastern Montana College, 1989.
“Sunday School Lessons.” The Indian Leader 9 Feb. 1900: 2.
“The Moral Status of the Educational Work.” The Indian Leader 16 Mar. 1900: 3.
Witmer, Linda. The Indian Industrial School: Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1879-1918. Carlisle, Pennsylvania:
Cumberland County Historical Society, 1993.
“When I First Came To Haskell.” The Indian Leader 27 Jul. 1900: 4.
34
�35
�36
�37
�38
�39
�♦♦♦♦
A Decade of Change: Haskell Activism in the 1970’s
by Blaine Wise
During the 1970’s, the nations colleges and universities were seeing an increase
in politically motivated events on their campuses. But what I am in search of is the events
that happened at Haskell Indian Junior College and the issues that sparked local
demonstrations. This is a particularly difficult area to explore due to the lack of research
done on this topic. To my knowledge, this will be the first time this question has been
researched. If this research is successful, I will be able to educate the readers that political
activism was not only occurring at major educational institutes but at Haskell as well.
Introduction
When examining the political activism that occurred here at Haskell Indian
Nations University, then known as Haskell Indian Junior College, during the 1970’s, the
question that must be answered is what sort of political events took place? This research
is vital to the “Deep Map of Haskell” because it will provide original information about
the political protests by the student body of Haskell. On today’s college campuses, little
is protested or rallied for or against with as much determination as the politically in-tune
generation of my parents. It is far too often that when I read about politically motivated
events that took place on college campuses, I primarily hear about the African-American
and the White activists. But what about the Indians? What did they do to create change?
What led me to this topic was an article given to me entitled “1970: The Year
That Rocked River City,” by Clark Coan. This article chronologically lays out the
political actions that had this town on edge, and sometimes on fire. This article left me
wanting to learn more about what went on here in Lawrence, but mainly, what sort of
events took place at Haskell? Unfortunately, when I tried to learn more about what went
on during the 1970’s, I came to a standstill when exploring Haskell’s demonstrations
because of a lack of literature written on this topic. Ultimately, I want to know what went
down “the decade that rocked River City?”
The main points that I researched are what issues sparked the political
demonstrations? What types of strategies did the students use? And how successful or not
were their attempts to create change? The design of my research was based upon primary
and secondary materials, including books, newspaper articles, and first-hand interviews.
There are two subjects that have given me their consent to participate in my research
interview: Jerry Tuckwin, a faculty member, athletics coach, and a Vietnam veteran
during the time period that I am examining, and also Pat Melody, director of the
Thunderbird Theatre during mid and late 1970’s. I created a questionnaire that aimed at
revealing the truths and the vivid details that made these events essential to the “deep
map of Haskell.”
40
�Coan said that “the month of May witnessed the greatest display of campus
dissent and disorder in American history” (5). The most infamous situation was when a
student protest turned into a tragic event at Kent State University on May 4, 1970.
Students from Kent State had scheduled a noon rally that protested the American
invasion of Cambodia, which was put into motion on April 25, nine days before. At noon
on Monday “an estimated 2000 people,” nearly double Haskell’s current enrollment,
“gathered at the university common” (wikipedia.com) for what began as a peaceful
demonstration. Soon after, the Ohio Air National Guard, which was already on campus,
made the decision to extinguish the gathering before it became violent, as it had in the
previous days. But instead of practicing peace, 29 of the 77 guardsmen fired 67 shots into
the crowd of protestors and bystanders (wikipedia.com). From those 67 rounds fired, four
students were killed, nine were wounded, and one student was paralyzed. Kent State
University suspended classes for six weeks following the tragic May 4th incident. This
infamous episode will forever be known as the “Kent State Massacre”( wikipedia.com ).
Lawrence also had its violence during this time frame.
This Is Lawrence!
Even before the Vietnam War erupted, political activism among college students
was on a rapid incline. The war was fuel to an already raging fire. The war and other
issues sparked rallies, protests, and sit-ins all across the nation. Many times these events
would turn into tense situations that often led to arrests, injuries, and or in some instances
death to participants or bystanders in these heated environments. Unfortunately,
Lawrence, Kansas, was not to be excluded from college towns that par-take in these sort
of politically charged affairs.
During the decade of 1970, Lawrence was a hotbed for politically motivated
events. These events reached their peak from July 16-23, 1970, when the week was
dubbed by Coan as the “Second Revolt in River City”(7). This week, the city of
Lawrence witnessed their once quiet streets transformed into a political warfront with
sniper fire, arson, and bombings brought on by young White and Black activists. Even
with a state of emergency declared by the Governor and with Highway Patrol scouting
the streets, two KU students, one black and one white, were shot and killed by patrolling
law enforcement officers (Coan 7). The deaths of these KU students caused Chancellor
Chalmers to suspend Kansas University classes on July 23rd.
These politically and racially motivated confrontations were not strictly subjected
to KU students, but also influenced the students in the Lawrence Public School system.
On April 13, 1970, the KU-Black Student Union members’ issues spilt over to the black
students at Lawrence High School where “several black students forced their way into
Principal William Medley’s office demanding to speak with him” (Monhollon 149). The
students demanded more black representation in courses and social organizations
throughout the school. This would be one of the calmer displays of protest. With rumors
of a take-over by black students, Lawrence Minutemen, a make-shift vigilante group,
armed with submachine guns and other weaponry, displayed their force outside the
41
�school to prevent any such take-over (Monhollon, 151). Throughout the week there were
several incidents of vandalism, fire-bombings, and shooting. The Harambee, the Black
Student Union newspaper, called events “The week that was” (Monhollon, 151).
So with these politically and racially charged events taking place here in
Lawrence, it brought me to the question; what types of these actions were seen on the
Haskell Indian Junior College campus during the 1970’s? Essentially, I was searching for
evidence of protest, sit-ins, rallies, and any other actions taken by Haskell students for
political and social change. Also, what were the issues at hand that motivated their
demonstrations? And were they successful in their demonstrations?
The Low-Down on Haskell
During the first semester of 1973, American Indian Movement (AIM) member
Russell Means spoke at Kansas University, not Haskell, about the journey of the
American Indian Movement and goals that AIM is striving for. In the September 28th,
1973 article, written by Rochelle Johnson and Frank White, they briefly outline the words
that Means delivered to Kansas University students. No full text remains of the speech.
Johnson and White began their article with Means revealing that AIM members were
seeking to raise 1.2 million dollars to adequately fund the defense of some “300
defendants” connected to AIM that were involved in the Wounded Knee takeover and
other trials versus the U.S. government (Johnson, White 3). After explaining the
motivation behind Mean’s speech, the authors described the current goals of AIM. After
a year of being a service provider to Native Americans in Minneapolis, AIM began
searching for their spirituality. Means stated that “today Indians lack their spirituality,
their traditional religion that once was the only driving force behind the Indian” (Johnson,
White 3). So to rekindle their lost spirituality and traditionalism, AIM began their quest
to find “holy men” from the various tribes across the nation (Johnson, White 3). From
these “holy men,” the members of AIM “learned to have respect for their brothers’ vision
because all things are related and have something to say” (Johnson, White 3). This
statement made by Means has become cliché in today’s study of the Native Americans
perspective on the world that surrounds them.
Before closing his speech at KU, Russell Means revealed that the American
Indian Movement was “advocating a return to living as one with all; they want liberation,
spiritual freedom and to expose the corrupt parties to the public’s attention” (Johnson,
White 3). This speech was given towards the end of the Nixon Administration when the
corruption of his administration, known as “Watergate,” became the center of attention
for the American people and ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. Even
though corruption was taking place at the White House, to many Native Americans
President Nixon did more positive for Indians than any previous President. Peter
MacDonald, a prominent Navajo leader, called Nixon “the Abraham Lincoln of the
Indian people” (Kotlowski 188). The positive effect of the Nixon Administration was felt
at Haskell Indian Junior College. Pat Melody, the director of the Thunderbird Theatre at
the time, said “during the Nixon presidency all kinds of money was on campus”
42
�(interview 4/8/06). Melody also mentioned that the budget for the Thunderbird Theatre
was “$10,000.00 for the 1974 school year” (interview 4/8/06). This level of funding has
not been reached since. So what other corruptions was Means speaking of?
Johnson and White end their article by telling the readers that Russell Means
would be in the area, but not at Haskell specifically, to “investigate the treatment of the
Pottawatomie and all the Indians in Kansas, Haskell included” (Johnson, White 3). I was
unable to discover what the results of his investigation were. Even if the results showed
mistreatment what would Russell Means have done to create change?
September 28th,1973 was the first time in my research that the militant AIM group
appeared in the campus newspaper, The Indian Leader. Although AIM did advocate
change to better the lives of Indians, I figured the ideas and thoughts of the sometimeviolent group would be kept separate from the growing minds of the students at HIJC.
The second time AIM made an appearance in The Indian Leader was three
months after Means’ appearance, when another AIM front man, Dennis Banks, was in an
article entitled “Dennis Banks Urges Boycott.” In the article appearing December
7th,1973, the executive director of the movement, Dennis Banks, insisted that Indians
“boycott white man’s bars and sources of his destructive poison” (2). This is the first
chronological instance in my research that I have found information regarding Native
students taking a specific stance against an issue. Even though it may seem to some
individuals as an insignificant cause to boycott, it still displays the idea of trying to create
change among the Native American communities. Banks did have the right idea in
wanting to boycott the purchase of alcohol, which has for a long time been a major vice
in the lives of far too many Native peoples.
Once again the American Indian Movement found away to grace the pages of the
student newspaper here at Haskell. On March 8, 1974, The Indian Leader ran a column
entitled “Trial Newsletter” that asked “for a contribution from HIJC to help publish
future Trial News Letters” (2). Because the newsletter would obviously support AIM, the
staff of The Indian Leader asked for the thoughts from students and faculty regarding the
request to “reprint and/or distribution” and/or “contribution” (“Trial Newsletter” 2). The
newsletter sent to Haskell by the Wounded Knee Legal Defense/Offense Committee
ended with Aim’s “three point program” that basically listed three primary objectives the
movement was striving for, which include: establishing a treaty commission to review the
371 treaties between the U.S. and Indians; repealing or re-examining the Indian
Reorganization Act of 1934; and removing the BIA from the Department of Interior (2).
During the Fall semester of 1974, a spontaneous sit-in occurred at the President’s
office. It was following a Homecoming activity held at the auditorium, when the Student
Council President speaking to the student body had “mentioned that there was a Board of
Regents meeting in progress at Pushmataha, and if you want to let the Board know your
concerns, this would be a good time to get their attention” (Melody, 4/8/06). Melody
recalls “nearly 200 students” walking across campus to stand outside of where the
meeting was taking place. The student council president politely interrupted the meeting
and informed the Regents about the large assembly of students outside the site wanting to
state their concerns. Described as a “pushover” by Melody, Haskell President Wallace
Galluzzi dismissed himself from to meeting to hear the students’ problems directly. Even
43
�though I was unable to get information on the specific concerns of the students, this still
remains as an important instance when the Haskell student body amassed as one to try to
create change for the, then, present and future Haskell students.
Another interesting piece of correspondence that surfaced during this search was
an article written in The Indian Leader by Charles Hare on September 26, 1975. The
article titled “Aggression Defeats Purpose” reports that a vehicle carrying explosives and
firearms exploded while driving on the Kansas Turnpike heading for Oklahoma. The six
occupants of the vehicle, all Sioux Indians, were apprehended by authorities and were
held at Sedgwick County Jail awaiting trial, in Wichita. It was reported that “several of
them are allegedly associated with the militant Indian group AIM” (Hare 2). This is
where the story began to have more significance. While telling a classmate about this
incident he quickly related these happenings to the documentary film The Incident at
Oglala which chronologically lists the events of the AIM take-over of Wounded Knee
during the summer of 1975 and the trials that followed. This friend recalled that the film
mentioned that the weapon, which was supposedly used to kill the FBI agents during the
stand-off and that landed Leonard Peltier consecutive life sentences, was discovered in
the trunk of a car that had exploded on the Kansas Turnpike. So is this the story reported
by Charles Hare, about the exploding vehicle, the same story that was told in the
documentary film? After listing the facts of the incident, Hare mentioned that these acts
of violence and aggression “can only hurt not help the Indian cause in America” (2),
which is true in most cases. The article closed by telling the readers that the time is “not
to revert to the animalism of the past but to go forward and make the system work for
us(Hare, 2).” Animalism? Hare, a student reporter, was, more or less, telling the readers
that Native American ancestors acted like animals. And as for trying to “make the system
work for us,” unfortunately the system was made to destroy the American Indian through
the hundreds of treaties and statues. A question that may come to mind, especially for
Natives, is why does Hare refer to Native ancestors as being animalistic? Or maybe this
thought was just a product of the Federal education at Haskell Indian Junior College at
that time.
In March of 1977, the Haskell community had to cope with a more difficult
situation than that of previous years mentioned in this research, and it happened that it hit
much closer to home. At a downtown saloon, the Longbranch, 1009 Massachusetts St.,
Lawrence Picotte, a Yankton-Sioux, was shot six times by Lawrence Police officers after
he, according to Douglas County Attorney Mike Malone, “pulled a handgun from his
back pocket and pointed it at one of the officers”(Postoak 1). The three officers were
seeking to question Picotte regarding an armed robbery which occurred on February 24
that year. On March 8, three days after the shooting, an assembly at Haskell was held
where Mary West, a student senate member, “announced that on March 9 classes would
be excused for a day of mourning”(Postoak 1). Two local self-proclaimed members of the
AIM were reported saying at the assembly that “there would be demonstrations”(Postoak
1). Sadly, no information surfaced on whether there were any demonstrations held by
AIM or any other organization on the behalf of this matter. Unfortunately, some
individuals used the designated day of mourning to vandalize four buildings: the new
dormitory, Pontiac, Admissions Office, and the Indian Studies Office. AIM insisted that
44
�the vandalism was not the work of AIM because they “considered these acts as juvenile”
(Postoak 1). After discovering the vandalism and hearing testimony from concerned
students and parents about the disruption of classes and the safety of the students,
President Wallace Galluzzi organized an assembly that assured “extra security measures
had been taken to ensure the safety of all students”(Postoak 1). In light of all the
circumstances on campus, the student senate began a petition to try to resolve the
disruption of campus life. The resolution read:
WHEREAS a lack of confidence exists among students and
employees due to Haskell
Administration’s decisions on the previous
and current handling of the American Indian
Movement’s
involvement with the Lawrence community affecting Haskell students;
and
WHEREAS the American Indian Movement influenced the
Haskell Administration to declare an unprecedented day of mourning
which disrupted the classes campus-wide; and
WHEREAS the Haskell Administration provided for the
unprecedented decision to fly the flag at half-mast on the day of mourning;
and
WHEREAS the American Indian Movement has created an
atmosphere of undue anxiety, stress, and fear among the students and
employees of Haskell Indian Junior College; and
WHEREAS the American Indian Movement assumes the empathy
and acceptance of themselves by the Haskell Indian Junior College student
body: Therefore it be RESOLVED, that Haskell Indian Junior College, as
an educational institution, disassociate itself from the adverse influence of
the American Indian Movement as an outside
organization.
(The
Indian Leader vol.80 no.11)
This resolution devised by the student senate wanted to put a halt to the
frequent appearances of AIM on campus and in the Haskell paper because the militant
group was creating an uneasy learning and social atmosphere for the students and faculty.
The opposition of AIM was documented in Monhollons’ This is America?: The Sixties in
Lawrence , Kansas that “according to one poll, Haskell students, by a four-to-one
margin, opposed the efforts of the American Indian Movement”(14).
In the midst of the shooting death of Picotte and the Student Senate’s resolution to
disassociate the university from AIM, the Board of Regents released a statement on
March 15,1977, which appeared in the March 18 issue of The Indian Leader. In the
statement by the Board of Regents, the Regents informed the readers that they had taken
certain actions to make sure that the investigation would be carried out thoroughly and
without biases. Due to the uncertainty of the incident, it was written, the Regents “have
requested the U.S. Justice Department to conduct a full investigation into all aspects of
the incident” and also to request the “assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union”
to determine if the correct force was applied or whether it was excessive (Postoak 1).
45
�The Regents were also seeking a “more balanced account be presented in the media”
because the media coverage was producing biased information about Lawrence Picotte
by “characterizing him as a individual with a criminal record”(Postoak 1). The Regents’
statement is closed by urging the Haskell community to “stand together to protect the
good name of the school” (Postoak 1), which was possibly being slandered by the local
media coverage. Due to the time frame of this project, little investigation was made to
clarify what outcomes were produced by the U.S. Justice Department and the American
Civil Liberties Union.
On February 11, 1978 at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, the anti-Indian
legislation protest called “The Longest Walk” (TLW) began its roughly 3,000 mile
journey for Capital Hill. On April 21st,1978, The Indian Leader ran a front page article by
Fred Rednest announcing the arrival of the more than 200 Native American representing
over 70 tribes to Lawrence and Haskell. Vernon Bellecourt, AIM member and public
relations representative for TLW, spoke to Haskell students at the auditorium informing
them about TLW’s purpose and what the group would be doing around the Lawrence
community. Bellecourt also stated “Haskell administration offered their hospitality to the
walkers, they respectfully declined”(Rednest 1) and instead camped out side of town. But
though interviews with both Jerry Tuckwin and Pat Melody TWL did not camp outside of
town nor did they deny hospitalities offered to them by the Administration. Melody
remembers the large group camping at the southwest corner of the Haskell campus,
known as the powwow grounds today, and frequently using the bathroom facilities.
Melody was also told that when TWL left campus and Lawrence, the group had stolen
camping supplies that was offered to them by the Haskell Administration and had
abandoned their campsite leaving a large amount of trash behind. Melody understood that
TWL justified their stealing of the camping gear as “a knock on the Government since
this was a government institute” (Melody 4/8/06). A question that comes to mind is why
did Bellecourt tell the Haskell students that TWL had declined the hospitalities of Haskell
and turn around and abuse Haskell’s hospitality and disrespect the campus? Also just
over a year ago the Student Senate in a resolution petition, asked that “Haskell
disassociate itself from the adverse influence of the American Indian
Movement”(Postoak 1). Apparently the student petition had no effect on the handling of
future circumstances involving the activist group.
My Thoughts
Before I began searching for information about the political activism by Haskell
students during the 1970’s I initially thought the amount of information would be much
greater then it is. In my mind I was thinking, okay Indians are always wanting change,
especially during the Seventies. So I automatically figured there would be examples of
protests, sit-ins, rallies, and other demonstrations that occurred at Haskell Indian Junior
College during this time frame. But I quickly found out that issues here at Haskell were
much different then other universities across the nation. For example at other universities,
many of the student demonstrations where to oppose the Vietnam war and other military
46
�doings, but not at Haskell because of the respect Natives have for their warriors. Jerry
Tuckwin, Vietnam veteran and Coach at Haskell, shared with me that when he returned
from the war he was always treated with respect by the Native community. This respect
of Native warriors is something that is apart of Native American tradition. So to be an
Indian fighting in a war they will be considered as a warrior by their community.
Another difference between the happenings here at Haskell Indian Junior College
and at other educational institutes is that this college is for Native Americans only
meaning that there wasn’t racial conflicts because there was only one ethnic group here. I
think this fact plays a huge role in that the political displays didn’t have any other ethnic
groups opposing what the other was doing.
The information that I was in search of to answer my thesis question of what sort
of political activism when on here at Haskell during the 1970s came up negative. But I do
not think of it as a negative outcome because no information is negative. But I happened
to show that there were many issues going on here at Haskell that many people had
forgotten or did not even know about them. During the process of this research project I
uncovered that Haskell has a variety of intriguing stories that really needed to be
researched extensively to create a story from the students prospective on what has
happened at this culturally enriched University.
Works Cited
Hare, Charles. “Aggression Defeats Purpose.” The Indian Leader. Vol. 79 no.2. Haskell Indian Nations
University. 26 Sept. 1975.
Johnson, Rochelle. White, Frank. “Russell Means Tells AIM Goals.” The Indian Leader. Vol.77 no.1.
Haskell Indian Junior College. 28 September 1973.
Kotlowski, Dean J. Nixon’s Civil Rights: Politics, Principle, and Policy. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press, 2001.
Melody, Pat. Personal Interview. 8 April 2006.
Monhollon, Rusty L. “This is America?” The Sixties in Lawrence, Kansas. New York: Palgrave, 2002.
Postoak, Keith. “Investigation Continues on Picotte Death.” The Indian Leader. Vol.80 no.11. Haskell
Indian Junior College. 18 March 1974.
Rednest, Fred. “The Longest Walk Arrives”. The Indian Leader. Vol.81 no.13. Haskell Indian Junior
College. 21 April 1978.
Tuckwin, Jerry. Personal Interview. 10 April 2006.
“Dennis Banks Urges Boycott.” The Indian Leader. Vol.77 no.7. Haskell Indian Junior College. December
7, 1973.
“Trial Newsletter.” The Indian Leader. Vol.77 no.12. Haskell Indian Junior College. 8 March 1974.
47
�48
�49
�♦♦♦♦
American Indians in Public Schools:
A Continuing Challenge
By Joseph L Claunch
The purpose of this research is to examine the historical design of Indian education and make
connections to the present circumstances of Indian students in Lawrence Public School District
497. Lawrence provides a fertile model to illustrate a substantial gap in education between Indian
students and other race/ethnic groups. The outcome of this research will expose explicit biases in
federal policy and in the institution of education that have existed ever since the inception of
Indian education.
Introduction
Education in the United States historically has been used as a vehicle for the
federal government to further assimilate American Indians as well as perpetuate racial
class structure. Although the policy of Indian education does not appear to be as
culturally biased as it once was, the methods of instruction, assessing, and evaluating
Indian students produce the same results. Policymakers have introduced new initiatives to
improve the system of Indian education time and time again, but the fundamental
function of the process continues to uphold hegemonic principles.
In recent years, decolonizing methods in education have been the focus of Indian
scholars and Indian communities, including the community associated with Haskell
Indian Nations University. Decolonizing strategies applied to school-age Indian student
populations attempt to reverse the effects of a deep history of colonization in Indian
education. However, a dilemma remains, that 90% of the total Indian student population
attends public school systems, like Lawrence Public School District 497 (Swisher and
Tippeconnic 253). Decolonizing ideas are not relevant to these students’ circumstances
Due to a long history of assimilative federal policy, more than half of the Indian
populations no longer live within their tribal communities (US Census 2000). As a result,
Indian children are placed in the public school system where they are likely an isolated
minority. Along with being provided with a formal education in the public school system,
Indian students are often provided with the philosophy that the dominant society’s
priorities are in the students’ best interests.
To date, American Indian and Alaska Natives students comprise less than 1% of
the total student population in the United States (Characteristics of American Indian and
Alaskan Native Education). There are close to 600,000 Indian students enrolled in
schools K-12 (Swisher and Tippeconnic 253). Of the approximate 600,000 students, 90%
attend public schools (Swisher and Tippeconnic 253). In addition, 53% of the total Indian
student populations are in public schools with relatively few Indians (Characteristics of
American Indian and Alaskan Native Education). These Indian students are scattered
across nearly 79,500 public schools with an average of 0.6% American Indian and
50
�Alaskan Native enrollment (Characteristics of American Indian and Alaskan Native
Education). So what rights do these about 600,000 Indian children have to education in
the United States?
The education of Indian students is not federal law but is a trust responsibility
being fulfilled by the United States Government. This is largely due to the unique
sovereign status of Indian tribes with reference to their political relationship with the U.S.
Government. To appreciate the political relationship between the federal government and
Indian populations, there are two key terms that need to be defined. First, the “sovereign”
status of Indians can be defined as the exercise of political authority by an Indian person
or tribal nation. Next, “treaties” are the agreements between tribal nations and the United
States Government. It is important to note that during the treaty negotiating practice
between the federal government and tribes, 120 treaties contained educational provisions
(Rehyner 23). In many instances, large sums of Indian-occupied lands were relinquished
to the U.S. government in return for educational services. According to Executive Order
13096 (U.S. Department of Education) issued by President Clinton in 1998:
The Federal Government has a special, historical responsibility for
the education of American Indians and Alaskan Native students.
Improving educational achievement and academic progress for American
Indian students is vital to the national goal of preparing every student for
responsible citizenship, continued learning, and productive employment.
(1)
The premise of the second sentence in President Clinton’s executive order given here is
an example of how the federal government has become more politically correct and
subtle in their attempt to assimilate Indian students over time, but the mission has always
remained the same. These ostensible goals for American Indian students appear
admirable on the surface, but what is the student being forced to sacrifice as a result of
their progressive association with public school education?
Historical Design of Public School Indian Education
The design of Indian education began centuries before the initiation of public
school systems in the United States. The foundation of Indian education was shaped by
colonial strategies that attempted to thoroughly eradicate Indigenous cultures (Wilson and
Yellow Bird). In return, Indians were afforded the opportunity to partake in the marvels
of modern civilization. Nearly all of the focus would be directed toward the beginning of
the twentieth century, when Indian students were initially placed in public school
systems. However, it is important to understand how the policy of Indian education has
evolved over time.
There are three stages of the Indian education process: Christian missionary
education, boarding school education, and public school education. This summation
roughly covers the objectives of these three stages from the early 1600’s through 1940.
There were recurring ideas of U.S. policymakers that brought about the evolution of
51
�Indian education. They are numerous, but a few that are significant for the purpose of this
research are:
1) The education of Indians is a means of assimilation, exclusively.
2) Indian students have an inferior place within the system of education.
3) Indian students hinder the progress of the entire education system.
4) The White ethnic group considers itself inherently superior to Indians.
The formal education of Indian people began with the work of missionaries in the
early 1600’s. The intent of this education was dynamic because of the number of
European countries vying for Indian souls, but the overall objective of the Christian
missionary education was “assimilation by conversion” (Pewewardy 1). This conditioned
Indians to understand their inferior status in the order of Manifest Destiny. As the United
States came into its own and broke away from European dominion, the government
recognized that missionary education was not assimilating Indian students rapidly enough
to keep up with the expansion and progress of the country.
The boarding school system was proposed to the federal government in 1820
(Jaimes 377) as a possible solution to assimilating Indians into the mainstream society at
a faster rate. The benefits of a boarding school education far exceeded what the
missionary schools could accomplish in terms of assimilating Indian students. Boarding
schools included a missionary education, but also encompassed more of the values and
customs of the American mainstream not necessarily connected with Christianity.
Furthermore, boarding schools introduced a form of education that would provide Indian
students with the training and skills necessary to make a transition into the mainstream
economy. Even though Indian students were offered the prospect of participating in the
national economy, it did not indicate that their inferior condition had changed in the
minds of White policymakers and in American society.
Boarding schools prepared Indian students to be members of an underclass. Indian
students were trained to perform domestic labor that had little to no potential for the
economic development of Indian people and their communities. The nature of boarding
school education was basically a form of “assimilation by capitalism” (Pewewardy 1).
The Indians’ natural inferiority within the order of Manifest Destiny, during the
missionary school era, was replaced with their inferior place within the United States job
market.
Early in the 20th century, the federal government began to feel the financial
burdens of operating the boarding school institutions (Dee 10). In addition, the boarding
school system had proven to be largely unsuccessful in its attempts to assimilate Indian
students based on the low number of students that graduated from these institutions. This
was largely due to the fact that Indian students actively resisted the education they
received in boarding schools and returned to their tribal communities or “returned to the
blanket.” At the same time in history, public school systems began to flourish around the
country. The federal government saw public schools as a lucrative alternative to boarding
schools and as a result, began to appropriate funding into public schools in 1907, for the
education of Indian students (Dee 10). From that point forward, the federal government’s
52
�position on Indian education persistently favored placing Indian children in public
schools.
Dating from 1912 to the present day, more Indians students have been in the
public school system than in government and tribally controlled schools (Reyhner 50).
The federal government’s logic for placing Indian students in public schools appeared to
be strictly financial. However, public schools also presented Indian students with the
ultimate representation of citizenry, a White student population. The White student
population offered their peer-influence and values to the Indian students as a model, so
the Indian student could emulate them.
During the first twenty-five years of the twentieth century, the U.S. experienced a
boom in industrial manufacturing. For that reason, the organization of the public school
system developed and grew to maturity during a time of immense industrial expansion
(Charleston 21). The designers of public school education took measures to make certain
that the structure, organization, pedagogy, and culture of public schools were governed
by industrial ideology (Charleston 21). According to the Indian Nations at Risk Task
Force in 1992, “The vertical teacher-principal-superintendent-school board organizational
structure was modeled after the worker-foreman-president-board-of-directors pattern of
industrial organization” (21). Virtually every aspect of the students’ academic experience
was dominated by industrial customs and beliefs.
Examples of the industrial dogma in education can be found by surveying the
preceding design of schools, rigid class schedules, faculty/student relationships, and most
importantly the standardization of students as if they were products (Charleston 21).
Bordering on the way factories generated standardized products, the institution of public
schools—accreditation standards, teacher certification requirements, and standardized
tests—were employed to ensure the standardization of children (Charleston 21). A vast
majority of American citizens welcomed industrial ideologies in their children’s
education because industry was driving the national economy. One of the principal
industrial theories in line with education during this period in history was that students,
particularly Indian students, had to “learn to earn” (Haskell Self-Study 1-5).
Alternatively, the experiences and circumstances of the average American were
completely different from those of American Indians who had been forced to adapt to this
philosophy in education.
Throughout the first four centuries of colonization in North America, EuroAmericans had been determined to establish a hierarchy by race and ethnicity (Wilson
and Yellow Bird 144). A historical account of scientific testing, that allegedly assessed
the mental capacities of humans, directly conditioned Indian children to a state of
inferiority in the classrooms of public schools. Even as recently as the beginning of the
20th century, “many psychologists had a keen interest in scientifically proving that
Indigenous Peoples had low mental capacities” (Wilson and Yellow Bird 144). Although
the White perception of Indian people was not solely defined by this record of scientific
tests, attitudes of enlightened educators assumed that certain racial types would benefit
from education minimally at best (Wilson and Yellow Bird 145). These ideas were
widely established in mainstream academia and furthered the subjugation of Indian
students by an all-White education system.
53
�The political approach to Indian policy appeared to reverse in 1924 with the
passage of the Indian Citizenship Act (Rehyner 50). As a result, measures allegedly were
taken by the federal government to improve conditions for Indian populations and amend
the blunders of federal policy in years past. In the same year that Indians were granted
citizenry, the House of Representatives called together a committee of One Hundred
Citizens to discuss how the system of Indian education could be improved. The
committee concluded that a “far greater emphasis needed to be placed upon training
grassroots Indians to think white” (Jaimes 384). The committee of One Hundred Citizens
findings was followed up by a study in 1927, coordinated by Lewis Meriam, which in
part analyzed Indian education. The Meriam Report, in 1928, exposed numerous
discrepancies in Indian education and was considered to be a turning point in the process.
Lewis Meriam reported:
Our belief is that it is a sound policy of national economy to make
generous expenditure in the next few decades with the object of winding
up the national administration of Indian affairs. The fundamental
requirement is that the task of the Indian Service be recognized as
primarily educational, in the broadest sense of the word, and that it be
made an efficient educational agency, devoting its main energies to the
social and economical advancement of Indians, so that they may be
absorbed into the prevailing civilization or fitted to live in the presence of
that civilization. (Jaimes 384)
Here, Lewis Meriam sums up the methodical approach typically taken by the United
States when administering Indian policies during this period of history. The most
prevalent creed in federal policy at the time was to sever all trust responsibilities with
Indian people via assimilation, as soon as possible, and at the lowest possible cost.
Despite the federal governments conspicuous attempts to hypothetically improve the
conditions in Indian education, the outcome of their deceptive initiatives maintained the
original design of the practice. However, it is apparent that the federal government was
becoming more politically correct and subtle in their approach.
The federal government made it a law in 1929, that every Indian child “not under
government supervision to attend public schools in accordance with state laws; and state
officials were authorized to enter Indian occupied lands to enforce the measure” (Jaimes
384). When Indian students were placed within public school systems, the states assumed
the duty of education, thus reducing the federal government’s trust responsibility to
education. Consequently, in 1934, around the time of the Indian Reorganization Act,
Congress passed the Johnson-O’Malley Act (JOM) to assist Indian children in public
school setting.
The JOM Act was an assimilative policy in nature that allowed the Secretary of
the Interior to enter into contracts with states and pay them for providing public education
to Indians. The act attempted to increase Indian enrollment in public schools and alleviate
the financial burdens of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Rehyner 50). Funds provided by
the government through JOM were directly transferred into school districts’ general
operating fund and as a result, the school districts could do whatever they wanted with
the funds without accountability (Swisher and Tippeconnic 70). This unaccountability
54
�lasted for more than 40 years (Swisher and Tippeconnic 70). Schools that received funds
from JOM had nothing more than a moral obligation to see that the money was spent with
the Indian students’ interests in mind.
The history of Indian education up until 1940 illustrates that assimilation alone
was incomplete without the Indians and other minorities recognizing their natural
inadequacies when compared to the White race. In view of that, Indians and other
minorities endured years of oppression and victimization in a system that professed to
have their best interests in mind. The political mood in education shifted over time,
largely due to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s and 70’s. As a result,
multicultural education models were implemented into the pedagogy of the public school
system with the intent of making the institutions more consciously aware and sensitive to
the needs of students from all races and ethnicities. Public school curriculums were to be
more culturally relevant to meet the needs of all students, and educators also assumed the
responsibility of being aware of issues that challenge minority students and equipped to
deal with them (Reyhner 20). Given the history of Indian education and the successive
evolution of the process due to enlightened federal policy, one might presume that
perhaps the current state of Indian education has improved over time. However, after
investigating the Indian student enrollment in Lawrence Public School District UDS 497,
the outcome looks as if the current course of Indian education maintains the hegemonic
principles that the system was initially founded upon.
American Indians in Public School District USD 497
This section provides a depiction of United School District 497 in Lawrence,
Kansas. Conducting interviews with USD 497 employees and acquiring statistics from
appropriate officials are the primary method used to achieve the illustration. For privacy
concerns, interviewees will be not be referred to by name.
When comparing the local Indian residence to other urban communities, the
Lawrence Indian population is very unique because of its proximity to Haskell Indian
Nations University. Haskell employs a number of local Indian residents that live and raise
their children in Lawrence. Haskell’s students, alumni, along with Kansas University’s
Center for Indigenous Studies program students and employees, add to the Indian
population in Lawrence. The American Indian residents that have school-aged children
accordingly place their children in Lawrence USD 497 school district. The most
unparalleled statistic about the Indian students in USD 497 is the fact that the students
come from a wide range of federally recognized tribes and can be first, second, or even
fourth generation students taught in public schools. Also, a significant number of this
group, the children of faculty for example, come from college-educated families.
Statistics give a fuller view of the demographics. There are 482 Indian students
presently enrolled in the Lawrence Public School District, K-12, spring semester of 2006
(Subject C). This represents 4% of the total student population, which is 9,980 (Subject
C). The local representation of Indian students is in fact a high percentage when
compared to a national average of 0.6% American Indian/Alaskan Native enrollment in
55
�public school districts similar to USD 497 (Characteristics of American Indian/Alaskan
Native Education). To appreciate the diversity of Indian students enrolled in USD 497, it
significant to understand what percent of the students are acculturated to the public
school system or recently off the reservation. Indian students who have been exclusively
taught in public school institutions during the course of their academic career are
characterized as acculturated. This representation locally is roughly 60% in USD 497
(Subject C). Indian students that come to USD 497 recently off the reservation embody
approximately 25% of the Indian enrollment, but that percentage fluctuates from year to
year (Subject C). There are 15% of the Indian enrollment in USD 497 that are not
represented by these two categories, but these students can be categorized as students that
come from rural or other urban school settings. The most notable challenge these Indian
students face within USD 497 is collectively they have the lowest standardized test scores
of all races/ethnicities.
The Lawrence Public School District’s configuration bears a strange resemblance
to the historical description of public school design given earlier in the essay. The design
of local schools, organizational-structure, rigid class schedules, faculty-student
relationships, and the standardization of students through testing are evident in USD 497.
Close to the way public schools conditioned students for industrial jobs early in the
twentieth century, the present-day “function of public school education is to prepare
students for productive employment in the national economy,” according to Subject A.
Therefore, the “learn to earn” philosophy is clearly relevant to local students. This
philosophy in education has been problematic when applied to Indian student populations
in the past. However, contemporary Indian students and their families have been
assimilated to the point where they accept this concept as a means of survival. The more
valid problem at the present lies in the approach the system takes to accomplish the
initiative. According to Mike Charleston, Project Director of Indian Nations at Risk Task
Force in 1992:
The present American education system is a relic of the industrial
age. The educational system is doing poorly for a large number of students
of the mainstream society for the simple reason we are no longer living in
an industrial age. Native people never were and will not ever be in the
industrial age! (20)
After all these years of enlightened federal policy, the public school system is still
dominated by the industrial principles of the past. Indian students under these
circumstances are frequently offered two choices, assimilate or fail. Both decisions can
be and are considered failures in Indian communities.
While interviewing Subject B, the individual stated that in his/her experience,
“Indian culture, more than any other culture is least able to acclimate to the standards of
public schools.” Subject B was asked what approach the local district takes to improve
the situation for these types of students. Subject B answered, “according to recent
education policy, we need to get students from different cultures to buy into the system.”
Subject B’s personal views were different from that though; Subject B thought the system
of education should “get them to understand what is important to succeed without losing
56
�their culture.” Out of the three faculty members interviewed, Subject B was the most
culturally sensitive to the needs of students.
Native American Student Services is the school unit that dispenses federal
funding into programs that are intended to benefit local Indian students. The program
provides basic school supplies, tutoring, and assistance with school-related fees for all
Indian students (Dee 22-23). The program also includes a Parent Advisory Committee
(PAC), since JOM was amended in 1974 to require this input from families and
community. The PAC was attached to the program to allow parental involvement in the
implementation of specialized programs.
The PAC would seem to be a great initiative, allowing the parents of Indian
students to be directly engaged in their child’s education. In contrast, when examining the
recent JOM instruction manual, written by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there was a
glaring discrepancy conveyed in the introduction. According to the manual, the JOM Act
“has been amended various times, but its main objective has remained the same” and “its
basic purpose has also remained the same” (Johnson-O’Malley Handbook 1). Persuasive
phrasing makes the programs look as if they have the best of intentions, followed up by
these statements, but the assimilationist motives of the federal government have not
wavered. In addition, JOM and Title VII are primarily supplemental programs that have
no genuine impact on the nature of public school education. Realistically, the only
function these two programs serve is to make the transition of assimilation less abrasive
for Indian students and their families. Most of the services are economic, not cultural
enrichment.
Cultural and academic enrichment are possible. Services to assist Indian students
academically and culturally are available through Haskell’s Upward Bound Program.
Upward Bound provides tutoring, stipends, and a college preparatory program for all
Indian students who qualify. Requirements for Upward Bound services are based on the
student’s household income and membership in a federally recognized tribe. Upward
Bound, a summer program, provides a better service for local Indian students than the
two government mandated programs JOM and Title VII. This is largely due to their
culturally pertinent summer academy that prepares Indian students to go to college. I
have served the capacity as a counselor during the last two summer academies and have
personally witnessed affirmative outcomes for Indian students as a result of the culturally
appropriate program. In my experience with the Upward Bound program and as a student
at Haskell, whenever facilitators of educational initiatives can make the process culturally
relevant for Indian students, the results are positive.
Local USD 497 Indian high school students do have the additional benefit of a
Native American history course. The Native American history course is a step in the right
direction as far as the implementation of culturally relevant curriculum for Indian
students is concerned. Despite the relevancy of Native American history for local Indian
students, the course is strictly considered an elective, and a standard series of social
studies courses are first required for graduation. This series of social studies courses in
the two local high schools consists of Social Studies in 9th grade, Modern World History
in 10th, American History in 11th, and U.S. Government in the 12th (Lawrence Public
57
�Schools). The historical landscape illustrated by these required courses engages students
in a misleading interpretation of the past, particularly for students of color.
Subject C, in an interview, emphasized that American History poses the greatest
challenge for Indian students. Moreover, Subject C believes, “if there was one class the
students in the program consistently fail and hinders their ability to graduate, it is
American History.” American History courses today provide students with a description
of the past that upholds a longstanding tradition of White superiority, which was at the
expense of Indian peoples land, culture, and lives. Thus, the curriculum may be in
opposition to what students already know about Indian/government relations if Indians
are even mentioned at all.
As illustrated, there are a series of programs in Lawrence that attempt to support
Indian students in the local public school setting, more so than urban locations similar to
this town. Alternatively, the fact remains that the programs are supplemental and
generally support the process of assimilation.
It is an exceptionally complex task to accurately evaluate local Indian students
collectively because of the number of Indian families that move to and from Lawrence.
Due to this, the total Indian student population in USD 497 can fluctuate vastly from year
to year. USD 497 experiences a turnover of at least 25% of the students eligible for
Native American Student Services annually (Subject C). The drastic turnover in Indian
enrollment is primarily attributable to the number of Indian students that transition on and
off the reservation (Subject C). Approximately 25% of the students in the Native
American Student Services program come from a reservation location (Dee 90). Indian
students that come to Lawrence from a reservation pose the greatest challenge for
educators of Indian students in the school district.
All, every one of the students that come to USD 497 from reservations, are
substandard in terms of: literacy, language proficiency, grade point averages, and
standardized test assessments, according to Subject C. Additionally, Subject C declares
that students recently off the reservation commonly come into the local school district
two grade levels behind. An obvious explanation for these conditions is to blame the
reservation schools for their inability to effectively prepare this group of students. On the
other hand, when asking all of the subjects interviewed if there was a system set in place
to acclimate and reduce the culture shock for this group of students, they all answered
“no.” Ralph Nader, when testifying before Special Senate Subcommittee on Indian
Education in 1969, stated:
The student, bringing with him all the values, attitudes, and beliefs
that constitute his “Indianness” is expected to subordinate that Indianness
to the general American standards of the school. The fact that he, the
student, must do all the modifying, all the compromising, seems to say
something to him about the relative value of his own culture as opposed to
that of the school. (quoted in Rehyner 53)
Almost thirty-six years has passed since Nader made his proclamation on the topic of
Indian education. It is obvious in USD 497 that Indian students are still required to
subordinate their “Indianess” to the basic customs and beliefs of the local school system.
58
�The challenges Indian students encounter within the institution of public schools
are not equally dispersed to all racial/ethnic groups in American schools, but make
inexplicable connections to particular students of color. After investigating national
patterns in educational figures that parallel race/ethnicity, the results either support a
racial class structure or explicit biases in education, depending on personal points of
view. These patterns include inequalities in: special education, socioeconomic status, and
academic achievement (NCES). All three have been proven to have a profound impact on
how students perceive themselves and the subsequent potential for them to do well in
school. These characteristics suggest significant implications for Indian and Black
student populations locally and nationally.
Nationally, American Indian and Black children are more likely than any other
racial group to require special education services (Freeman 34). The same statistic holds
true in USD 497. Pewewardy alleges, “The major reason why there is an
overrepresentation of poor and ethnic minority youth in special education is because there
is a lack of appreciation for different cultural learning styles” (Wilson and Yellow Bird
142). The Indian enrollment statistics show that a disproportionate number of Indian
students receive special education services in USD 497. Approximately 21.6% of the 482
Indian students in the Lawrence Public School District require special education (Subject
C). Two years ago, the percent of Indian students in special education was 24% (Subject
C).
To give you an idea of how high this representation is, Subject C was asked if this
percentage was equivalent to other race/ethnic groups. Subject C stated, “If any subgroup
of students reaches 25%, then the system set in place to determine if special education is
required is considered to be over-testing students.” This percentage of Indian students is
exceedingly high when compared the district average for the total student population.
According to Kevin Harrell, assistant director of Special Education Student Data
Management, Black students locally are the only group that have a higher percentage of
students in special education and have been deemed as overrepresented in USD 497 by
the Kansas Board of Education. At this time, the average for the entire student population
receiving special education services is 14.64% (Harrell). That average includes Indians,
Blacks, and all other race/ethnic groups in USD 497.
According to the U.S. Department of Education report “Status and Trends in the
Education of American Indian of 2005”: “Poverty poses a serious challenge to children’s
access to quality learning opportunities and their potential to succeed in school.”
American Indian and Black families are nearly two and a half times more likely to live in
poverty than White families in our country (Freeman 16). Again, the socioeconomic
status of Indian and Black families in Lawrence draws a parallel to national averages. Of
the 482 Indian students enrolled in USD 497, 66% of them meet the criteria for free or
reduced breakfast and lunch (Subject C). That indicates that 66% of the total Indian
student population is at or below the poverty level in the Lawrence community. This
current feature of Indian residency in Lawrence is significant because socioeconomic
statuses have been directly linked to achievement levels and standardized test levels of
minority students in public schools.
59
�Similar to the way low socioeconomic conditions have been shown to adversely
effect academic success, “A considerable amount of data shows that power and status
relations between minority and majority groups exert a major influence on school
performance” (Reyhner 4). As a result, minority students can be “disempowered
educationally much the way that their communities are disempowered by interactions
with other social institutions” (Reyhner 4). The Indian community in Lawrence is
distinctively different from other Indian communities due to the number of educated
Indian people with a higher education. However, this characteristic does not appear to
have had a major impact on the local Indian students’ academic performance.
There are large discrepancies when studying achievement levels by race/ethnicity
in the United States. The federal government breaks race and ethnicity up into six
categories consisting of: White, Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Native Alaskan,
Asian/Pacific Islander, and Other. Indians, Hispanics, and Blacks are lower than Asians
and Whites when comparing achievement levels in reading, writing, science, and math
(NCES). Indians, Blacks, and Hispanics when academically compared to with Whites and
Asians, constitute what is known as the “achievement gap” in education (Rehyner 3).
When examining the history of these race categories within our country, it is not hard to
point out that the three lower achieving ethnicities consistently have been the victims of
oppression at the hands of the dominant White society (Reyhner 3). This trend in
achievement levels is evident in USD 497, but carries over to the more recent fixation
with standardized test scores.
The current fascination with standardized test scores in education is a result of
President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, of 2002. The broad objective of
NCLB is to lift achievement levels of every student, particularly underperforming groups,
“and to close the achievement gap that parallels race and class distinction” (Meier and
Wood 3). Moreover, “the bill intends to change this by focusing schools’ attention on
improving test scores,” particularly standardized test scores (Meier et al. 3). Schools that
do not meet standards of NCLB are penalized and deemed as failing schools. If parents
have children in failing schools, they can transfer their children to passing schools,
theoretically reducing the failing schools’ student enrollment and federal funding.
The system of penalizing schools for not meeting test standards has been
controversial and largely debated. Many educators believe that NCLB is creating an
environment that “is pressuring teachers to substitute an inappropriate focus on testtaking skills instead of serving the individual needs of the students in front of them”
(Meier et al. 56). Given that Indian students have history of scoring poorly on
standardized tests, they have yet again gained the attention of policy makers and school
administrators. Subject C explained that with the implementation of NCLB standards in
2002, “for the first time the local administration was concerned with the work of the
Native American Student Services department.” It is apparent that pressure on the local
school administration to meet NCLB standards triggered the more recent interests in
Indian education within USD 497.
Presently, NCLB standardized tests are administered to assess academic
achievement for every student, but more extensively for students in underperforming
groups because of the substantial gap in education that parallels race and ethnicity. These
60
�underperforming groups include Indian students and ultimately “perpetuate a system of
institutionalized racism” (Berlak 1). The result of measuring academic success solely on
a student’s ability to perform well on standardized tests justifies the labeling and
subsequent discrimination of underperforming groups like Indian students.
In 1998, Helen Dee, a student writing her masters thesis about Indian students in
the Lawrence Public School System, conducted an interview with the coordinator of
Native American Student Services. The coordinator told Dee that she “believes the
school programs in Lawrence school district are not adequately preparing the Native
American students to attend a college or university” (Dee 89). The students, she said,
“need extensive educational counseling to be able to prepare for college or to know about
their other options, such as vo-tech training” (Dee 89). She did not indicate if students are
receiving such counseling. She further stated, “Government grants allocated to the
program have assumed all students are going into the academic setting after high school”
(Dee 89). However, JOM and Title VII do not provide for post-secondary preparation
programs. First and foremost, government allocated grants do not presume that Indian
students are going to college. The grants specifically address Indian students enrolled K12 and attempt to meet the “unique and specialized educational needs of Indian children”
(JOM Handbook). The goal is very broad and makes no reference to an ensuing transition
for Indian students to “an academic setting” after high school. Nevertheless, if the
coordinator feels that this might be part of the program then why not provide the students
in the program with the prospect of going to college? Especially with opportunities that
Haskell Indian Nations has to offer?
At present, there is no organized effort to bring USD 497 American Indian or
Alaskan Native students to visit Haskell to encourage enrollment after high school
graduation. Kickapoo Nation School in Powhattan, Kansas, 83 miles away, is one of
several schools that provide organized trips for their students to Haskell to make students
aware of their opportunities at this college. Nor does USD 497 organize visits for
students during Haskell’s Career Day, when representatives from over fifty businesses,
universities, and federal agencies are present. The only official interaction between USD
497 and Haskell is the placement of Haskell’s education students in schools for student
teaching assignments.
In her interviews with Dee, the USD 497 Native Services coordinator said she
was a firm believer in vo-tech training and thought it “could make a difference for those
students who needed some maturation time between high school and college or wanted to
go to the technical fields” (Dee 89). The philosophy behind placing Indian students in
vocational training stems from the boarding school era; in that Indians worked well with
their hands and were not capable of performing jobs that required an extensive education.
The rich tradition of Haskell and the sum of Indian students striving to achieve a
higher education is what makes Lawrence so unique for the local Indian residents. Local
Indian students are missing out on valuable support of Haskell and KU Indigenous
Studies-related communities.
Sensitivity to different family patterns of Indigenous Americans was also lacking
in USD 497 employees. During the interview process, Subject C was asked what the
number one deterrent to academic success for local Indian students is. Subject C thought,
61
�“The schools should not and can not be responsible for raising the child.” Also, Subject
C refers to fact that 85% of the students in her program do not come from homes with
both biological parents, and other family members, such as grandparents, aunts, and
uncles, have to pick up the responsibility of raising the child. Subject C believes this is “a
tragedy and the situation for many African American students is the same.” Once more,
Indian and Black students share peculiar tendencies in education as a result of a built in
classification system that is rarely in their favor. And both ethnicities have family
structures that differ from the nuclear family model, in which grandparents, aunts, and
uncles have primary roles. Nonetheless, in Dee’s interview, the coordinator says that
“Many of the students who transfer from reservation schools have multiple problems
which include not living with the biological parent(s), attendance problems, high poverty
level, Social Rehabilitation Services-related problems, and a major gap in education in all
subjects” (Dee 89). This makes the parallel between parenting and high poverty adversely
affecting academic performance, but does not correlate them into the correct order or
context of deterrents to academic success.
To gain an additional perspective about Indian students coming from non-nuclear
households, Dan Wildcat, an author of a book on Indian education, was asked his opinion
about Indigenous students’ families being considered an academic liability. Wildcat felt
that it was a “moral value judgment about family; in the dominant society, nuclear
families are what constitute a good family.” This is not necessarily the case in Indian
homes where kinship can take on distinctively different roles than that of the dominant
society. It is perfectly normal and frequently necessary for additional family members,
other than the biological parents, to assist in raising the child in Indian homes. Wildcat
viewed this as “a good example of blaming the victim.”
When asking Subject C why Indian students have collectively the lowest
standardized test scores in the district, Subject C gave several explanations. First, Subject
C referred to the lack of both biological parents being present in the home. Next, Subject
C stated, “Indian students have trouble living in both worlds.” The “living in both
worlds” philosophy used to be a popular theory of non-Indians, but over the course of
social enlightenment, the model has been considered unworkable.
In a recent class held by Dan Wildcat, he expressed that “trying to live in two
world’s would create a condition of schizophrenia.” The point Wildcat was trying to get
across to the class was that it was impractical to live in two worlds, and if attempted
would lead to mental illness. If local Indian students are currently struggling to live in
two worlds, the situation for these students can create conditions where they likely would
view their world as inferior to that of school system. This is not because this is the truth,
but because principles that support a class structure have been rooted into the system of
education and justification is readily available, in standardized tests written for dominant
society experiences. Indian students should not and cannot be expected suppress their
cultural identity just because it may conflict with the mainstream custom and beliefs of
public schools.
Senator Edward Kennedy was part of a report, Indian Education: National
Tragedy, a National Challenge, and wrote that “Indian children more than any other
minority group believed themselves to be below average in intelligence” (Reyhner 55).
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�Nearly all the discouraging educational statistics in relation to Indian students in the
report are apparent in USD 497. What is most disturbing about the comparison of the
report to local Indian students is that the report was delivered to Congress in 1969. One
can presume that Indian students have and will continue to believe they are below
average in intelligence, given the institutionalized racism of public school education.
To probe further into Subject C’s point of view, the subject was asked how other
race/ethnic groups overcome similar adversities to perform well on standardized tests.
Subject C uses Hispanic’s as an exemplar race/ethnic group “that has a consistent level of
improvement on standardized tests that never waivers.” What's more fascinating is that
Subject C alleges the Hispanic students, “come from more stable homes, do not expect to
live on welfare, are hard workers, value education, and are more apt buy into the customs
and values of the school system.” Subject C places the blame of Indian student failure
solely on the students and their families without recognizing the system failures of the
school. It is also remarkable that Subject C uses the Hispanic population to draw a
comparison to a racial/ethnic group that is overcoming challenges to show improvement
on standardized test. It may even be commendable. However, the circumstances of
Indians, when compared to Hispanics, are polar opposites. The motivations for
immigrants are extremely different from those of Indigenous people in the United States.
Immigrants’ generally seek opportunity in America and embrace assimilation; American
Indians, currently and over the course of history, are in quest of cultural survival in the
face of constant oppression.
Conclusion
The parents of Indian children acknowledge that education is a necessity; in the
same way tribal leaders in the past negotiated treaties that contained educational
provisions. This is undeniable, but education continues to be the supreme tool exercised
by the federal government to further assimilation and maintain a racial class structure. All
too often, Indian children have been subjugated to the customs and beliefs of an
educational system that is supposed to act in the students’ best interests. On the other
hand, it is only appropriate to state that the faculty and specialized programs in USD 497
are not consciously attempting fail Indian students. The local district and faculty, for the
most part, are trying to provide Indian students with an education that will allow them to
succeed academically and, for the future, economically. However, the institutions of
education and conditioned faculty maintain an absolute point of view that is intolerant of
customs and beliefs from cultures that may differ from Western thought. As a result,
Indian students under these circumstances are left with two basic choices, assimilate or
fail.
I argue that if assimilation, by definition, is the process whereby a minority group
gradually adopts the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture, the government’s
assimilation policies of the past have been in a constant continuum by means of the
public school system. The basic assimilation of Indian people by way of education has
and continues to be only a part of the undertaking of public school education. The other
63
�part of the function makes certain that Indians and other minorities recognize their
inherent inferiority in relation to the White race. Dictatorial instruction, culturally biased
curriculums, culturally biased assessments, and the subsequent labeling of
underperforming groups accomplish this dual mission of public school education. These
conditions pose immense challenges for contemporary Indian students, but these
challenges should not lie solely on the shoulders of Indian students. When educational
failure is placed exclusively on the students and their families, a racial social structure in
education is perpetuated and even institutionalized.
Time continues to go by and the parents of Indian children today would like to
believe that their children go to school under more promising circumstances than
previous generations of Indian students. It is a fact that contemporary Indian students,
when compared to previous generations, demonstrate higher levels of educational
achievement. This is a clear indication of progress for the policymakers of Indian
education, but progress always arrives with a price. The reality of the existing conditions
in Indian education is that Indian students today are more culturally assimilated into the
mainstream society than ever before. However, these conditions in Indian education did
not occur naturally over time. The process of public school education has and continues
to be a self-serving machine that promotes assimilation and preserves a racial social
structure. These two concepts have been implanted into the foundation and function of
public schools, creating a progression of indoctrination to every new generation of Indian
students taught within the system. Once Indian students are placed in public schools, the
systematic function of the school carries out the complete process.
Works Cited
Berlack, Harold. Race and the Achievement Gap. Rethinking Schools. Online Volume 15. Summer 2004.
<http://www.rethinkingschools.org> March 2006.
Charleston, Mike G. Toward True Native Education: A Treaty of 1992. Final Report of the Indian Nations
at Risk Task Force, 1991.
Dee, Helen K., The Urban Native American Student: The Success of Native American Junior and High
School Students in Lawrence School District 497 Lawrence, KS. Kansas University, Masters
Thesis, 1998.
Fredrick, Joseph. Personal Interview. 22 Feb. 2006.
Freeman, C. and Fox, M. “Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaskan Natives.”
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 2005.
Harrell, Kevin. Telephone Conversation. 4 Apr. 2006.
Haskell Indian Nations University. Self-Study: Haskell Looks To The Future To Reclaim A Past. 2005.
www.haskell.edu/haskell/selfstudy. April 2006.
Jaimes, Annette, ed The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonization and Resistance. Boston: South
End Press, 1992.
Lawrence Public Schools USD 497. 2006-2007 High School Course Description Catalogue. Student
Services. February 2006.
http://lhs.usd497.org/lhs%20page/pages/Student%20Services/course%20descrip/HSCourseDescB
k.htm April 2006.
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�Meier, Deborah, and George Wood, eds. Many Children Left Behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act is
Damaging our Children and our Schools. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004.
Pewewardy, Cornel. “From Subhuman to Superhuman: Images of First Nations Peoples in Comic Books.”
Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education 2.2. (2002).
http://www.utpress.utoronto.ca/journal/ejournals/simile March 2006.
Rehyner, Jon, ed Teaching American Indian Students. 2nd ed. Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
Subject A. Personal Interview, Lawrence Public Schools, Feb. 2006.
Subject B. Personal Interview. Lawrence Public Schools, Feb. 2006.
Subject C. Personal Interview. Lawrence Public Schools, 22 Mar. 2006.
Swisher, Karen G., and John W. Tippecconic, eds Next Steps: Research and Practice
To Advance Indian Education. Charleston, WV: Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small
Schools, 2001.
United States Census Bureau. US Census 2000 Demographics Profile. The American Indian and Alaskan
Native Population: 2000. Issued February 2002. www.census.gov March 2006.
United States Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Characteristics
of American Indian/Native Alaskan Education. 1997-2004.
www.nces.ed.gov March 2006.
United States Government. U.S. Department of Education. American Indian Education 1998-2005.
www.ed.gov March 2006.
Wildcat, Daniel. Personal Interview. Haskell Indian Nations University, April 2004.
Wilson, Waziyatawin Angela, and Michael Yellow Bird eds. For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonizing
Handbook. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press, 2005.
65
�♦♦♦♦
Spirits Residing on Haskell Campus
By Aaron Edenshaw
Historical Background of Haskell
Haskell Institute was established in 1884 as a tool geared to assimilate Native
Americans into overall American society. Students at Haskell Institute varied in age,
from infancy to early twenties and adulthood. Over the years many Native Americans
have lived and died on Haskell campus. It is important to understand the complexities of
the spirits here at Haskell to fully appreciate the life of the school. The Native American
spirits residing here at Haskell have various reasons for spiritual residency. There are
spirits here who are trapped at Haskell, and then there are those who found sanctuary here
and wish to remain. Whatever the reason, most people who have been at Haskell for an
extended period of time have experienced their presence. I myself have had amazing and
often frightening experiences with the spirits here at Haskell within the past five years. I
have conducted research into this unseen population of the Haskell campus.
At Haskell there have been many fatalities. In regards to those that have passed
away at Haskell, here is an example of the severity in child deaths in the early years from
1884 to 1889. The student death record during those years limits the full understanding
and range of numbers. However, it is a good representation of just how much and how of
often death occurred in short period of time:
The one thing that must be remembered about the death record is that
those deaths are the only ones that were documented and does not count
the students who were sent home due to severe illness, nor the ones that
were not recorded. In some cases there is no diagnosis (Capes-Altom).
How many of these were documented and how many remain unsolved? There were
thirty-five entries total: 1 dead in accident, 1 dead of malaria, 6 deaths from pneumonia, 6
deaths from consumption, and 21 deaths with no diagnosis (Capes-Altom). As you can
see from “no diagnosis, deaths” records in the early years at Haskell were not well
documented. There remains a good possibility that many more deaths were
undocumented and remain that way today. This record of death suggests sorrow and
premature loss. Through my research, I hope to get a better understanding of the overall
picture in relation to spirits residing on Haskell campus and the reasoning behind the
mystery.
Many people have perished at Haskell, so have those deaths all been ill fated? Are
there past employees or their family members who may have found spiritual sanctuary
here at Haskell in the after life? Many Native American deaths have occurred off the
Haskell campus in Lawrence, Kansas. Yet there are stories of how these spirits now
occupy Haskell campus. Where did some of these deaths occur, and how did these deaths
66
�occur—tragically, accidentally, or naturally? So who will my research project benefit? I
believe my project will service those who have experienced spirits, those who may
eventually deal with spirits at Haskell.
Background Information and Stories
Background information is essential in understanding the true complexities and
realities of the paranormal experiences that have occurred in my lifetime. I want to
provide further insight into who I am and where I am from. It might help explain some of
the occurrences that since became a major part of my existence. I was born in Anchorage,
Alaska on March 3, 1981. My parents are Darryl Edenshaw, a Haida from Hydaburg,
Alaska and Sharon Quiver, a mixed Arapaho and Cheyenne from Wind River, Wyoming.
My mother helped raise me until the age of five. After a custody battle she no longer was
permitted visitation rights. It was difficult as a youth being raised without a mother. The
loss of cultural identity in the wake of her departure seemed miniscule during those years
as a youth. My father raised me and my siblings in Hydaburg, Alaska. He worked often
and left us under the care of our grandmother for extended periods of time. I grew up
since then as Haida and nothing else.
However, I always felt as though a part of my eternal makeup was missing or lay
dormant deep inside of me. It was as if something was there without me being able to
grasp the full context of its meaning. It was at this point, that I realized a difference in my
reality. I am not only Haida, I am also part Cheyenne and Arapaho.
I needed to find out more about that side of me. I tried tracking down my mother
through her relatives. I was able to locate her whereabouts but was not able to reach her.
In the end my search proved unsuccessful. Not many years later after my extended
search, I was notified that my mother had perished. I attended the funeral and became
partially acquainted with her side of the family, primarily my older brother John Quiver
(Beep John). The younger siblings from my mother's side were not able to attend the
funeral, which was a decision made by their grandmother, her husband's mother.
Intervention by opposing family members has been the biggest barrier in search of my
Cheyenne and Arapaho cultural identity. My primary culture, then, is Haida.
There is a complex cultural belief system that encompasses the realm of the Haida
people. The Haida people are divided into clans, the two most prominent being the Eagle
and the Raven. Ts'laanas in translation means Eagle clan. Yak' laanas in translation
means Raven clan. All other clans (Wolf, Bear, Frog, Killer Whale, etc) are a derivative
of the two main clan moieties mentioned above. Every Haida born naturally follows their
mother’s clan. This tradition has been followed to ensure that our people do not
intermarry. The clan system for the Haida people is very strict. Only members of
opposing clans can marry. There can be no intermarrying; it would result in catastrophic
events causing disruption of the gene pool (Marlene Edenshaw).
The Haida people are Potlatch people (sharing of wealth ceremony) who
commend their good efforts by gift giving. It is believed that if a person is generous in
this lifetime, then in the next they shall be rewards for their efforts towards helping
67
�people in good faith. Some Haida wish to be reincarnated as an animal such as their clan
symbol or be born again into wealth or good fortune. Other Haida would much rather
leave it up to the Creator to decide their next beginning (Claude Morrison). Through the
oral passages handed down from generation to generation, it is safe to say that my people
the Haida are believers in reincarnation. Haida people rely on trial and error and good
faith as predominant factors contributing to their placement in a new beginning. This way
of life is still prevalent in Haida society and is exonerated in day to day interactions
among those living in my community. The effects of civilization have masked or buried
some of these old life ways. However, if you look deeply into societal structure, you
recognize the commitment and respect people have for one another (Alice Kitkoon).
Haida people have the utmost respect for their dead, in part because of the belief in
reincarnation, as this Haida elder shows:
At a meeting with the non-Haida citizens of Sandspit, the forest industry
town in Haida Gwaii, loggers insisted on their legitimate right to jobs and
to their way of life on the islands. Finally, a Haida elder rose and said,
Most of you have lived here for only five or ten years. Our people have
been here for thousands of years. How many graves of your people are
there in Sandspit? After a stunned silence, the Answer came back. None.
(Suzuki/Knudtson).
As a Haida person, I have this respect for the afterlife.
Haskell Indian Nations University
I heard about Haskell as an adolescent and planned on attending college in Lawrence,
Kansas. I was accepted to attend the spring semester of 2000. I had never been to the
plains area before; the experience was shocking yet very exciting.
My first semester here was when the stories began, I heard of spirits roaming the
halls on the third floor in Blalock Hall. After hearing the story I feared looking out my
second floor window up to third floor, thinking that I might see the spirit students talked
about. For reasons unknown to my person, I felt as though it was a bad spirit trapped on
the third floor. Later in the semester I was assigned to clean rooms on the third floor. As I
cleaned room 313, I heard a loud crash come from room 315.These two dorm rooms were
linked together by a bathroom; I instantly ran out of the room as if I was being chased. I
have only been to the third floor in Blalock Hall a few times after that incident and
remain uneasy and extremely alert whenever visitation to that eerie place occurs.
During that same semester, I heard multiple stories about Pocahontas Hall and the
haunting that occurs there. The first story I heard about Pocahontas Hall was that a girl
was thrown, jumped, or got pushed out of a window on the second floor and fell to her
death inside the four corner confinement that was built to hose the students down in the
most inhumane hygienic fashion.
Well, as the story goes, she can be seen there sometimes in the middle of the night
looking up at the window. Also, she is sometimes seen staring out of the window in
which the incident occurred. Another story about Pocahontas Hall is that girl was hung in
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�the basement and can be seen en route to what is now the laundry room. My girlfriend at
the time said, “I always felt creepy doing my laundry, even during the day” (Heather
Larsen). This was before she had ever heard the story. Even to this day, Pocahontas Hall
residents would rather do laundry with a friend whether it is day or night.
I eventually moved into to Roe Cloud Hall, as do all students continuing on at
Haskell. Roe Cloud is one of Haskell’s finest dorm residencies. Roe Cloud appeared to
serve as a type of sanctuary in comparison to Blalock Hall. My first encounter there
began during an evening nap in room 312. I heard two men having a mild conversation
during a song sung in a Native tongue not my own. I tried desperately to open my eyes so
that I could vacate the room.
At one point I couldn't even move. My eyes were stuck staring upward as far into
my eye socket as they would go. It must have looked as though I was having a seizure.
Then when I had just about given up, the spirit or spirits released me. I immediately left
the room; it was so strange and unbelievable that I could not bring myself to tell anyone. I
slept at my friend’s apartment that night. I moved out of that room eventually and was
placed in various rooms located in Roe Cloud. I decided to move back into room 312
upon chance, noting that it provides its occupants with a luxurious balcony.
This time however, my roommate was almost never present. The haunting started
in the beginning of the semester, and it was strong. Almost every night I felt a spirit or
some type of existence standing beside my bed staring at me. This spirit was definitely
creepy and left me terrified at times, leaving me awake all night on the edge of suspense.
I slept with my back towards it and my face staring directly at a white concrete wall.
I talked to a friend of mine, and she referred me to a person who carried medicine
for these types of occurrences. By this person I was given tobacco, which had been
blessed by a medicine man in Montana. Also, I was given sweet grass. I was told to
sprinkle the tobacco in every corner of the room that was bothering me, and then I was to
make prayers, asking the Great Spirit to lift the harm from my room. During the prayer I
was to use the sweet grass to smudge away the bad feeling into a new beginning.
After this was complete, I felt confident my troubles were alleviated, and they
were for awhile. This is when I found out that drinking alcohol allows for bad spirits to
enter our lives and our homes. The disturbances went off and on for the remainder of the
semester, in pretty much the same way. At one time, later in the semester, I felt as though
my mother was watching out for me in that room some nights from the other side. If
nothing else, it was a comforting thought, a thought that got me through some of those
horrible nights.
Personal Interviews
My own experiences are not uncommon. Others have experienced Haskell spirits.
Selma John is a College Residential Assistant at Roe Cloud Hall. She has been employed
at Haskell for seven going on eight years. Selma claims that she has never physically
experienced spiritual activity at Haskell campus herself but has had students complain
over the years about spirits on Haskell campus. She worked at Pocahontas Hall for four
69
�years; during her time there she heard a story about a girl who committed suicide by
hanging herself. The girl's spirit is now referred to as "Ms. Pocahontas" by many Haskell
CRA employees.
Selma remembers one recent occurrence within the last year where a student from
Alaska was staying at Pocahontas Hall. The student came to her in the middle of the night
with a pale face, scared as ever. She told Selma, she was lying in her room asleep when
she felt someone jump on her, holding her down in bed. All the sudden, that person
jumped off her.
By then she realized there was no one else in the room with her. The student just
lay there in shock, scared to look and see what or who it was that just attacked her. The
girl told Selma that she felt the spirit staring at her, but when she finally worked up
enough courage to look in that direction, there was nothing to be seen. This is when the
girl bolted out of her room to tell Selma about the occurrence. Selma checked the room
and found no evidence of an intruder.
Selma had a discussion with the student and tried to assure her that the spirits
were not there to hurt her. Luckily it was a one-time experience, and Selma never heard
any more complaints from the Alaskan girl. Selma told me that she once got a complaint
in Winona Hall about a basketball being bounced in the middle of the night on the second
floor. Selma told the complaining student that there was not anyone on the second floor
in that wing because everyone had checked out for Thanksgiving. Selma went to
investigate the noise anyway, about half way up the stairs she heard the basketball
bouncing. She hurried up the stairs to catch the perpetrator, but when she got around the
corner all she saw was a basketball rolling towards the upstairs exit. No one was present
in that wing; she turned right around and made her way down stairs quickly.
Tom Spotted Horse is a Kiowa and a College Residential Assistant at Minoka
Hall. Tom grew up on the Haskell campus during the 1960's. He has fond childhood
memories of Haskell. However, he makes it very clear that he never experienced spirits
during his younger years. Tom later returned to Haskell and has been employed here for
fourteen years.
Almost immediately after our introduction, Tom explained that he had some very
revealing photographs and asked if I wanted to check them out. I replied yes of course,
and then he pulled up the photos on the computer. Astonishing. There were various
pictures of a face that, seemingly, had been pressed up against a window. The impression
was so well defined that you could see the individual wrinkles upon the face. The eye
socket, nose, and cheek were prominent throughout the photographs.
Tom then explained how the facial impression got there. It happened to Ed
Simpson, a College Residential Assistant at Osceola Keokuk Hall. This occurred during
the middle of the night. Haskell was not in session at the time, and he was said to be the
only one occupying the building. Ed was sitting in the front office when he heard
someone rattling the door handle, as if they were trying desperately, to leave the building.
Startled, he got up at once to see what all the commotion at the door was, but when he got
there nothing except an impression was evident. Apparently he decided it needed to be
recorded, and so he and another staff member took photographs. Tom said he knew who
70
�made the facial impression. It was the face of a man who used to work at Haskell, a
College Residential Assistant that died in 1996.
Tom said he had a more recent spiritual encounter. One night during the fall
semester of 2005, he heard foot steps come down the stairs from the common area at
Minoka Hall. The foot steps walked towards his office located at the western most edge
of the building. Those footsteps passed his room and proceeded down the hallway where
student housing was once provided. Tom got up to inspect the noise and to his
amazement, no one was there, not a trace. The next night it happened again in the same
fashion and again, no one. This time, Tom decided to turn the lights in that hallway. The
disturbance stopped, so Tom left the lights on every night thereon for the remainder of
the semester.
Tom shared an even more recent occurrence, which happened only a few months
ago. Tom sat at his desk typing when he heard someone trying to get into his office. He
saw the spirit’s footsteps draped under the door; however, when he got up and answered
the door, Tom did not see anyone.
Every so often Tom brings his dog with him to work. He said on various
occasions his dog would bark and growl at spirits that Tom himself could not see. One
day the dog was getting on Tom's nerves by barking, He told the spirit to leave the dog
alone and assured the spirit that the dog did not want its company. All the sudden the dog
stopped barking and all was well.
In closing, Tom said that as a youth he and friends heard of a girl who hung
herself in Pocahontas Hall and of a boy who did the same at Powhatten Hall. The other
story was about a girl who drowned beneath Hiawatha, in a swimming pool.
Henry Collins is a Ponca and CRA at Blalock Hall. Henry seemed reluctant to
talk with me at first, since I brought up the term “ghost.” The Ponca believe that once a
person dies, the spirit leaves unto another place other than earth. Henry says that Ponca
believe spirits travel through the mind. He believes that a person's spirit can travel to
another place through envisioning this occurrence. He said people often do this by day
dreaming and envisioning better times in their lives.
Henry said that for many people Haskell has been a happy place and people like
to remember it in that fashion. So, their spirits often travel here for sanctuary, and
remembrance:
Real Indians know about spirits, they’re comfortable and accept them. They don't
fear them. Non-Indians don't know about spirits. They’re not taught about them,
and so when they reveal themselves, it’s scary to them (Collins).
This was an interesting concept, and I began to realize what he was saying. Henry used
alcoholics as an example. He said that they often envision themselves during a better era
in their lives and they use alcohol to bring them back to these happier times. It all began
to make sense; he then began to explain the complexities of our distinct societies.
Tom Spotted Horse recommended that I see Ed Simpson, the CRA on duty at
Osceola Keokuk Hall. Ed could tell me first hand what he experienced the night he found
the facial impression on the window. When Ed and I sat down, he paused and began
going into full detail of what took place that night. He said it happened in the winter
months around Christmas. Ed decided to curve the conversation at that moment and told
71
�me about how the door at the main entrance seems to open around powwow time like
clock work. “It wasn’t the first time it opened like that,” he said. “It does it every so
often, mainly around powwow time” (Edward Simpson). He got back to his story; he
explained to me that there had been a little traffic before that with staff coming in and out
prior to its happening.
Ed said things slowed down two hours prior, and the building was awfully quite
by then. All the sudden, he heard the door handle rattling as if someone were trying to
leave. At the time Ed was positioned where he was fully capable of seeing people leaving
or entering. This struck him as somewhat strange.
He got up to check it out, and as he walked toward the door where the noise
originated, he felt an extremely eerie feeling come over him. “It made the hair on the
back of my neck stand up,” he said. ”That never happened before”(Edward Simpson). Ed
went out side to check the perimeter, but he did not see anything unusual, and no one was
around. He turned to go back inside and he saw it, the facial impression. He got spooked
and called security over to investigate, Ernie Wilson came over, and he and Ed took
multiple photographs of the impression using Ernie’s camera phone.
Ed has since then wondered why something of that nature would reveal itself to
him at that particular time. He remained skeptical and alert for any more supernatural
phenomena to occur on his watch. Ed remembered a student who lived on the second
floor of Osceola Keokuk Hall. The student complained that children would wake him in
the middle of the night by playing in his room. The student said that when he arose to
turn on the lights, the children seemed to scatter and then follow each other out the
window at an alarming rate. The student said it happened on more than one occasion. He
was obviously scared; his body trembled as he rehashed the story to Ed. It had gone on
long enough to where the student did not even want to stay in the dormitory at all. So, he
packed up and moved from Osceola Keokuk Hall over to Roe Cloud Hall.
I ran into Ernie Wilson as I was leaving. He is now campus security. Ernie agreed
to an interview with me. He has worked at Haskell for fourteen years. He has served
various positions at Haskell throughout his many years, most importantly as a CRA. I
was excited to meet with Ernie, since all of my other interviewees said he was the main
man to talk to about spirits at Haskell.
We finally got a chance to sit down; I asked him if he ever experienced spirits on
Haskell campus. He chuckled and remarked, “So what do you want to hear? Where
should we start?” I replied, “Wherever you feel comfortable.” His first story was a follow
up of what had happened at Osceola Keokuk with the facial impression. I had heard from
Tom that Ernie had seen something at Osceola Keokuk. It seemed as if I had reminded
him of something that he had stored fresh in his memory the whole time, as if it happened
yesterday.
He said he was working at Osceola Keokuk before renovations had been done. It
was roughly ten years ago. He was working during the summer when no one was around.
He was sitting in his office when he heard tiny little foot steps running down the hallway
away from his office. He got up to see who it was and heard more tiny footsteps; he
followed those footsteps, and heard more. It began to freak him out, so he went back to
his office. Not long after that, he saw a child’s face peek around the corner at him, and
72
�the face was smiling. The child took off again as if he wanted to play with Ernie, so Ernie
got up and went out to the hallway and saw the first child and a second child at the end of
the hallway.
Ernie admitted to being semi-scared but then figured that the children must have
just wanted someone to play with. At the end of shift the secretary came in. Ernie asked
her about the children, and she said she saw them from time to time also. Then she
explained to Ernie that Osceola Keokuk Hall was built over the original Haskell
cemetery. And there was a good chance that the excavators did not remove all the bodies.
After awhile Ernie said he got used to it and learned to accept spirits at Haskell.
Ernie remembers a student at Blalock Hall who had a spiritual encounter. The
student came screaming out of his room on the second floor all the way down the stairs to
the CRA office. He was pale in the face; Ernie asked the student what happened, hoping
to be of some assistance. The student just shook his head no. After hours of persistence
with no answer, Ernie began losing his patience and gave up trying to get answers from
the student. That night the student slept on a couch in the down stairs lobby.
The next day went by fine and all was forgotten, until the following night. Again,
the student came screaming out of his room like the night before. And still the student did
not comply with Ernie’s request for information. The student then asked if Ernie could
assign him to another room in the dormitory.
Ernie then explained that it would be impossible for him to do that without a valid
explanation. The student paused and then began to tell Ernie what he had seen. He said he
was sleeping fine and awoke out of a dead sleep to find that he had a visitor; he described
it as a white figure with gray hair. The figure was seated with its back towards him and
its face fixated staring out of the window. The student began towards the light switch,
and then the figure slowly turned around. With a persistent gaze, the figure slowly moved
closer. It eventually began passing through the student. The student said he endured an
indescribable chilling numbness residue from within reaching outward throughout the
whole of his body. This is when he was finally able to break from his room. It happened
identically two nights in a row. Ernie felt like it was a valid reason to reassign the student
another room.
Ernie told another story about Osceola Keokuk, where a student was involved in
devil worship. In the late nineties Ernie worked over at that dormitory. One week in
between room checks the satanic student painted the whole of his room black except for a
white pentagram on one wall and what appeared to be a devilish goat. Eventually they got
rid of the student and repainted the room and replaced the vandalized door. However, the
CRA on duty recognized the replaced door had the face of a devil engrained into the
outside of it. That door was replaced and again a devil appeared engrained on the outside
of the door. So, the room was smudged and prayed for, and a third door was installed.
The room remained all right for the moment; eventually they moved a student into
the room. His name was Michael, a Comanche boy from Oklahoma. All was well until a
fellow student complained of loud noises and what sounded like appliances crashing into
the walls. So, Ernie and staff went up to Michael’s room. They heard him cussing and
screaming for staff to let him out.
73
�They all took turns trying their keys, none of them worked: “the tumblers in the
lock just kept spinning round and round nothing was catching” (Ernest Wilson). They
asked Michael to let them in since the door was capable of opening from the inside also.
He tried and staff heard it, but still no luck. Michael threatened to jump out the window if
staff didn’t think of something quick. He said that there was definitely something in there
with him, and it was either jump or open the door.
Ernie told him to hang tight that there was a ladder on the way, and then he
radioed in a latter from facilities. Just as the latter were arriving, staff members were able
to get the door open. Michael came out of the room in complete hysteria; he swung
punches violently at staff. Eventually they were able to calm him down and reason with
him. After the discussion, he realized that they had sincerely tried to help him. He
couldn’t stay there another night and immediately moved off campus with friends and
family. Two weeks after this incident Michael and two other Haskell students died
violently in car accident in the late hours of the night, close to the same hours of the
occurrence at Osceola Keokuk two weeks prior.
One story Ernie had involved a Lawrence Police Officer. His name was Robert
Heffel a non-Indian man. The police were making routine checks at Haskell campus
during the summer months. School was not in session, and the cops were doing random
checks in regards to vandalism. As they rounded the circle drive in front of Pocahontas
Hall, one officer noticed a girl in a window on the second floor.
The girl was banging on the window as if she were trapped and needed help. The
officers tried desperately to enter the building but could not. Eventually they were able to
notify facilities and someone came to let the officers in. One went bolting up to where he
had seen the girl, but the door was locked. He had facilities open the door to the room.
No one was in there. The officer was stunned, as were his counterparts. They began
poking fun at the officer who had seen the woman banging on the window. The Haskell
facilities worker stopped them short. He explained that a girl once hung herself in the
room where Heffel saw a girl pounding on the window. The officers looked terrified, and
the man from facilities escorted them out of the dormitory.
Conclusion
It is highly evident that many spirits reside on Haskell campus. Those spirits
consist of children from early boarding school days. There are past students who have
perished and remain on campus by choice. Past employees have passsed on and returned
to the Haskell campus for the sanctuary they once found when alive. Then there are those
whose spirits might be condemned or confined to Haskell because of the tragic nature of
death. The bottom line is that there are spirits on the Haskell campus, and the reasons for
them being here could just as well be as complex as the reasons for those living beings
that reside on the campus.
Being Native American and having so many different belief systems in one area,
it is impossible to bundle together the whole spiritual presence and determine a valid
explanation. It is just too diverse of a subject. We should, as Native people, be able to
74
�share cultures with one another comfortably. The creator gave our nations individual
belief systems for a reason, and each should be equally respected. I believe even more
sensitivity needs be applied to each other at Haskell, because inevitably we are our own
community.
In the short time I have been here Haskell, I experienced a bond among students
that quite possibly does not exist anywhere else on the planet. At powwows away from
school Haskell, students always seem to find each other for comfort. With this knowledge
the spirits residing here I believe find comfort in one another. This may be the case for
spirits at Haskell. Maybe they in some way comfort each other and look out for one
another.
The Haida believe that if you exert good energy in life, then there is a good
chance it will be matched in the afterlife. We believe that everything is set in place, and
that this is the chosen way and it should not be contested by human beings. Our spirits
serve as guidance in our journey. They help us by reminding us of who we are and where
we ought to be. My spiritual encounters have helped me realize that I am mortal and that
there is another world after this one. It is partially up to me to determine my after life. In
closing, the experience has been spiritually enlightening and has helped broaden my
understanding of spiritual presence.
Works Cited
Beck, Peggy V. Walters, Anna Lee. Francisco, Nia. The Sacred. Tsaile, Arizona: Navajo Community
College Press, 1992.
Capes-Altom, Mila. Students at Haskell Institute from 1884 to 1889. Lawrence: Haskell Indian Nations
University, August 2000.
Collins, Henery. Personal Interview. Lawrence. 25 Apr 2006.
Deloria, Vine Jr. God is Red. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing, 1994.
Deloria, Vine Jr. Spirit & Reason. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing, 1999.
Eakins, Paul. "Haunted: Many Haskell Students Accept Spirits on Historic University Campus." Topeka
Capitol Journal 4 Nov 2001.
Edenshaw, Marlene. Personal Interview. Hydaburg, Alaska.
Irwin, Lee. The Dream Seekers. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
John, Selma. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 24 Apr 2006.
Kitkoon, Alice. Personal Interview. Hydaburg, Alaska.
Larsen, Heather. Personal Interview. Sisseton, South Dakota.
Morrison, Claude. Personal Interview. Hydaburg, Alaska.
Simpson, Edward. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 25 Apr 2006.
Spotted Horse, Thomas. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 25 Apr 2006.
Suzuki, David. Knudtson, Peter. Wisdom of the Elders. New York: Bantam, 1993.
Wilson, Ernest. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 25 Apr. 2006
75
�
♦♦♦♦
A DEEP MAP
OF
HASKELL INDIAN NATIONS
UNIVERSITY
by
Joseph Claunch, Sheila Crawford
Aaron Edenshaw, Richard Lary
Samatha Pete & Blaine Wise
♦♦♦♦
1
�Printed at the Navarre Hall Printing Center
May, 2006
Haskell Indian Nations University
Lawrence, Kansas 66046
All regulations pertaining to Federal printing policies apply.
Views expressed in the essays are those of the authors only and are
not necessarily the views of the university.
2
�♦♦♦♦
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction,
by Denise Low / 4
Mapping Haskell’s History of Land Transaction,
by Richard Lary / 6
First Students at Haskell: 1884-1889,
by Samantha Pete / 19
Haskell Boarding School Era: Transition Years of 1900 to 1902,
by Sheila Crawford / 28
A Decade of Change: Haskell Activism in the 1970’s,
by Blaine Wise / 39
American Indians in Public Schools: A Continuing Challenge,
by Joseph L. Claunch / 49
Spirits Residing on Haskell Campus,
by Aaron Edenshaw / 65
♦♦♦♦
3
�4
�♦♦♦♦
Introduction
by Denise Low
Seniors enrolled in American Indian Literature Seminar, a symposium
requirement for the American Indian Studies bachelor degree program, completed
research projects on the topic of a deep map of Haskell Indian Nations University. The
term “deep map” comes from cultural geography, meaning a multidimensional chart of a
specific site, including geology, history, literary history, natural history, weather,
interviews, journalism, and science. This vertical view of a small area unpacks into
complex interweaving of natural facts and human experiences. Student Richard Lary
defines a deep map as “the layout of the land, but also mapping the history of a certain
place through stories and the feelings held by people that are some how connected to this
place.” The human dimensions as well as the physical contours all create a descriptive
gazetteer.
The responses to this topic show Haskell as a dynamic location. Janet Allen
interviewed Haskell community members who grew up at Haskell, as children of staff
members. They reconstruct, in their conversation, a Haskell that no longer exists as a
physical reality, but rather as a shared set of memories. Many of the buildings they knew
are gone, and many of the people, yet their remembered reality continues to exist. The
interviews are available at the Haskell Cultural Center archives, on video tape, rather than
within this publication.
The first essay, “Mapping Haskell’s History of Land Transactions”
by Richard Lary, catalogues the literal mapping the land and landscape known as Haskell
Indian Nations University. He reconstructs the original 280-acre holdings given to
Haskell by Lawrence townspeople in 1884; the parcel additions as Haskell grew to over
1011 acres; and the diminished boundaries as U.S. termination of Indigenous tribes
policies in the 1950s reduced landholdings. Today Haskell is 319 acres. His maps, charts,
and references to Douglas County quick deeds give a needed foundation for
understanding the legal title to the land base.
Samantha Pete’s essay “First Students at Haskell: 1884-1889” summarizes the
hardships endured by both staff and students during the first years of the institution.
Government policy mandated a European-derived and Christian, rather than Nativecentered, curriculum. Readers may find it surprising how much interaction occurred
between townspeople and Haskell during that era. Charles Robinson, the first governor of
Kansas, was a superintendent. University of Kansas students hosted Haskell students for
Bible study classes on Sunday afternoons. This interaction continued into the 1890s,
when James Naismith, innovator of basketball, coached basketball at Haskell as well as
KU. Pete gives the early Haskell history, which is the reference point for all subsequent
eras. Sheila Crawford's essay “Haskell Boarding School Era: Transition Years of 1900 to
1902” shows some of the adaptations Native people made to the school that allowed the
5
�institution to survive. Survival of Haskell is linked with cultural survival and sovereignty
today.
Blaine Wise studies the 1970s era of activism at Haskell in “A Decade of Change:
Haskell Activism in the 1970s” to see what occurrences related to the civil rights issues
of the day. He documents the visits of member of the American Indian Movement to the
Haskell campus and to Lawrence. The Longest Walk of 1978 stopped at Haskell, and
AIM members Russell Means, Dennis Banks, and Clyde Bellecourt were among the well
known figures who participated. The student newspaper The Indian Leader suggests
some of the tension surrounding these events as well as the death of a Haskell student at
the hands of the Lawrence police in 1977.
Joseph L.Claunch examines the public school environment of the present day to
see if assimilationist school designs, such as that of 19th century Haskell, have changed.
He reviews public educational policies from colonial times to the present, and then
interviews Lawrence school employees to gain perspective on Native students’
experience in 2006. Many of these students are children of Haskell students, staff, and
faculty. He finds that “90% of the total Indian student population attends public school
systems, like Lawrence Public School District 497,” and in the public schools, Native
students are isolated as small minorities, less than 1% of most schools’ total school
population. Many Haskell college students come from similar public school situations. In
Lawrence, 482 Indian students make up 4% of the total enrollment. Claunch examines
their educational experience.
A final response to this research topic is Aaron Edenshaw’s essay on spirits and
ghosts who continue to have existence in Haskell stories. Few people have spent time at
Haskell without becoming aware of this type of experience. Several articles document the
spirits, and within the oral tradition of the school, even more stories abound. This
dimension is not usually thought of as part of an atlas, yet the cemetery, Pocahontas Hall,
and other places on campus have well known associations with specific supernatural
experiences.
At the end of the semester, Lary summarized his experience:
I have learned through the Deep Mapping project of Haskell campus that
applying this concept to a certain place such as Haskell adds character as
well as new dimensions to the school as a whole. It allows for a broader
view of Haskell, and lets the stories and experiences of people that have
been influenced by Haskell over its long history live on. In my opinion the
best thing about Deep Mapping Haskell is that it shows to those who have
no affiliation with Haskell that it is more that just land and buildings. It is
a living breathing entity to anyone that has experienced Haskell.
These six essays, and the videotaped interviews deposited in the Cultural Center archives,
add to the richness of the Haskell experience. I am grateful to the student writers for
letting me be part of this process.
Denise Low
Haskell Indian Nations University, May 2006
6
�♦♦♦♦
Mapping Haskell’s History of Land Transactions
By Richard Lary
The amount of changes that the Haskell campus has seen is great, so in order to
narrow the scope of research, this paper focuses on the campus land boundaries. The
amount of land held by Haskell was at one point in time much larger than the present day
campus. To gain an understanding of exactly what areas of land surrounding campus
were at one time owned by Haskell, sectional maps and descriptions of land sales are
utilized to show how Haskell obtained the land and what events occurred to cause the
land to no longer be in the possession of the school. The land holdings of the school
throughout the years grew to be close to three times the amount currently held, and much
land was lost, but the 2006 campus still is larger than it was upon its opening in 1884. In
our society land is one of, if not the most, valuable possessions. That being said, it is of
great importance that the remaining land held in the possession of Haskell be cherished
and steps taken to ensure possession so Haskell can live on for the benefit of Native
people for generation to come.
Haskell History
Haskell, originally founded to aid in the assimilation of the American Indian into
American society, has transformed over its 122-year history to become a university that
empowers Native people. Haskell is a very special place to anyone who has ties to it. This
is precisely why those who care for Haskell and wish to see it last for future generations
need to have an understanding of Haskell’s past and what changes it has endured, to learn
from the past to preserve for the future. To better understand the land issues that surround
the school, one must take into consideration the background of Haskell and how it
became the university that it is known today.
The school known as Haskell was not known as that when its doors officially
opened in 1884. Indian Industrial Labor Institute is what the school was first known as
until about 1885. The name “Haskell” was officially chosen for the school by the
Secretary of the Interior in honor of Dudley C. Haskell, representative of the Second
Congressional District of Kansas, who had been permitted to suggest the location of the
school in Lawrence (Haverty 3). For the first ten years Haskell’s academic training did
not go past the eighth grade. The students were taught mostly how to work in certain
trades such as tailoring, wagon-making, blacksmithing, harness-making, painting, shoemaking, and farming for the boys and cooking, sewing and homemaking for the girls.
According to the 1929 Haskell Arch dedication program, “A ‘normal school’ was added
because teachers were needed in the students’ home communities. By 1927, the
secondary curriculum had been accredited by the state of Kansas and Haskell began
offering post-high school courses in a variety of areas” (Haskell 2).
7
�These post-high school courses were not valued as much when Haskell made a
switch in the focus of its curriculum. According to Haverty, “Industrial training became
an important part of the curriculum in the early 1930’s and by 1935 Haskell began to
evolve into a post-high school vocational technical institution. The secondary program
was gradually phased out and the last high school class graduated in 1965. The school
began the process of converting into a junior college. In 1970, Haskell Institute officially
became Haskell Indian Junior College. In 1992, after a period of planning for the 21st
century, the National Haskell Board of Regents recommended a new name to reflect its
vision for Haskell as a national center for Indian education, research, and culture
preservation. In 1993, the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs (U.S. Department of the
Interior) approved the change, and Haskell became, “Haskell Indian Nation University”
(Haskell 2).
This brief summary of Haskell’s history documents the changes in academic
focus over the years. As sure as the academic focus changed over the years, the shape and
size of Haskell’s campus land has also drastically changed. The land holdings seem to
change for one reason or another along with academic shifts. Regardless of the reason,
Haskell land holdings have dramatically increased and decreased over its existence. This
brings back the main point, the changes in Haskell’s campus including where Haskell
received the land from, as well as when and to whom ownership was transferred.
Land Transactions History
In 1883, the citizens of Lawrence, Kansas, donated 280 acres on which to erect an
industrial school. Although the land was donated to the United States government, the
citizens of Lawrence originally paid $9,300 for it. Oscar E. Learnard and his wife Mary
E. Learnard conveyed to the United States the 280 acres in a deed, dated April 4, 1883,
less land dedicated to right of way for the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston
Railroad. The deed was approved by the Attorney General on June 7, 1883 and was
recorded in Misc. Records Vol. 2, p.52 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This first area of land that
was donated made up the original campus. Only about half of this 280-acre plot still
remains as a part of Haskell’s campus. The portion of the plot that is no longer in
Haskell’s possession is all wetlands area (Appendix 1).
After this initial donation of 280 acres that make up tract 1 (see tables and maps in
appendix for further information), Haskell obtained 8 addition tracts in the period
between 1884 and 1936. Under the Indian Appropriation Act, tract 2 was purchased from
James W. Alderman and Adeline W. Alderman. This tract consists of 200 acres and was
sold for $17,500 on Jan. 18, 1887. The title was declared valid by the Attorney General
on May 19, 1887, and the deed is recorded Vol. 2 of Deeds, p. 64 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed).
This area, which consisted of 200 acres, still remains a large part of Haskell’s campus,
including the powwow grounds, nature walk, and half of the wetlands area that is still in
Haskell’s possession. The purchase of the land that encompasses tract 2 marks the
beginning of a trend that Haskell went through from 1887 1936. This trend seems to be a
policy of land acquisition (Appendix 1).
8
�The first purchase of land, tract 2, was not the only one made that year. Tract 3
was purchased from Oscar E. Learnard and his wife Mary E. Learnard under the Indian
Appropriation Act. The tract consists of 10 acres and was sold March 7, 1887, for $4,000.
This tract is subject to the right of way claims of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and
Galveston Railroad, and this was approved by the Attorney General on June 3, 1887. The
deed is recorded in Misc. Records Vol.2. p.65 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This land is still a
part of campus and consists of the land on which the Coffin Complex sits, the practice
field, and the land on which the Auditorium, Hiawatha, and Tecumseh sit (Appendix 1).
The next land purchase was not until about three years later. The land that makes
up tract 4 was purchased from Oscar E. Learnard and his wife Mary E. Learnard, under
the Indian Appropriation Act, approved August 19, 1890. This tract was sold on
December 10, 1890 for $7,600 and consists of 153.60 acres. The deed was approved by
the Attorney General February 8, 1891, and it is recorded in Misc. Records, Vol. 2, p.
425 (Dg. Co. Quick Deed). Only a small portion of this tract remains in Haskell’s
possession. This entire area is wetlands and sits on the south side of what is now 31 st
street (Appendix 1).
The next area of land acquired was on the northern side of campus. Tract 5 was
purchased from Fred Messenger Lowe and wife under the Indian Appropriation Act,
approved August 19, 1891. The tract consisted of 9.64 acres and was sold January 31,
1891, for $1,923. The deed was approved by the Attorney General June 19, 1891. Title is
vested in the United States, and the deed is recorded in Misc. Records Vol. 3, p.33
(Dg.Co. Quick Deed). Haskell still remains in possession of most of this plot that holds
Stidham Union, Winona, and the Health Center. The land that the Health Center sits on is
the only part of that tract that Haskell no longer has control over (Appendix 1).
The next area of land added to the campus was on the south side, and it consisted
of all wetlands. Tract 6 was purchased from Anna Johnson and her husband Swan
Johnson under the Indian Appropriation Act, approved May 27, 1902. The tract consisted
of 91 acres and was conveyed to the United States for the amount of $8,000. The title was
declared valid by the attorney General on October 6, 1902 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This
tract of land was the furthest south that the campus has ever gone. None of the land that
tract 6 consisted of is under Haskell control. This area was the southeast border of the
campus, but it was not the only land that made up the southern border of campus
(Appendix 3, Map 1).
There was one more tract that was acquired, which makes up the majority of the
southern border that runs along the Wakarusa River as well as a small portion of land
south of the river, and this would be tract 7. This tract was purchased from William H.
Armstrong and his wife Anna H. Armstrong under the Indian Appropriation Act
approved May 27, 1902. The tract contains 237.40 acres and was sold to the United
States on July 26, 1902 for $21,000. The title was declared valid by the Attorney General
on October 27, 1902, and the Secretary authorized the purchase. The deeds were recorded
in Vol. 5 of Misc. Records. pp.176-177 (Dg. Co. Quick Deed). The small area of land
south of the Wakarusa was no longer in the possession of Haskell when the majority of
that tract transferred out of Haskell’s control (Appendix 3, Map 1).
9
�The purchase was made possible by the provisions of the Act of March 4, 1929.
The sum of $20,000 was appropriated for the purchase of land at Haskell. The land was
purchased from Mary E. Learnard for $19,400. Note how $20,000 was set aside for this
purchase, but somehow only $19,400 went toward the purchase. The discrepancy is
unaccounted for. The tract consists of 30 acres and was sold to the United States on
October 11, 1929. The title was declared valid by the Attorney General on January 6,
1930. The deed is recorded in Deed Book Vol. 28, p. 77 (Dg.Co. Quick Deed). This tract
consists of the land on which the Haskell Football Stadium sits, and was the last purchase
for about the next seven years (Appendix 3, Map 1).
The area of land that tract 9 consists of was the last purchase of land made by the
United States for use by Haskell. This tract consisted of 1.84 acres and was purchased in
1936. Information on this tract concerning from whom it was bought, and how much
money was exchanged is scarce. This area of land is now the location of the Haskell
Cultural Center. The purchase made to obtain the small area of land marks the end of the
land acquisition trend at Haskell (Appendix 3, Map 1).
Disposals of Land after Public Law 47
Haskell remained in possession of most of this land until 1956. With the
exception of 13.65 acres of tract 7, no land was transferred out of Haskell’s control until
Public Law 47 was passed on June 4 1953. Public Law 47 provided for land transfers of
Federal Indian school real estate:
In 1953 the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 1242 (Public Law 47) which
provided for the exclusive legal method of transferring "Federal Indian
School Property." The law authorized the Secretary of Interior to transfer
Federal Indian School Property up to a maximum of 20 acres per recipient.
(Hatsu)
Under this law, 691.73 Haskell acres were declared surplus and transferred out of Haskell
control from 1956 through 1958. In anticipation of P.L. 47 being passed, Haskell began
to rent tracts of land in Sunflower, where the former ammunitions factory stands.
Sunflower is an area between Eudora and Desoto, Kansas, about 25 miles east on
Highway 40. Haskell started to rent these areas of land, approximately 441 acres, in 1952
until about 1958.
This issue of Haskell renting tracts of land raises the question, if Haskell had to
rent land to accommodate its needs, why was the land in its possession declared as
surplus? Although one can speculate, the answer to this question is unknown. One thing
to take into consideration is that during this period of time that P.L. 47 was passed, the
United States government was acting under a termination of American Indian tribes
policy during the Eisenhower era:
In 1953, the United States Congress and President Dwight
Eisenhower accepted the arguments presented by a small group of
members of Congress and approved a new federal Indian policy designed
to free the federal government from its unique guardianship role over
10
�Indian tribes and to bring about the dissolution of tribes. Formalized in
House Concurrent Resolution108 and Public Law 83-280, the immediate
effect of the legislation was to mandate that Nebraska and four other states
assume civil and criminal jurisdiction over all "Indian country" within
their boundaries. Other states were extended the option of assuming such
jurisdiction. (Norgren)
This policy may account for the decisions to reduce rather than expand land
holdings. No matter what the reason, in 1953 after World War II, this land was declared
surplus and ready to be transferred out of Haskell control. All transactions concerning
Haskell lands from this point on were sales and are referred to in documentation as
“disposals.” These land transaction are the events that have shaped the campus into what
it is today.
The disposals were made pursuant to provisions of the Act of June 4, 1953 (67
Stat. 41; Public Law 47). As a direct result of the passing of this law, Haskell surplus land
was transferred over to various groups and organization around Lawrence. The following
information covers where the land was transferred, what tract the land came out of, and
what it is being used for as of today. The information is summarized in tables and maps
in the appendices.
The City of Lawrence was given 20 acres that were used for Broken Arrow
School on July 24, 1957. These 20 acres came out of the land that Haskell acquired when
tract 2 was purchased in 1887. There was an amount of one dollar attached to this
transaction, but was not for the land, but a transaction fee. (Appendix 3, Map 2).
The Wakarusa Township obtained 5 acres that are being used for the Fire
Department that is located between Broken Arrow Park and the remaining Haskell
campus. The land was transfer on July 24, 1957. This area also came out of Haskell tract
2 that was purchased in 1887. (Appendix 3, Map 2). Douglas County also obtained a 20acre plot out of Haskell tract 2. This area is now known as Broken Arrow Park, which is
located on the corner of Louisiana and 31st Street. The land was officially transferred on
December 23, 1957 (Appendix 3, Map 2). The next transfer was to School District No.
60. The amount of land transferred was 20 acres. These 20 acres came out of Haskell
tract 2, and the transfer was made official on February 14, 1958. This land is now being
utilized as South Junior High, and this is located between Broken Arrow School and
Broken Arrow Park (Appendix 3, Map 2).
The next area of Haskell land that was transferred is located on the south side of
31st running adjacent to Haskell Ave. It was transferred to the Kansas Forestry Fish and
Game Commission on May 29, 1958 and consisted of 20 acres that came out of the
original 280 acres that Haskell was donated in 1883. The land is kept as a wetlands
wildlife reserve, under the state of Kansas’ jurisdiction (Appendix 3, Map 2).
The University of Kansas also obtained a 20-acre area of land directly north of the
plot obtained by the Fish and Game Commission. It is located on the corner of Haskell
Ave and 31st Street. The land was officially transferred on November 3, 1958 and was
11
�part of the original campus land donated in 1883. It is a part of the wildlife reserve
(Appendix 3, Map 2).
The last two transfers that took place are also the biggest and smallest land
amounts out of the 691.73 acres that were transferred out of Haskell’s control. The
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, a federal agency, received the largest transfer of
572.68 from the Department of Interior. This area includes all of tract 7, all of tract 6, the
majority of tract 4, and the remaining wetlands out of tract 1. This is now the area known
as the “Baker Wetlands” (Appendix 3, Map 3).
The last transfer and also the least went to Public Health Services. The small area
consisted of .4 acre and came out of Haskell tract 5. The transfer was made official on
June 27, 1958 and is now the Haskell Indian Health Center (Appendix 3, Map 4).
Conclusion
All these land transfers have shaped Haskell’s campus into what we know today.
Over the years Haskell’s land holdings have gone from the original 280 acres to 1,011
acres and then back down to the 319 acres that make up the campus in 2006. Two-thirds
of Haskell’s campus was lost in less than two years. More research into archives may
reveal changes in government and BIA policies that contributed to this change. This loss
of land raises the question, is Haskell important to us as a Native people, and if it is, what
steps are we going to take to insure that Haskell will be here for future generations?
The information on the purchases and transfers of lands by the United States for
the use of Haskell is cut and dried. Through my research, however, I have found out that
although the facts on the land acquisitions are clear, other information that I found was
not so accurate. I learned just because information is published does not automatically
make it one hundred percent reliable, such as the conflicting information concerning the
date the school was named Haskell.
One conclusion that I have came to by evaluating the facts that surround the
Haskell land dealings is that the school itself does not have any real say in the matter. I
have come across a lot of information concerning the Haskell land holdings over its 122year history. One thing that I have found is that situations surrounding these transactions
lead to questionable business dealings when concerning the buying and transferring of
Haskell lands to the community around Lawrence.
In conducting this research, I have gained a new understanding and respect for
Haskell land. The one thing that made me think—in fact it kind of frightened me—is how
quickly and easily Haskell land was taken out of our control. I say “our” in reference to
Native people, because I believe that Haskell is Indian Land. We as a Native people
know the value of the land that we have lost, and we need to protect and preserve that
which we still retain. So in conclusion, I’ll raise the question once again. Is Haskell
important to us as a Native people? If it is, what will we do to ensure its survival for our
future generations?
12
�Works Cited
Aerial map. Haskell campus, 1966. USDA,NRCS, Lawrence Ks.
Aerial map. Haskell campus, 1975. USDA,NRCS, Lawrence Ks.
Aerial map. Haskell campus, 2005. USDA,NRCS, Lawrence Ks.
Crop rotation map. Haskell campus, 1919. Haines Collection, Haskell University.
Douglas County Quick Deeds. Courtesy of Dr. Haines. Haskell University: Lawrence Ks.
Haines, Dr. Chuck. “Haskell Industrial Labor Institute: An Indian Child Labor School”.
Lawrence Ks: Haskell University, 2006.
Haskell Celebration. Official Program. Lawrence Ks: October 30, 1926.
Haskell Annual Commencement Powwow. Official Program. Lawrence Ks: May 14, 2000.
Hatsu, Su. “The Stolen Indian Wetlands.” Accessed 3 May 2006. <
http://www.larryville.com/articles/SLT/stolen.htm>
Haverty, Thelma D. Buildings on the Haskell Campus: Past and Present. Lawrence Ks:
Interior, Haskell Press, 1975.
Hawkins, Charlie. Private conversation. 10 Feb 2006.
Norgren, Jill. Review of Imperfect Victories: The Legal Tenacity of the Omaha Tribe 1945-1965, by Mark R.
Sherer. Vol. 9 No. 11 (November 1999) pp. 476-478. Law & Politics Book Review.
<http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/scherer.htm>
Ogden, Willy. Private conversation. 10 Feb 2006.
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, memo of understanding with Department of Interior. Kansas Collection,
Spencer Special Collections Library, University of Kansas, 3 Nov. 1958.
Original deeds and other documents are courtesy of Dr. Chuck Haines, Haskell Indian Nations University,
Lawrence.
13
�Appendix A
Haskell Land Transactions
This table list the information involved in the obtaining of land by the Federal
government for the use by Haskell. Basic information over the transactions that were
made laid out in one source is a valuable resource to aid in the understanding of the chain
of events that have shaped Haskell into the area that is known today. Having these facts
in reference source adds order to the information and allows for quick access to certain
dates and facts.
Table No. 1
Section
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 4
No.5
No. 6
No. 7
No. 8
No. 9
Totals
Previous Owner(s) Total Acreage Amount Paid
Oscar and Mary 280 Acres
Donated
Learnard
James and
200 Acres
$17,500
Adeline
Alderman
Oscar and Mary 10 Acres
$ 4,000
Learnard
Oscar and Mary 153.60 Acres
$ 7,680
Learnard
Fred Messenger 9.64 Acres
$ 1,928
Date of Sale
June 7, 1883
May 19, 1887
June 3, 1887
February 6,
1891
June 19, 1891
Anna and Swan
Johnson
William and
Anna
Armstrong
Mary Learnard
91 Acres
$ 6,000
July 16, 1902
237.40 Acres
$ 21,000
July 26, 1902
30 Acres
$ !9, 400
January 6, 1930
Unknown
1.84 Acres
1,013.48
$ unknown
$ 77,508
1936
14
�Appendix B
Haskell Land Disposals
This table covers the land transfers made between Haskell and the surrounding
community. It includes who the land was transferred to, the amount transferred, and the
date that the transfer was made official. This will add in quick access of Haskell land
disposal information.
Table No. 2
Transferred To
City of Lawrence
Wakarusa Township
Douglas County, Kansas
School District No. 60
Kansas Forestry Fish and
Game Commission
University of Kansas
Bureau of Sport Fisheries
and Wildlife
Public Health Services
Totals:
Amount of Land
20.00 Acres
5.00 Acres
20.00 Acres
20.00 Acres
20.00 Acres
Date of Transfer
July 24, 1957
July 24, 1957
December 23, 1957
February 14, 1958
May 29, 1958
20.0 Acres
572.68 Acres
November 3, 1958
November 3, 1958
.4 Acres
678.08
+ 13.65
691.73
June 27, 1958
15
�16
�17
�18
�19
�♦♦♦♦
First Students at Haskell: 1884-1889
By Samantha Pete
When it comes to history of Native Americans, there is certain history that many
people do not know about. Haskell Indian Nations University has a lot of history and has
become a historical landmark in Indian country all over the United States. If asked, most
Native Americans will have said they have either heard of Haskell, attended Haskell or
has had a relative or parent attend. The one thing that most people do not know about is
the very first history of the very first students who attended Haskell or how Haskell was
even established and why. There is some evidence about what students did in their daily
lives or what happened to them while attending Haskell, and after they graduated
Haskell, but this evidence has not yet been told to the public. The public may not also
know how Haskell was established but may know the fact that it was turning the Indian
into the white man. When it comes to the first students at Haskell, those students became
a part of history in the Haskell community and Indian country. Evidence will be provided
if students participated in any events that went on at Haskell and provide almost daily life
activity that each student went through. Also, these students provide the evidence of how
Haskell was established and the main reason why.
The first students who attended Haskell did not know what they were getting
involved in when they attended this training school, and their survival shows how far
Haskell has come since it first opened. Students in 1884 did not have the same experience
that Haskell students have today. Without having those students who survived the very
first years, Haskell would not be what it is today: a university. With the first students at
Haskell, the number of enrolled students eventually increased over the five years from
1884 to 1889, but also there also was an increase in students who did not survive while
attending Haskell. These students are important, in how they became a part of history.
Personal information will be provided for selected students who attended Haskell and
also some who died at Haskell.
When Haskell was first established, it was because of a bill that was passed by
Congress to establish non-reservation boarding schools for Native Americans children.
On May 10, 1882, the Congress of the United States passed the Indian Appropriation Bill
for the fiscal year of 1883: “This bill, signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on
May 17, 1882, included an amendment that provided for the establishment of three nonreservation boarding schools in the Middle West: Chilocco, Oklahoma; Genoa, Nebraska;
and Lawrence, Kansas” (O’Brien 9). The site of one of the boarding schools was
Lawrence, home of Dudley C. Haskell, who was the representative of the Second
Congressional District and chairman of the House Committee on Indian Affairs.
Congressman Haskell had been permitted to select on of the locations in which he wish to
20
�represent and he eventually chose his hometown, Lawrence, Kansas (Granzer 18). The
citizens of Lawrence donated two hundred eighty acres of land south of the city for the
school site (Granzer 18). Haskell, from the beginning in 1884, was known as an
Elementary Boarding School (Self-Study Report).
The Committee of Indian Affairs called attention to the location to some of its
advantages because it is only “one hundred-fifty miles from Indian Territory, which is
Oklahoma, and within forty miles of certain reservations such as Potawatomi reservation
and Ottawa reservation” (Granzer 19). It was also close to other reservations: “Other
reservations included Kickapoo, Sac and Fox and Iowa and these reservations have
access to a large Indian population while keeping transportation costs low” (Vackovic
45).
In June 1883, there was a contract made of building three buildings for the school,
which were supposed to be done by March 1884, and on July 10, 1884, the buildings
were accepted by the government (O’Brien 10). The native limestone buildings occupied
the northwest corner of the campus, and each building was three stories high (Haverty 3).
The girls’ dormitory was built on the west side of the campus and the boys’ dormitory
was built on the west side of the campus (Haverty 3). The girls’ dormitory was later
known as Keokuk. This dormitory “consisted of the kitchen, dining room, sewing rooms,
the main rooms that women are suppose to be put to work in” (Haverty 3). Then there
were also rooms that were built for female employees and students. The boys’ dormitory,
later known as Osceola, was not really built for them, at least not the way the girls’
dormitory was built to accommodate women. Inside this dorm was located “the
administrative offices, the shoe shop, and the male employees’ rooms as well as the
students” (Haverty 3). Each dormitory had “a cistern and sick room, as well as
storerooms, bathrooms, and sitting rooms” (O’Brien 11). Eventually, these two
dormitories would combine, forming a dormitory for men. Sequoyah was one of the first
buildings that was built on campus. It was known as the Academic Building (Haverty
47). Students ranging from five to thirty-five years of age would be taught in the fiveroom building.
In early 1884, the school had to prepare for the students’ arrival in the fall
(Vackovic 45-46). A farmer, his assistant, a carpenter, and six Indian boys who had been
transferred to Lawrence from Chilocco were to prepare the school for its opening in early
September (Vackovic 45-46). The group cleared the school ground, “planted 400 fruit
trees, seeded the garden with sorghum, oats, millet, and potatoes, cleaned the buildings,
and transported materials from the railway station to the school” (Vackovic 46). Before
the school had opened its doors, the use of the children’s labor reflected the values of
industrial training, as well as the economic philosophy on which Indian boarding schools
were founded. Haskell depended on their students labor for the schools’ maintenance and
operation. Many of the tasks these students performed did not require a high level of
skills training. “Under the cloak of industrial training, students labored at menial jobs,
which defrayed operational costs but hardly benefited their educational development”
(Vackovic 46). The school was ready to open on September 1, 1884, once the buildings
and grounds were readied. In the first report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in
1885, Dr. Marvin gave a detailed account of the opening of the school:
21
�Twelve Indian boys from the Ponca Agency and two of the
Chilocco farm boys made up the initial enrollment. On September 16,
1884, three boys and five girls arrived from the Ottawa reservation in
Kansas. That made a total of twenty-two Indian boys and girls at Haskell’s
opening ceremonies held on September 17, 1884. (quoted in O’Brien 11)
Haskell was operated by the federal government, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and
United States Department of Interior (Self-Study Report). Dr. James Marvin, a former
Chancellor of Kansas University, was appointed the superintendent of Haskell. The first
day was described as: “The school opened with a principal and four assistants with the
transfer of Miss Hamilton, and she brought along with her a group of children, from the
Cheyenne Agency added a fifth assistant”(Arts 5). A sixth was approved in February, as
the rooms became too much crowded for effective work. One change was made by the
resignation of Miss Lathrop on account of impaired health, and the appointment of Miss
Whitcomb to fill the place (Arts 5). These teachers resided in the buildings, and assisted
in the supervision of the students and also in caring for the sick. Teachers also helped in
the dining hall. The principal, J.L. DuMars, served as assistant superintendent, in addition
to his duties as principal of the school (Arts 6).
The opening program for Haskell involved the entire Lawrence community.
Chancellor Joshua Lippincott of Kansas University delivered an address for the opening,
while other prominent local citizens participated in the ceremonies before an audience of
Lawrence residents (Vackovic 46). At the ceremony, Marvin explained to the public the
“underlying educational philosophy, and Haskell would guide Indian youths along the
road to ‘civilization’” (Vackovic 46). When addressing the audience he emphasized the
importance of the English language as well as Christianity, and according to the
Lawrence Daily Journal, further states that the school would provide:
Instruction to coming farmers and mechanics and housekeepers…Habits of
industry and economy have to be inculcated as essentials in right living. The
method of instruction and discipline are to promote self-reliance. Obedience to
proper authority promotes personal freedom in society. How to be a good citizen
is to be constantly enforced. (4)
Author Charles A. O’Brien stated below of how many children arrived at Haskell on
September 18, 1884 and three days later:
Twenty-one Pawnees arrived and three days later, the arrival of a wagon train
bringing forty-two Cheyennes and thirty-six Arapahoes created a stir at Haskell.
They came with their parents wearing paint and feathers. They spoke no English
the parents of these children were quartered in the girls’ building and were a
source of great interest and curiosity to the small English-speaking mixed-blood
children from the Kansas reservations. Part of the Cheyennes consisted of twenty
girls and six small boys who had been transferred with their teachers from Indian
Territory to test the possibility of training younger pupils, especially girls, away
from camp influences and associations. (12)
October 1 came, and there were 124 students who enrolled and by November 1, the
number had increased 52 students. A total of 176 students enrolled within these two
22
�months. By January 1, 1888, the student enrollment consisted of “two hundred eighty
students, sixty-one of those students were girls’” (O’Brien 12). During this time in 1185,
Colonel Arthur Grabowski was superintendent until 1886. Then in 1886 to 1888, Colonel
O. E. Learnard was superintendent. He was the final superintendent during the period of
1884 to 1889.
Haskell opened with the name Indian Training School in 1884 (Haverty 3). In
1887, the Indian Training School became known as Haskell Institute, re-named by the
Secretary of Interior in honor of Dudley C. Haskell.
Haskell’s first few months were filled with tragedies, which would have impact
on the enrollment figures. Due to a shortage of funds, the boiler house was not completed
until late November, leaving students without heat during an unusually cold fall
(Vackovic 47). Many children became ill, forcing Superintendent Marvin had to hire a
full-time nurse to care for the sick. In the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, during the school year of 1884 to 1886, 587 instances of illness or injury
occurred, and one of the first structures added to the campus was a two-story hospital
building that could accommodate up to thirty patients at a time (456). In mid-November
of 1886, six-month old Harry White Wolf died. He was one of the babies who were part
of the Cheyenne/Arapahoe group that had arrived in late September (Vackovic 47). Many
deaths occurred after the death of baby Harry White Wolf because that first winter at
Haskell, ten more students were buried in a small cemetery. Naturally, parents became
anxious about the children’s health, and several asked to have their children sent home
and also students who were sick wanted to go home, leave the school and some ran away
home (Vackovic 49).
The emphasis of the school in the beginning was based on assimilation, having to
teach the youth Native boys and girls to become productive members of the dominant
society. This meant the society of the white man, growing up and being more like the
white man. Students were required to attend boarding schools. They were taken from
their homes by agents, and they did not have a choice. A “semi-military system was
initiated at Haskell where students wore uniforms and marched to their classes and
exercised regularly” (Granzerr 27). This meant students had to take care of themselves
and do things on their own such as make their own uniforms, cook their own food, which
they grew in the gardens they tended, and build most of the furniture and buildings on
campus. The first students were taught to speak English, and their own tribal language
was not allowed or they would face consequences such as whippings or isolation from
others (O’Brien 14). When it came to students’ education, they studied “math, geography,
and other academic subjects, as well as cooking, sewing, carpentry, masonry, and
farming” (Arts 1). Having this education among the young Indian children, according to
the Bureau of Indian Affairs officials:
…would serve a dual purpose: first, as an educator of the Indian youth in
attendance, and second, as an educational influence among the Indian people.
This latter end would be achieved through those students who, instead of fitting
themselves for full participation in the non-Indian community, would choose
instead to return to their own people and perform missionary work among the in
the ideals, institutions, and arts of the dominant civilization. In this way, as
23
�teachers and interpreters they would provide knowledge and examples of farming,
mechanics, and other needed industries to the agency Indians. (Granzerr 28)
At Haskell, as well as any other off-reservation boarding school, all conversation
and communication between students and teachers was in English, and it was like a rule
or a law. In addition to students and teachers learning to speak and write English, Bureau
officials believed that it was also “necessary to inculcate habits of industry and thrift”
(O’Brien 14). The education these students were receiving was to provide them with
knowledge in the practical pursuits of life so students would become more self-reliant
and be able to earn a living for themselves after they graduated. (O’Brien 15).
In July of 1885, Dr. Marvin resigned and was replaced by Colonel Arthur
Grabowski. Under Superintendent Colonel Grabowski’s supervision, Haskell did not
improve. Superintendent Grabowski had to deal with the health problems and lack of
funding left behind by the previous superintendent Dr. Marvin. Grabowski, a military
man, quickly wanted to enforce a policy of strict discipline on the students. Grabowski
introduced a “military-like system that divided students into five companies of cadet
battalions that served to break up tribal groupings and any kind of resistance to school
rules” (Vackovic 50). Corporal punishment, as well as the introduction of a school prison,
were part of Superintendent Grabowski’s policy. His methods got the attention of others.
Even the Lawrence Tribune, for instance, criticized him for “his brutality and general
cruelty toward the students.” Many students refused to be treated that way and ran away
from school; others wrote letters home, complaining about their treatment (Vackovic 5051). Enrollment during this time dropped because of Grabowski.
In Students at Haskell Institute from 1884 to 1889, Mila Capes Altom described
any type of off-reservation boarding school as a place of assimilation:
The wide spread moral theory of the time period was that it was the “will of God”
to remove the savage form the child by means of education. This education
became common practice as a way to assimilate the Indians into the mainstream
of society. In order to accomplish this plan of assimilation the children were
removed from their families, homes, tribes, cultures and histories. Haskell
Institute was just one of several educational institutions where these plans were
carried out. It was during those first few years of operations by the educational
institutes that not only were personal and tribal identities lost, but also those of
whole families and tribes. (1)
The first students at Haskell survived 1884 to 1889. In 1999, a ledger book was
found, all worn and deteriorating, that seemed to be the original enrollment and registry
records for the first five years of Haskell Institute, 1884 to 1889 (Altom 2). Bobbi
Rahder, Haskell Indian Nations University Archivist, came upon a handwritten listing of
students and made it into a new and improved ledger book that shows the first students at
Haskell. This ledger book gives the names of the students, both their white and Indian
names, their sex, age, date of arrival, location they arrived from and their parents or
guardians.
When it came to the very first students at Haskell, according to the ledger book,
there was a record of 238 students who were enrolled and only ten students will be cited
from the logbook as an example. These students were students who have arrived in
24
�September and October of 1884, when Haskell was in its early month of beginning its
training school. These students were here at the very beginning when Haskell was being
established, so it is best to let people know they were the first ones here. Here is an
example of the information that is provided about them in the ledger book:
White Name
Indian
Sex
Name
Sha pe l F
lo
Ke wa M
koo
F
Age
Arrived
Arrived From
19
9/19/1884
23
9/19/1884
15
10/25/1884
Te eet
M
13
9/19/1884
13
10/8/1884
15
9/19/1884
16
9/19/1884
8
HumF
kah-me
Con
M
socks ae
Tsla ha F
ta
Wilson, Anna
F
13
10/25/1884
9
Huffy, Henry
M
18
9/17/1884
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr
Shawneetown
, Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Osage Agen,
Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Pawnee Agen/
Indian Terr.
Shawneetown
, Indian Terr.
Oneida, Wisc
M
11
10/25/1884
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Baboylle,
Emily
Brown, John
Delaware,
Jane
Eyre, Willie
Pryor,
Josephine
Richards,
John
Wilde, Gertie
10 Trumbley,
Louis
Shawneetown
, Indian Terr.
Guardian
John
Brown
John
Pryor
Nicholas
Huff
Mick
Trumbley
In early 1886, former Kansas Governor Charles Robinson became Haskell’s third
superintendent (Vackovic 53). Robinson gradually succeeded in bringing up the school’s
enrollment and kept discipline with less abusive policies two previous superintendents.
By the end of the 1886 to 1887 school year, attendance was once again up to about 400
students, leading to overcrowded dormitories and classrooms (Vackovic 53). Life at
Haskell became easier to live despite the student’s bad health and the crowded
conditions. Students liked Robinson better than the two previous superintendents because
Robinson allowed them to interact socially, two evenings a week, and the Haskell band
was established. Haskell opened a school library, which included regional newspapers
(Anderson 86). Students supported their school because of Robinson as shown by Teresa
Tucquinn’s letter to the superintendent in 1888: “I think it’s nice to here. I think it is a
better place to be here than at home. You treat us very kind and thank you for your kindly
care” (Vackovic 55).
During the 1887 to 1888 school year, a three-story building, housing seven
industrial departments, was added to Haskell campus. In these departments, “male
25
�students would be able to receive training in blacksmith, tailoring, carpentry, printing,
wagon and harness making, tin smithing and shoemaking, as well as in farming, baking
and engineering” (Vackovic 55). The girls were taught domestic arts and sciences in the
new facilities. New dormitories and new dining hall were under construction and all other
land was “utilized for garden, field, meadow, and pasture” (Vackovic 54). Students
performed tasks to help keep the cost down on the school’s operational cost. In
Robinson’s annual report, he expressed this deeply held belief in Haskell’s mission:
When these hundred and fifty children of any tribe and nation demonstrate by
actual experiment that they can do all the work, under proper supervision,
required for their daily subsistence, all the work necessary to farm almost 500
acres of land to crest several substantial buildings of both wood and stone, and
also manufacture a good variety of articles in a neat an satisfactory manner,
besides attending school on half of each day, such children are well worthy of the
attention, the time, and the money expended on their behalf. (Vackovic 55)
Students who attended Haskell often did a summer “outing” program while they
were at school (Vackovic 54). Haskell students lived with white families to work either
as farm hands, or for the girls, as maids. The purpose of the program was to teach
students “Anglo-civilization” firsthand and to immerse them into dominant culture
(Vackovic 54). However, white families used the program as a cheap manual labor. Many
Indian parents were “reluctant to have their children leave school and especially, feared
for their daughters’ safety” when they were part of the outing program (Vackovic 55).
The school was highly regulated in military style. In 1887, the Lawrence Gazette
described how “bells regulated the behavior in the dining room, indicating when the
students were allowed to sit down, and when they were allowed to start eating” (Sears).
According to the article, “one boy oversaw the behavior of the whole table, while others
waited on the students” (Sears). In the early years, many more boys than girls attended
Haskell, requiring boys to perform “female” chores such as serving food and washing
dishes.
Christianity was also part of the school curriculum. While students were attending
school, they were required to attend church. During first Superintendent Marvin’s era, he
focused on “Christian morality as the key to knowledge and understanding of American
civilization” (Vackovic 254). He introduced “compulsory nondenominational services on
Sunday mornings, where he read biblical passages to the students, which the children
repeated after him” (Vackovic 254). In the afternoon, students attended Bible classes
often conduced at University of Kansas by KU students. The evening was devoted to the
children meeting once more to rehearse hymns (Vackovic 255). When Colonel
Grabowski was superintendent, he invited ministers from “the local Methodist,
Episcopal, Baptist and Congregational churches to hold a two-week series of revival
meetings, during which 130 students were baptized” (Vackovic 255). Haskell students
were often allowed to attend local churches and Bible classes, one of their few activities
off campus, provided that they were in chaperoned groups.
Homesickness was an issue for students, so the dorm staff were very important.
The matrons were expected to provide “motherly oversight of the boys, large and small,
as well as the girls” and she was to be “one of whom they will look for counsel – a
26
�woman of culture of high ideals, of practical wisdom and tact, to exert the best refining
womanly influence upon even the oldest of pupils” (Anderson 106). Harriet Kelsey
Haskell was one example of a substitute mother for these students, the widow of
Congressman Dudley C. Haskell. She was well liked for her kindness and positive
influence on the students.
Among the first enrollments, there is also the entry of death records. These death
records may only show those students who died while they were still here at Haskell, and
it does not count those students who went home and possibly died while at home. Some
who died at Haskell were not recorded because they may have been running away, and
others had no official diagnosis for their deaths (Altom 2). In Students at Haskell Institute
from 1884 to 1889, there is listed the record of the known deaths of students. The
following five students were students who were diagnosed with illness and died within a
year after arriving in the month of September and October during the years of 1884 and
1887. Some students were not diagnosed, so there was not cause of death for some
students. Here is an example of the information kept by officials on some of the deaths:
Arrived
10/8/1884
2
English Name
Wahshehotsa,
Thomas
Norman, Bradley
10/19/1884 No diagnosis
Pawnee
3
Valier, Samuel
9/1/1887
Pneumonia
Quapaw
4
Sears, Willie
9/15/1887
Accident
Sioux?
5
Walker, Susie
9/19/1884
Consumption Cheyenne
1
Diagnosis
No diagnosis
Tribe
Osage
Staff Notations
Died Jan. 11, 1885/
19 yrs old
Died Jan. 22, 1884/
23 yrs old
Died May 22, 1888/
10 yrs old
Died May 18, 1888/
11 yrs old
Died Aug. 29, 1886/
8 yrs old
During the period when Dr. Marvin was superintendent, when Harry White Wolf
was buried in the cemetery on campus, others were buried there. Altogether, the names
on twenty-nine graves did not appear in the school’s records, meaning that some deaths
occurred without being properly recorded (Vackovic 49). For example, in 1886, ten new
gravesites were marked in the cemetery, even though the annual report of 1886 did not
indicated any deaths at Haskell. During the 1887 to 1888 term alone, seventeen students
died, may of them as a result of “pneumonia and scrofula (a tubercular affliction)”
(Anderson 91-92). Many employees suffered from exactly the same diseases as the
students caused by the unhealthy living conditions at the school (Anderson 91-92).
After the first years of Haskell education, students spent more time working then
actually getting an education (Vackovic 57). Students did almost all the upkeep of the
buildings and grounds of the school. Haskell offered academic training only at the
primary and grammar school level, with classes focusing on the three R’s, American
history, and basic sciences, like biology (Vackovic 57).
When Haskell first opened its doors on September 1, 1884, enrollment gradually
increased over the years from an initial fourteen students to over a thousand students It
27
�was one of the largest off-reservation boarding schools maintained by the Federal
government (O’ Brien 1). Those students who survived their first years at Haskell became
a part of history, and if they had not survived Haskell, Haskell Indian Nations University
may not even exist today. Haskell has grown up since 1884 into what is now a university,
so it shows that Native Americans can succeed. All Native students need is
encouragement. That is where those very first students come in, dealing with the
hardships and surviving by not giving up their culture. Students in 1884 did not have the
same experience that Haskell students have today, and the point is to show the public
what these students went through while attending Haskell, starting with their education,
enrollment, deaths and their lives while at Haskell. Haskell started out as a training and
boarding school, then turned into a junior college, and now is a university. Without
having those students who survived those first years, Haskell would not be what it is
today.
Works Cited
Altom, Mila Capes. Students at Haskell Institute from 1884 to 1889. Lawrence: Haskell
Indian Nations University Department of Archives, 2000.
Anderson, Eric P. An Imperfect Education and American Indians at Haskell Institute,
Lawrence, KS: 1884-1894. M.A. Thesis. Department of History, Lawrence: University of Kansas,
1997.
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 1885
Arts, Bill. Haskell Highlights 1884-1978. Lawrence: Haskell Indian Nations University,
1889.
Granzer, Loretta Mary. Education at Haskell Institute: 1888-1937. M.A. Thesis,
University of Nebraska, 1937.
Haverty, Thelma P. Buildings on Haskell Campus: Past and Present. Haskell Indian
Junior College: Interior, Haskell Press, 1975.
Lawrence Daily Journal. September 18, 1884.
O’Brien, Charles A. The Evolution of Haskell Indian Junior College, 1884-1974. M.A.
Thesis, University of Nebraska, 1975.
Sears, W.H. “An Evening at Haskell Institute.” Lawrence Gazette. February 2, 1887.
Self-Study Report for the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Lawrence: Haskell Indian Junior College, 1978.
Vackovic, Myriam. Onward Ever Backward Never: Student Life and Students’ Lives at
Haskell Institute, 1888-1920. M.A. Thesis. Lawrence: University of Kansas, 2001.
28
�♦♦♦♦
Haskell Boarding School Era: Transition Years of 1900 to 1902
By Sheila Crawford
Haskell Institute is one of the many schools opened during the late 19th century,
and this time-period and has a history of its own:
Congressman D.C. Haskell, then representing the people of the
second congressional district, to locate an Indian Industrial
Training school at or near Lawrence provided the citizens would
donate a suitable site, a number of the leading business men
promptly subscribed the necessary funds, purchased two hundred
eighty acres of land and proffered it to the government as a
desirable site for the Indian School. (Lawrence 1)
The first years of Haskell saw a lot of hardship, but by 1900, student accounts in the
Haskell student newspaper showed students were adjusting to the boarding school. The
local population believed classes Haskell offered were better than most public school
education during this time (Lawrence 1). The education curriculum began with the basic
industry instructions. Emphasis was placed upon institutional training, because of the
necessity of teaching Indian boys and girls to earn their living in ways similar to their
white neighbors (Lawrence 1). The tribes had used their surroundings for agriculture,
gathering of foods, and hunting before the Whites arrived, and Native farming was the
beginning of land use and stock caring. Students built on this tradition.
Indians had educational needs to enable them to convert serious training into a
practical and wage earning power (Lawrence 2). Non-Indians would like to think that the
Indians were receiving better education because it could help in the future, but in reality,
they did not realize the sacrifices many generations had to go through to get there.
Transportation costs were high because of food, sleeping arrangements, and the type of
transportation used: “The area of the industrial school is so important because the use of
transportation will cost more monies. Haskell is the most centrally located school of its
type in the United States” (Lawrence 2). This helped with gathering Indians from
different areas around the United States, because of the railway system. Farming needs to
have certain land to cultivate the foods or cattle that given to the school from the
government. Haskell is located directly in the corn, wheat and stock raising section
(Lawrence 2). The stock raising helped with the food preparations at Haskell and the
crops would become of economic value. The beginnings of Haskell education were the
normal school and trade schools. Haskell Indian Nations University is now the first allIndian inter-tribal university in the United States (Background 1). The boarding school
era played a major part of the education that uses it presently.
Haskell Institute had a local newspaper that was issued to students and families to
show the events at the school and other boarding schools during this time. Industrial
training equipment for a printing plant that the Haskell publication started the monthly
29
�student paper (Ames 19). The Indian Leader had begun in 1897; the dates and events that
have occurred during this time can calculate most of the events that occurred during this
time. The new buildings during this era would include Curtis Hall, a new laundry, and
bakery (Haskell Growth).
After the first years of hardship, from 1884 to 1894, the school became more
stable. Students appeared to find benefits in the education, despite the hardships. The
focus of Haskell Institute during the 1900 to 1902 in the articles in the Indian Leader
show that assimilation to Anglo civilization occurred or did not occur or occurred partly.
An example of “civilization” can be viewed from the lessons taught during the boarding
school era. On September 28, 1900 an explanation of Sunday school lessons appears in
“Story of Samson: Judges 13, 14, 15 and 16. The Golden text- O Lord God, remember
me, I pray thee and strengthen me.” One other example would be held on October 14,
1900, with the Story of Saul: I Samuel 9 10:1 and 17-27. This includes the Golden text,
“Behold, to obey is better then sacrifice”(Sunday School). The process of assimilation is
strong in teachings of religious activities every Sunday and all children had to be present
in church.
The different activities that occurred in the government were viewed as
milestones in Indian issues. Charles Curtis of Kansas, member of the Kaw nation, was the
first Indian Congressman (Indian Congressman), and he was also vice president. Curtis
helped gain the right awareness about Indians during this era because he was of mixed
blood and chose not to harm his body with drugs or alcohol. These next examples
involved superintendent perspectives on religious activities, American names, personal
letters, and the future of the Indian students.
All of these topics cover the main issues that were addressed by Haskell Institute
administration in 1900 to 1902. In March 29, 1901 an article of the Industrial Training
School mentions the beginning of Indian education from a superintendent’s perspective
(Appendix I). In this article, the superintendent stresses the importance of government
control over Haskell Institute. He mentions Haskell history along with the enrollment of
students being six hundred. The heat was from steam and the light came from the
electricity. Supervision of all individuals was important because they have students that
will act in their nature to be Indian. Teachers were viewed as leaders in a model school
setting because they helped the students become civilized. Classes relied on religious
factors as well as the lessons and industrial training. Most commercial courses were
studies in a two-year study course. Graduating classes had many different
accomplishments because of jobs and other important information taught at Haskell
Institute in 1901. Assimilation was being accomplished, but also students had instances
of success.
An example of the hard teachings of Sunday school would be in February 9,
1900: “Sunday school would be the first step of civilization and the eighth grade
entertainment” (Appendix II). In Sunday school, the students studied a topic and the
reading of this topic. Then the topic and readings were put together to make the golden
text of a prayer. Every Sunday accounted for with a lesson plan or sermon from the priest
or head of the church. Mandatory Sunday school was in forced because the Christian
religion is important in “civilization.”
30
�The eighth grade entertainment is described as the orchestra plays the music. The
actors or students needed to portray themselves as a play would, but the drills were harder
and the audience was intense. The class honored Mr. Haskell by announcing all his
accomplishments with Haskell Institute. James Marvin was mentioned because he was
the superintendent of Haskell Institute in 1884, the first superintendent. The portraits of
each male represented in the eighth grade entertainment were the following: Dr. Marvin,
Charles Robinson, and Dr. Meserve. All these men had helped with the education of
students and the citizens.
Another article shows the education of the Indians into American citizens at
Haskell in March 16, 1900 (Appendix III). This article proves that it was not only up to
the teachers to help with education, but the student as well. If there was no equal
relationship or respect for the topics, the students will not become civilized. In the article
on Indian Education, it explains the practicing of all knowledge is God’s work. School
was not separated from religion. Becoming God fearing individuals was not the
traditional way of life for many different tribes or nations. Assimilation was the goal.
Ethical training was to help install the civil liberties that were fought for in the Indian
education system, according to the superintendent. This article was more of an annual
report by Miss Reel, superintendent.
While attending boarding schools, the names of Indian children had to be
“civilized” as individual family names in English were established on March 14, 1902
(Appendix IV). Students were given Anglo names. Traditionally, Indian names did not
just appear; the tribe handed them down periods of your life or the ceremony that the
ancestors give you the name. The names were the story of the process this individual had
to go through to receive the tribal name. All names have a meaning, including place
names, but the one that stood out was the Wakarusa, meaning thigh high (Ames 12).
Some names related to places that we are aware of to this day, such as Kansas, named
after a resident Indigenous Nation. Wakarusa River and its wetlands, known to traditional
people as a spiritual place, were part of the historical Haskell Institute. The land was part
of the original campus.
Personal letters by students showed their adjustment to the different culture. The
personal letters that students wrote for classes were published, like this one: “When I first
came to Haskell” and another, “My Home Life” July 27, 1900 (Appendix V). This
individual came to Haskell Institute in 1890 and was lonesome. The buildings had
increased over time, but are not all still intact. A fourth grade boy had been in the third
grade and went home only in June to visit family. This individual wanted to come back to
Haskell because it was a good place for him. He talks about having the memory of
walking down to the wet lands after Sunday school. The fourth grade boy mentioned “My
home life is different because this person had to help in the kitchen or cook.” This
individual is from a tribe or nation that lived in teepees or at least had ceremonies in
teepees.
After graduating from Haskell, one boy would like to impress the non-Indian by
his education (May 3, 1901 Appendix VI). Charles Edrick wanted to move forward in his
educational goals. He was in the Normal class that prepared students for the basic
education levels. He disagreed with the statement that all Indians are savages, and he
31
�wanted the chance to prove that he was honorable. These sources prove that Haskell
students wanted to be more educated, but recognized as Native American Indian and not
the “savage” stereotype. The young man wanted to be a physician and always remember
where he had come from. The encouragement that this young man had would make his
dreams to come true; he believed that even if pushed down he must pick himself up and
move on.
This student shows how Indians are raised with respect for themselves and other
members within their nations, as stated: “Indians are proud of their race and its rich
heritage of tradition, legend, and story” (Short Sketches). Not only is this true for the
boarding school era, but it was important to Haskell Institute because of the interaction of
tribal children at the boarding schools. The end of boarding schools started because of the
mistreatment that occurred to Indian children. They were “Punished for the practicing of
cultural traditions, native dress, and native language” (Archuleta 26). They were violently
treated by the schools matrons, teachers, and government officials. This included corporal
punishment and imprisonment. This had become the main reason the mistreatment had
occurred. Beatings, swats from rulers, having one’s mouth washed with soap or lye, or
being locked in the school jail were not uncommon punishments (Highlights 28). Imagine
the difference this made on the child that was punished for living the traditional way and
trying to communicate the only way he or she knew. The different regulations tied to
boarding schools kept the Indian children away from their families. Government policy
severely restricted visits home during the early boarding school era, but communication
between students and their families was steady and strong (Highlights 27). This
encouraged the students to write in English and the parents to learn English as well.
Many different health effects and children deaths had brought attention to the
mistreatment of Haskell children. They were “Issued government regulated clothing and
uniforms, fire- combed for lice, with kerosene, bathed, and had their cut”(Archuleta 26).
The health conditions were so bad that the children were stripped down to nothing and
scrubbed. “Some students bathed and scrubbed so hard that their skin would be red and
irritated.” This cruelty had continued until the Uniform Course of Study for the Indian
schools in August 1901 (Ames 14). This caused many different changes in the education
of Indian children at Haskell Institute.
The end of boarding schools had begun with this study in 1901, because the
conditions of boarding schools were not healthy for the Indian children. Later the
Merriam Report, 1924, pointed out shocking conditions in boarding schools, during the
late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and recommended not sending elementary age
children to boarding schools, and urged an increase in the number of day schools
(Reyhner 102). Day schools or public schools were under the control of the government,
but given to the state level for actual observations. States could regulate the funding for
all students that attended the education system. Indian children often transferred from
federal boarding schools, sometimes to a different area (Coombs 123). This was why the
decontamination process was given to new students being transferred, because the ill
children were separated from one another: “One danger was disease, especially trachoma,
influenza, and tuberculosis” (Short Sketches 38). These three diseases caused many
deaths at boarding schools in the early 1900’s.
32
�Boarding schools were designed to obliterate tribal identity, and transform Indian
people (Archuleta 116). This is why the government agreed with Pratt in the beginning
the immersion of the American way. These issues caused many different children to rebel
and run away from the schools: “Rebellion was common feature of government boarding
school life during 1900 to 1940” (Child 49). After being mistreated, the students had no
other way to run, but home was the only safe place they knew. The choice between the
oppression that occurred and the life style forced upon the Indians would not allow them
to have a complete Indian culture. Students rebelled: “Running away was the most
popular form of protest used by boarding school students, but certainly not the only kind
of rebellion” (Child 54). Some Native families encouraged the running away because
then they could see them and teach them the traditional life style. Boarding schools had
then spread across the United States of America, and all Native children were being
forced to attend. If the parents fought the authorities, they were cut off from receiving
their rations from the government.
The government during this time was paying the agents to gather children to force
them into the education system. This system caused many different events to happen to
Native children that caused them to shut down. The process was taken lightly by the staff
and other officials, but not by parents. Some parents had not seen their children after they
were taken away because they had passed away. Many tribes were effected by the loss of
children because the traditions were supposed to be passed down from one generation to
another. Now the civilization, or colonization, and the Native people become less aware
of the loss of traditions that are to return. Indian boarding school era was hard on the
Indian population because of the effects it had on the Indians as a whole.
Haskell Institute was a big part to the boarding school era because it was one of
the first inter-tribal schools. The deep mapping of Haskell Institute during the boarding
school era in 1900 to 1902 has proven Indian education valuable as well as oppressive.
Through understanding the effects of Indian boarding schools on families, history can
help understand life today. Balancing the positive and negative changes of Indian
children in boarding schools was difficult to overcome, but provided encouragement to
receive an education. Haskell is important to the Indian Education system back in the
1880’s as well as the Indian Education of today in 2006.
Works Cited
Adams, David. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience 18751928. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
Altom, Mila. Students At Haskell Institute From 1884 to 1889. Lawrence: Haskell Indian Nations
University Department of Archives, 2000.
“American Names.” The Indian Leader 14 Mar. 1902: 1.
Ames, William. Highlights of Haskell Institute: A Brief Sketch of the Half-Century of Indian Education.
Lawrence, Kansas: Haskell Institute, 1936.
Archuleta, Margaret; Child, Lommawaima. Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School
Experiences 1879-2000. Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2000.
Child, Brenda. Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1099-1940. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 2000.
33
�Coomds; Kron; Collister; Anderson. The Indian Child Goes to School: A Study of Interracial Differences.
Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1958.
Cobb, Amanda. Listening to Our Grand-Mothers’ Stories: The Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw
Females, 1825-1949. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000.
Edick, Charles. “What I Intend to Do After Leaving Haskell.” The Indian Leader 3 May 1901: 1.
Dr. Hailmann. “Industrial Training Schools.” The Indian Leader 29 Mar. 1901: 1.
Jackson, Curtis. Identification of Unique Features in Education at American Indian Schools. San Francisco,
California: R and E Research Associates, 1974.
Merriam; Webster. The Merriam-Webster Pocket Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1995.
Pearce, Roy. Savagism and Civilization: A Study of the Indian and the American Mind. Baltimore: John
Hopkins Press, 1965.
Roessel, Robert. Handbook for Indian Education. Los Angeles: Amerindian Publishing Company.
Reyhner, Jon. A History of Indian Education. Billings: Eastern Montana College, 1989.
“Sunday School Lessons.” The Indian Leader 9 Feb. 1900: 2.
“The Moral Status of the Educational Work.” The Indian Leader 16 Mar. 1900: 3.
Witmer, Linda. The Indian Industrial School: Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1879-1918. Carlisle, Pennsylvania:
Cumberland County Historical Society, 1993.
“When I First Came To Haskell.” The Indian Leader 27 Jul. 1900: 4.
34
�35
�36
�37
�38
�39
�♦♦♦♦
A Decade of Change: Haskell Activism in the 1970’s
by Blaine Wise
During the 1970’s, the nations colleges and universities were seeing an increase
in politically motivated events on their campuses. But what I am in search of is the events
that happened at Haskell Indian Junior College and the issues that sparked local
demonstrations. This is a particularly difficult area to explore due to the lack of research
done on this topic. To my knowledge, this will be the first time this question has been
researched. If this research is successful, I will be able to educate the readers that political
activism was not only occurring at major educational institutes but at Haskell as well.
Introduction
When examining the political activism that occurred here at Haskell Indian
Nations University, then known as Haskell Indian Junior College, during the 1970’s, the
question that must be answered is what sort of political events took place? This research
is vital to the “Deep Map of Haskell” because it will provide original information about
the political protests by the student body of Haskell. On today’s college campuses, little
is protested or rallied for or against with as much determination as the politically in-tune
generation of my parents. It is far too often that when I read about politically motivated
events that took place on college campuses, I primarily hear about the African-American
and the White activists. But what about the Indians? What did they do to create change?
What led me to this topic was an article given to me entitled “1970: The Year
That Rocked River City,” by Clark Coan. This article chronologically lays out the
political actions that had this town on edge, and sometimes on fire. This article left me
wanting to learn more about what went on here in Lawrence, but mainly, what sort of
events took place at Haskell? Unfortunately, when I tried to learn more about what went
on during the 1970’s, I came to a standstill when exploring Haskell’s demonstrations
because of a lack of literature written on this topic. Ultimately, I want to know what went
down “the decade that rocked River City?”
The main points that I researched are what issues sparked the political
demonstrations? What types of strategies did the students use? And how successful or not
were their attempts to create change? The design of my research was based upon primary
and secondary materials, including books, newspaper articles, and first-hand interviews.
There are two subjects that have given me their consent to participate in my research
interview: Jerry Tuckwin, a faculty member, athletics coach, and a Vietnam veteran
during the time period that I am examining, and also Pat Melody, director of the
Thunderbird Theatre during mid and late 1970’s. I created a questionnaire that aimed at
revealing the truths and the vivid details that made these events essential to the “deep
map of Haskell.”
40
�Coan said that “the month of May witnessed the greatest display of campus
dissent and disorder in American history” (5). The most infamous situation was when a
student protest turned into a tragic event at Kent State University on May 4, 1970.
Students from Kent State had scheduled a noon rally that protested the American
invasion of Cambodia, which was put into motion on April 25, nine days before. At noon
on Monday “an estimated 2000 people,” nearly double Haskell’s current enrollment,
“gathered at the university common” (wikipedia.com) for what began as a peaceful
demonstration. Soon after, the Ohio Air National Guard, which was already on campus,
made the decision to extinguish the gathering before it became violent, as it had in the
previous days. But instead of practicing peace, 29 of the 77 guardsmen fired 67 shots into
the crowd of protestors and bystanders (wikipedia.com). From those 67 rounds fired, four
students were killed, nine were wounded, and one student was paralyzed. Kent State
University suspended classes for six weeks following the tragic May 4th incident. This
infamous episode will forever be known as the “Kent State Massacre”( wikipedia.com ).
Lawrence also had its violence during this time frame.
This Is Lawrence!
Even before the Vietnam War erupted, political activism among college students
was on a rapid incline. The war was fuel to an already raging fire. The war and other
issues sparked rallies, protests, and sit-ins all across the nation. Many times these events
would turn into tense situations that often led to arrests, injuries, and or in some instances
death to participants or bystanders in these heated environments. Unfortunately,
Lawrence, Kansas, was not to be excluded from college towns that par-take in these sort
of politically charged affairs.
During the decade of 1970, Lawrence was a hotbed for politically motivated
events. These events reached their peak from July 16-23, 1970, when the week was
dubbed by Coan as the “Second Revolt in River City”(7). This week, the city of
Lawrence witnessed their once quiet streets transformed into a political warfront with
sniper fire, arson, and bombings brought on by young White and Black activists. Even
with a state of emergency declared by the Governor and with Highway Patrol scouting
the streets, two KU students, one black and one white, were shot and killed by patrolling
law enforcement officers (Coan 7). The deaths of these KU students caused Chancellor
Chalmers to suspend Kansas University classes on July 23rd.
These politically and racially motivated confrontations were not strictly subjected
to KU students, but also influenced the students in the Lawrence Public School system.
On April 13, 1970, the KU-Black Student Union members’ issues spilt over to the black
students at Lawrence High School where “several black students forced their way into
Principal William Medley’s office demanding to speak with him” (Monhollon 149). The
students demanded more black representation in courses and social organizations
throughout the school. This would be one of the calmer displays of protest. With rumors
of a take-over by black students, Lawrence Minutemen, a make-shift vigilante group,
armed with submachine guns and other weaponry, displayed their force outside the
41
�school to prevent any such take-over (Monhollon, 151). Throughout the week there were
several incidents of vandalism, fire-bombings, and shooting. The Harambee, the Black
Student Union newspaper, called events “The week that was” (Monhollon, 151).
So with these politically and racially charged events taking place here in
Lawrence, it brought me to the question; what types of these actions were seen on the
Haskell Indian Junior College campus during the 1970’s? Essentially, I was searching for
evidence of protest, sit-ins, rallies, and any other actions taken by Haskell students for
political and social change. Also, what were the issues at hand that motivated their
demonstrations? And were they successful in their demonstrations?
The Low-Down on Haskell
During the first semester of 1973, American Indian Movement (AIM) member
Russell Means spoke at Kansas University, not Haskell, about the journey of the
American Indian Movement and goals that AIM is striving for. In the September 28th,
1973 article, written by Rochelle Johnson and Frank White, they briefly outline the words
that Means delivered to Kansas University students. No full text remains of the speech.
Johnson and White began their article with Means revealing that AIM members were
seeking to raise 1.2 million dollars to adequately fund the defense of some “300
defendants” connected to AIM that were involved in the Wounded Knee takeover and
other trials versus the U.S. government (Johnson, White 3). After explaining the
motivation behind Mean’s speech, the authors described the current goals of AIM. After
a year of being a service provider to Native Americans in Minneapolis, AIM began
searching for their spirituality. Means stated that “today Indians lack their spirituality,
their traditional religion that once was the only driving force behind the Indian” (Johnson,
White 3). So to rekindle their lost spirituality and traditionalism, AIM began their quest
to find “holy men” from the various tribes across the nation (Johnson, White 3). From
these “holy men,” the members of AIM “learned to have respect for their brothers’ vision
because all things are related and have something to say” (Johnson, White 3). This
statement made by Means has become cliché in today’s study of the Native Americans
perspective on the world that surrounds them.
Before closing his speech at KU, Russell Means revealed that the American
Indian Movement was “advocating a return to living as one with all; they want liberation,
spiritual freedom and to expose the corrupt parties to the public’s attention” (Johnson,
White 3). This speech was given towards the end of the Nixon Administration when the
corruption of his administration, known as “Watergate,” became the center of attention
for the American people and ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. Even
though corruption was taking place at the White House, to many Native Americans
President Nixon did more positive for Indians than any previous President. Peter
MacDonald, a prominent Navajo leader, called Nixon “the Abraham Lincoln of the
Indian people” (Kotlowski 188). The positive effect of the Nixon Administration was felt
at Haskell Indian Junior College. Pat Melody, the director of the Thunderbird Theatre at
the time, said “during the Nixon presidency all kinds of money was on campus”
42
�(interview 4/8/06). Melody also mentioned that the budget for the Thunderbird Theatre
was “$10,000.00 for the 1974 school year” (interview 4/8/06). This level of funding has
not been reached since. So what other corruptions was Means speaking of?
Johnson and White end their article by telling the readers that Russell Means
would be in the area, but not at Haskell specifically, to “investigate the treatment of the
Pottawatomie and all the Indians in Kansas, Haskell included” (Johnson, White 3). I was
unable to discover what the results of his investigation were. Even if the results showed
mistreatment what would Russell Means have done to create change?
September 28th,1973 was the first time in my research that the militant AIM group
appeared in the campus newspaper, The Indian Leader. Although AIM did advocate
change to better the lives of Indians, I figured the ideas and thoughts of the sometimeviolent group would be kept separate from the growing minds of the students at HIJC.
The second time AIM made an appearance in The Indian Leader was three
months after Means’ appearance, when another AIM front man, Dennis Banks, was in an
article entitled “Dennis Banks Urges Boycott.” In the article appearing December
7th,1973, the executive director of the movement, Dennis Banks, insisted that Indians
“boycott white man’s bars and sources of his destructive poison” (2). This is the first
chronological instance in my research that I have found information regarding Native
students taking a specific stance against an issue. Even though it may seem to some
individuals as an insignificant cause to boycott, it still displays the idea of trying to create
change among the Native American communities. Banks did have the right idea in
wanting to boycott the purchase of alcohol, which has for a long time been a major vice
in the lives of far too many Native peoples.
Once again the American Indian Movement found away to grace the pages of the
student newspaper here at Haskell. On March 8, 1974, The Indian Leader ran a column
entitled “Trial Newsletter” that asked “for a contribution from HIJC to help publish
future Trial News Letters” (2). Because the newsletter would obviously support AIM, the
staff of The Indian Leader asked for the thoughts from students and faculty regarding the
request to “reprint and/or distribution” and/or “contribution” (“Trial Newsletter” 2). The
newsletter sent to Haskell by the Wounded Knee Legal Defense/Offense Committee
ended with Aim’s “three point program” that basically listed three primary objectives the
movement was striving for, which include: establishing a treaty commission to review the
371 treaties between the U.S. and Indians; repealing or re-examining the Indian
Reorganization Act of 1934; and removing the BIA from the Department of Interior (2).
During the Fall semester of 1974, a spontaneous sit-in occurred at the President’s
office. It was following a Homecoming activity held at the auditorium, when the Student
Council President speaking to the student body had “mentioned that there was a Board of
Regents meeting in progress at Pushmataha, and if you want to let the Board know your
concerns, this would be a good time to get their attention” (Melody, 4/8/06). Melody
recalls “nearly 200 students” walking across campus to stand outside of where the
meeting was taking place. The student council president politely interrupted the meeting
and informed the Regents about the large assembly of students outside the site wanting to
state their concerns. Described as a “pushover” by Melody, Haskell President Wallace
Galluzzi dismissed himself from to meeting to hear the students’ problems directly. Even
43
�though I was unable to get information on the specific concerns of the students, this still
remains as an important instance when the Haskell student body amassed as one to try to
create change for the, then, present and future Haskell students.
Another interesting piece of correspondence that surfaced during this search was
an article written in The Indian Leader by Charles Hare on September 26, 1975. The
article titled “Aggression Defeats Purpose” reports that a vehicle carrying explosives and
firearms exploded while driving on the Kansas Turnpike heading for Oklahoma. The six
occupants of the vehicle, all Sioux Indians, were apprehended by authorities and were
held at Sedgwick County Jail awaiting trial, in Wichita. It was reported that “several of
them are allegedly associated with the militant Indian group AIM” (Hare 2). This is
where the story began to have more significance. While telling a classmate about this
incident he quickly related these happenings to the documentary film The Incident at
Oglala which chronologically lists the events of the AIM take-over of Wounded Knee
during the summer of 1975 and the trials that followed. This friend recalled that the film
mentioned that the weapon, which was supposedly used to kill the FBI agents during the
stand-off and that landed Leonard Peltier consecutive life sentences, was discovered in
the trunk of a car that had exploded on the Kansas Turnpike. So is this the story reported
by Charles Hare, about the exploding vehicle, the same story that was told in the
documentary film? After listing the facts of the incident, Hare mentioned that these acts
of violence and aggression “can only hurt not help the Indian cause in America” (2),
which is true in most cases. The article closed by telling the readers that the time is “not
to revert to the animalism of the past but to go forward and make the system work for
us(Hare, 2).” Animalism? Hare, a student reporter, was, more or less, telling the readers
that Native American ancestors acted like animals. And as for trying to “make the system
work for us,” unfortunately the system was made to destroy the American Indian through
the hundreds of treaties and statues. A question that may come to mind, especially for
Natives, is why does Hare refer to Native ancestors as being animalistic? Or maybe this
thought was just a product of the Federal education at Haskell Indian Junior College at
that time.
In March of 1977, the Haskell community had to cope with a more difficult
situation than that of previous years mentioned in this research, and it happened that it hit
much closer to home. At a downtown saloon, the Longbranch, 1009 Massachusetts St.,
Lawrence Picotte, a Yankton-Sioux, was shot six times by Lawrence Police officers after
he, according to Douglas County Attorney Mike Malone, “pulled a handgun from his
back pocket and pointed it at one of the officers”(Postoak 1). The three officers were
seeking to question Picotte regarding an armed robbery which occurred on February 24
that year. On March 8, three days after the shooting, an assembly at Haskell was held
where Mary West, a student senate member, “announced that on March 9 classes would
be excused for a day of mourning”(Postoak 1). Two local self-proclaimed members of the
AIM were reported saying at the assembly that “there would be demonstrations”(Postoak
1). Sadly, no information surfaced on whether there were any demonstrations held by
AIM or any other organization on the behalf of this matter. Unfortunately, some
individuals used the designated day of mourning to vandalize four buildings: the new
dormitory, Pontiac, Admissions Office, and the Indian Studies Office. AIM insisted that
44
�the vandalism was not the work of AIM because they “considered these acts as juvenile”
(Postoak 1). After discovering the vandalism and hearing testimony from concerned
students and parents about the disruption of classes and the safety of the students,
President Wallace Galluzzi organized an assembly that assured “extra security measures
had been taken to ensure the safety of all students”(Postoak 1). In light of all the
circumstances on campus, the student senate began a petition to try to resolve the
disruption of campus life. The resolution read:
WHEREAS a lack of confidence exists among students and
employees due to Haskell
Administration’s decisions on the previous
and current handling of the American Indian
Movement’s
involvement with the Lawrence community affecting Haskell students;
and
WHEREAS the American Indian Movement influenced the
Haskell Administration to declare an unprecedented day of mourning
which disrupted the classes campus-wide; and
WHEREAS the Haskell Administration provided for the
unprecedented decision to fly the flag at half-mast on the day of mourning;
and
WHEREAS the American Indian Movement has created an
atmosphere of undue anxiety, stress, and fear among the students and
employees of Haskell Indian Junior College; and
WHEREAS the American Indian Movement assumes the empathy
and acceptance of themselves by the Haskell Indian Junior College student
body: Therefore it be RESOLVED, that Haskell Indian Junior College, as
an educational institution, disassociate itself from the adverse influence of
the American Indian Movement as an outside
organization.
(The
Indian Leader vol.80 no.11)
This resolution devised by the student senate wanted to put a halt to the
frequent appearances of AIM on campus and in the Haskell paper because the militant
group was creating an uneasy learning and social atmosphere for the students and faculty.
The opposition of AIM was documented in Monhollons’ This is America?: The Sixties in
Lawrence , Kansas that “according to one poll, Haskell students, by a four-to-one
margin, opposed the efforts of the American Indian Movement”(14).
In the midst of the shooting death of Picotte and the Student Senate’s resolution to
disassociate the university from AIM, the Board of Regents released a statement on
March 15,1977, which appeared in the March 18 issue of The Indian Leader. In the
statement by the Board of Regents, the Regents informed the readers that they had taken
certain actions to make sure that the investigation would be carried out thoroughly and
without biases. Due to the uncertainty of the incident, it was written, the Regents “have
requested the U.S. Justice Department to conduct a full investigation into all aspects of
the incident” and also to request the “assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union”
to determine if the correct force was applied or whether it was excessive (Postoak 1).
45
�The Regents were also seeking a “more balanced account be presented in the media”
because the media coverage was producing biased information about Lawrence Picotte
by “characterizing him as a individual with a criminal record”(Postoak 1). The Regents’
statement is closed by urging the Haskell community to “stand together to protect the
good name of the school” (Postoak 1), which was possibly being slandered by the local
media coverage. Due to the time frame of this project, little investigation was made to
clarify what outcomes were produced by the U.S. Justice Department and the American
Civil Liberties Union.
On February 11, 1978 at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, the anti-Indian
legislation protest called “The Longest Walk” (TLW) began its roughly 3,000 mile
journey for Capital Hill. On April 21st,1978, The Indian Leader ran a front page article by
Fred Rednest announcing the arrival of the more than 200 Native American representing
over 70 tribes to Lawrence and Haskell. Vernon Bellecourt, AIM member and public
relations representative for TLW, spoke to Haskell students at the auditorium informing
them about TLW’s purpose and what the group would be doing around the Lawrence
community. Bellecourt also stated “Haskell administration offered their hospitality to the
walkers, they respectfully declined”(Rednest 1) and instead camped out side of town. But
though interviews with both Jerry Tuckwin and Pat Melody TWL did not camp outside of
town nor did they deny hospitalities offered to them by the Administration. Melody
remembers the large group camping at the southwest corner of the Haskell campus,
known as the powwow grounds today, and frequently using the bathroom facilities.
Melody was also told that when TWL left campus and Lawrence, the group had stolen
camping supplies that was offered to them by the Haskell Administration and had
abandoned their campsite leaving a large amount of trash behind. Melody understood that
TWL justified their stealing of the camping gear as “a knock on the Government since
this was a government institute” (Melody 4/8/06). A question that comes to mind is why
did Bellecourt tell the Haskell students that TWL had declined the hospitalities of Haskell
and turn around and abuse Haskell’s hospitality and disrespect the campus? Also just
over a year ago the Student Senate in a resolution petition, asked that “Haskell
disassociate itself from the adverse influence of the American Indian
Movement”(Postoak 1). Apparently the student petition had no effect on the handling of
future circumstances involving the activist group.
My Thoughts
Before I began searching for information about the political activism by Haskell
students during the 1970’s I initially thought the amount of information would be much
greater then it is. In my mind I was thinking, okay Indians are always wanting change,
especially during the Seventies. So I automatically figured there would be examples of
protests, sit-ins, rallies, and other demonstrations that occurred at Haskell Indian Junior
College during this time frame. But I quickly found out that issues here at Haskell were
much different then other universities across the nation. For example at other universities,
many of the student demonstrations where to oppose the Vietnam war and other military
46
�doings, but not at Haskell because of the respect Natives have for their warriors. Jerry
Tuckwin, Vietnam veteran and Coach at Haskell, shared with me that when he returned
from the war he was always treated with respect by the Native community. This respect
of Native warriors is something that is apart of Native American tradition. So to be an
Indian fighting in a war they will be considered as a warrior by their community.
Another difference between the happenings here at Haskell Indian Junior College
and at other educational institutes is that this college is for Native Americans only
meaning that there wasn’t racial conflicts because there was only one ethnic group here. I
think this fact plays a huge role in that the political displays didn’t have any other ethnic
groups opposing what the other was doing.
The information that I was in search of to answer my thesis question of what sort
of political activism when on here at Haskell during the 1970s came up negative. But I do
not think of it as a negative outcome because no information is negative. But I happened
to show that there were many issues going on here at Haskell that many people had
forgotten or did not even know about them. During the process of this research project I
uncovered that Haskell has a variety of intriguing stories that really needed to be
researched extensively to create a story from the students prospective on what has
happened at this culturally enriched University.
Works Cited
Hare, Charles. “Aggression Defeats Purpose.” The Indian Leader. Vol. 79 no.2. Haskell Indian Nations
University. 26 Sept. 1975.
Johnson, Rochelle. White, Frank. “Russell Means Tells AIM Goals.” The Indian Leader. Vol.77 no.1.
Haskell Indian Junior College. 28 September 1973.
Kotlowski, Dean J. Nixon’s Civil Rights: Politics, Principle, and Policy. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press, 2001.
Melody, Pat. Personal Interview. 8 April 2006.
Monhollon, Rusty L. “This is America?” The Sixties in Lawrence, Kansas. New York: Palgrave, 2002.
Postoak, Keith. “Investigation Continues on Picotte Death.” The Indian Leader. Vol.80 no.11. Haskell
Indian Junior College. 18 March 1974.
Rednest, Fred. “The Longest Walk Arrives”. The Indian Leader. Vol.81 no.13. Haskell Indian Junior
College. 21 April 1978.
Tuckwin, Jerry. Personal Interview. 10 April 2006.
“Dennis Banks Urges Boycott.” The Indian Leader. Vol.77 no.7. Haskell Indian Junior College. December
7, 1973.
“Trial Newsletter.” The Indian Leader. Vol.77 no.12. Haskell Indian Junior College. 8 March 1974.
47
�48
�49
�♦♦♦♦
American Indians in Public Schools:
A Continuing Challenge
By Joseph L Claunch
The purpose of this research is to examine the historical design of Indian education and make
connections to the present circumstances of Indian students in Lawrence Public School District
497. Lawrence provides a fertile model to illustrate a substantial gap in education between Indian
students and other race/ethnic groups. The outcome of this research will expose explicit biases in
federal policy and in the institution of education that have existed ever since the inception of
Indian education.
Introduction
Education in the United States historically has been used as a vehicle for the
federal government to further assimilate American Indians as well as perpetuate racial
class structure. Although the policy of Indian education does not appear to be as
culturally biased as it once was, the methods of instruction, assessing, and evaluating
Indian students produce the same results. Policymakers have introduced new initiatives to
improve the system of Indian education time and time again, but the fundamental
function of the process continues to uphold hegemonic principles.
In recent years, decolonizing methods in education have been the focus of Indian
scholars and Indian communities, including the community associated with Haskell
Indian Nations University. Decolonizing strategies applied to school-age Indian student
populations attempt to reverse the effects of a deep history of colonization in Indian
education. However, a dilemma remains, that 90% of the total Indian student population
attends public school systems, like Lawrence Public School District 497 (Swisher and
Tippeconnic 253). Decolonizing ideas are not relevant to these students’ circumstances
Due to a long history of assimilative federal policy, more than half of the Indian
populations no longer live within their tribal communities (US Census 2000). As a result,
Indian children are placed in the public school system where they are likely an isolated
minority. Along with being provided with a formal education in the public school system,
Indian students are often provided with the philosophy that the dominant society’s
priorities are in the students’ best interests.
To date, American Indian and Alaska Natives students comprise less than 1% of
the total student population in the United States (Characteristics of American Indian and
Alaskan Native Education). There are close to 600,000 Indian students enrolled in
schools K-12 (Swisher and Tippeconnic 253). Of the approximate 600,000 students, 90%
attend public schools (Swisher and Tippeconnic 253). In addition, 53% of the total Indian
student populations are in public schools with relatively few Indians (Characteristics of
American Indian and Alaskan Native Education). These Indian students are scattered
across nearly 79,500 public schools with an average of 0.6% American Indian and
50
�Alaskan Native enrollment (Characteristics of American Indian and Alaskan Native
Education). So what rights do these about 600,000 Indian children have to education in
the United States?
The education of Indian students is not federal law but is a trust responsibility
being fulfilled by the United States Government. This is largely due to the unique
sovereign status of Indian tribes with reference to their political relationship with the U.S.
Government. To appreciate the political relationship between the federal government and
Indian populations, there are two key terms that need to be defined. First, the “sovereign”
status of Indians can be defined as the exercise of political authority by an Indian person
or tribal nation. Next, “treaties” are the agreements between tribal nations and the United
States Government. It is important to note that during the treaty negotiating practice
between the federal government and tribes, 120 treaties contained educational provisions
(Rehyner 23). In many instances, large sums of Indian-occupied lands were relinquished
to the U.S. government in return for educational services. According to Executive Order
13096 (U.S. Department of Education) issued by President Clinton in 1998:
The Federal Government has a special, historical responsibility for
the education of American Indians and Alaskan Native students.
Improving educational achievement and academic progress for American
Indian students is vital to the national goal of preparing every student for
responsible citizenship, continued learning, and productive employment.
(1)
The premise of the second sentence in President Clinton’s executive order given here is
an example of how the federal government has become more politically correct and
subtle in their attempt to assimilate Indian students over time, but the mission has always
remained the same. These ostensible goals for American Indian students appear
admirable on the surface, but what is the student being forced to sacrifice as a result of
their progressive association with public school education?
Historical Design of Public School Indian Education
The design of Indian education began centuries before the initiation of public
school systems in the United States. The foundation of Indian education was shaped by
colonial strategies that attempted to thoroughly eradicate Indigenous cultures (Wilson and
Yellow Bird). In return, Indians were afforded the opportunity to partake in the marvels
of modern civilization. Nearly all of the focus would be directed toward the beginning of
the twentieth century, when Indian students were initially placed in public school
systems. However, it is important to understand how the policy of Indian education has
evolved over time.
There are three stages of the Indian education process: Christian missionary
education, boarding school education, and public school education. This summation
roughly covers the objectives of these three stages from the early 1600’s through 1940.
There were recurring ideas of U.S. policymakers that brought about the evolution of
51
�Indian education. They are numerous, but a few that are significant for the purpose of this
research are:
1) The education of Indians is a means of assimilation, exclusively.
2) Indian students have an inferior place within the system of education.
3) Indian students hinder the progress of the entire education system.
4) The White ethnic group considers itself inherently superior to Indians.
The formal education of Indian people began with the work of missionaries in the
early 1600’s. The intent of this education was dynamic because of the number of
European countries vying for Indian souls, but the overall objective of the Christian
missionary education was “assimilation by conversion” (Pewewardy 1). This conditioned
Indians to understand their inferior status in the order of Manifest Destiny. As the United
States came into its own and broke away from European dominion, the government
recognized that missionary education was not assimilating Indian students rapidly enough
to keep up with the expansion and progress of the country.
The boarding school system was proposed to the federal government in 1820
(Jaimes 377) as a possible solution to assimilating Indians into the mainstream society at
a faster rate. The benefits of a boarding school education far exceeded what the
missionary schools could accomplish in terms of assimilating Indian students. Boarding
schools included a missionary education, but also encompassed more of the values and
customs of the American mainstream not necessarily connected with Christianity.
Furthermore, boarding schools introduced a form of education that would provide Indian
students with the training and skills necessary to make a transition into the mainstream
economy. Even though Indian students were offered the prospect of participating in the
national economy, it did not indicate that their inferior condition had changed in the
minds of White policymakers and in American society.
Boarding schools prepared Indian students to be members of an underclass. Indian
students were trained to perform domestic labor that had little to no potential for the
economic development of Indian people and their communities. The nature of boarding
school education was basically a form of “assimilation by capitalism” (Pewewardy 1).
The Indians’ natural inferiority within the order of Manifest Destiny, during the
missionary school era, was replaced with their inferior place within the United States job
market.
Early in the 20th century, the federal government began to feel the financial
burdens of operating the boarding school institutions (Dee 10). In addition, the boarding
school system had proven to be largely unsuccessful in its attempts to assimilate Indian
students based on the low number of students that graduated from these institutions. This
was largely due to the fact that Indian students actively resisted the education they
received in boarding schools and returned to their tribal communities or “returned to the
blanket.” At the same time in history, public school systems began to flourish around the
country. The federal government saw public schools as a lucrative alternative to boarding
schools and as a result, began to appropriate funding into public schools in 1907, for the
education of Indian students (Dee 10). From that point forward, the federal government’s
52
�position on Indian education persistently favored placing Indian children in public
schools.
Dating from 1912 to the present day, more Indians students have been in the
public school system than in government and tribally controlled schools (Reyhner 50).
The federal government’s logic for placing Indian students in public schools appeared to
be strictly financial. However, public schools also presented Indian students with the
ultimate representation of citizenry, a White student population. The White student
population offered their peer-influence and values to the Indian students as a model, so
the Indian student could emulate them.
During the first twenty-five years of the twentieth century, the U.S. experienced a
boom in industrial manufacturing. For that reason, the organization of the public school
system developed and grew to maturity during a time of immense industrial expansion
(Charleston 21). The designers of public school education took measures to make certain
that the structure, organization, pedagogy, and culture of public schools were governed
by industrial ideology (Charleston 21). According to the Indian Nations at Risk Task
Force in 1992, “The vertical teacher-principal-superintendent-school board organizational
structure was modeled after the worker-foreman-president-board-of-directors pattern of
industrial organization” (21). Virtually every aspect of the students’ academic experience
was dominated by industrial customs and beliefs.
Examples of the industrial dogma in education can be found by surveying the
preceding design of schools, rigid class schedules, faculty/student relationships, and most
importantly the standardization of students as if they were products (Charleston 21).
Bordering on the way factories generated standardized products, the institution of public
schools—accreditation standards, teacher certification requirements, and standardized
tests—were employed to ensure the standardization of children (Charleston 21). A vast
majority of American citizens welcomed industrial ideologies in their children’s
education because industry was driving the national economy. One of the principal
industrial theories in line with education during this period in history was that students,
particularly Indian students, had to “learn to earn” (Haskell Self-Study 1-5).
Alternatively, the experiences and circumstances of the average American were
completely different from those of American Indians who had been forced to adapt to this
philosophy in education.
Throughout the first four centuries of colonization in North America, EuroAmericans had been determined to establish a hierarchy by race and ethnicity (Wilson
and Yellow Bird 144). A historical account of scientific testing, that allegedly assessed
the mental capacities of humans, directly conditioned Indian children to a state of
inferiority in the classrooms of public schools. Even as recently as the beginning of the
20th century, “many psychologists had a keen interest in scientifically proving that
Indigenous Peoples had low mental capacities” (Wilson and Yellow Bird 144). Although
the White perception of Indian people was not solely defined by this record of scientific
tests, attitudes of enlightened educators assumed that certain racial types would benefit
from education minimally at best (Wilson and Yellow Bird 145). These ideas were
widely established in mainstream academia and furthered the subjugation of Indian
students by an all-White education system.
53
�The political approach to Indian policy appeared to reverse in 1924 with the
passage of the Indian Citizenship Act (Rehyner 50). As a result, measures allegedly were
taken by the federal government to improve conditions for Indian populations and amend
the blunders of federal policy in years past. In the same year that Indians were granted
citizenry, the House of Representatives called together a committee of One Hundred
Citizens to discuss how the system of Indian education could be improved. The
committee concluded that a “far greater emphasis needed to be placed upon training
grassroots Indians to think white” (Jaimes 384). The committee of One Hundred Citizens
findings was followed up by a study in 1927, coordinated by Lewis Meriam, which in
part analyzed Indian education. The Meriam Report, in 1928, exposed numerous
discrepancies in Indian education and was considered to be a turning point in the process.
Lewis Meriam reported:
Our belief is that it is a sound policy of national economy to make
generous expenditure in the next few decades with the object of winding
up the national administration of Indian affairs. The fundamental
requirement is that the task of the Indian Service be recognized as
primarily educational, in the broadest sense of the word, and that it be
made an efficient educational agency, devoting its main energies to the
social and economical advancement of Indians, so that they may be
absorbed into the prevailing civilization or fitted to live in the presence of
that civilization. (Jaimes 384)
Here, Lewis Meriam sums up the methodical approach typically taken by the United
States when administering Indian policies during this period of history. The most
prevalent creed in federal policy at the time was to sever all trust responsibilities with
Indian people via assimilation, as soon as possible, and at the lowest possible cost.
Despite the federal governments conspicuous attempts to hypothetically improve the
conditions in Indian education, the outcome of their deceptive initiatives maintained the
original design of the practice. However, it is apparent that the federal government was
becoming more politically correct and subtle in their approach.
The federal government made it a law in 1929, that every Indian child “not under
government supervision to attend public schools in accordance with state laws; and state
officials were authorized to enter Indian occupied lands to enforce the measure” (Jaimes
384). When Indian students were placed within public school systems, the states assumed
the duty of education, thus reducing the federal government’s trust responsibility to
education. Consequently, in 1934, around the time of the Indian Reorganization Act,
Congress passed the Johnson-O’Malley Act (JOM) to assist Indian children in public
school setting.
The JOM Act was an assimilative policy in nature that allowed the Secretary of
the Interior to enter into contracts with states and pay them for providing public education
to Indians. The act attempted to increase Indian enrollment in public schools and alleviate
the financial burdens of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Rehyner 50). Funds provided by
the government through JOM were directly transferred into school districts’ general
operating fund and as a result, the school districts could do whatever they wanted with
the funds without accountability (Swisher and Tippeconnic 70). This unaccountability
54
�lasted for more than 40 years (Swisher and Tippeconnic 70). Schools that received funds
from JOM had nothing more than a moral obligation to see that the money was spent with
the Indian students’ interests in mind.
The history of Indian education up until 1940 illustrates that assimilation alone
was incomplete without the Indians and other minorities recognizing their natural
inadequacies when compared to the White race. In view of that, Indians and other
minorities endured years of oppression and victimization in a system that professed to
have their best interests in mind. The political mood in education shifted over time,
largely due to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s and 70’s. As a result,
multicultural education models were implemented into the pedagogy of the public school
system with the intent of making the institutions more consciously aware and sensitive to
the needs of students from all races and ethnicities. Public school curriculums were to be
more culturally relevant to meet the needs of all students, and educators also assumed the
responsibility of being aware of issues that challenge minority students and equipped to
deal with them (Reyhner 20). Given the history of Indian education and the successive
evolution of the process due to enlightened federal policy, one might presume that
perhaps the current state of Indian education has improved over time. However, after
investigating the Indian student enrollment in Lawrence Public School District UDS 497,
the outcome looks as if the current course of Indian education maintains the hegemonic
principles that the system was initially founded upon.
American Indians in Public School District USD 497
This section provides a depiction of United School District 497 in Lawrence,
Kansas. Conducting interviews with USD 497 employees and acquiring statistics from
appropriate officials are the primary method used to achieve the illustration. For privacy
concerns, interviewees will be not be referred to by name.
When comparing the local Indian residence to other urban communities, the
Lawrence Indian population is very unique because of its proximity to Haskell Indian
Nations University. Haskell employs a number of local Indian residents that live and raise
their children in Lawrence. Haskell’s students, alumni, along with Kansas University’s
Center for Indigenous Studies program students and employees, add to the Indian
population in Lawrence. The American Indian residents that have school-aged children
accordingly place their children in Lawrence USD 497 school district. The most
unparalleled statistic about the Indian students in USD 497 is the fact that the students
come from a wide range of federally recognized tribes and can be first, second, or even
fourth generation students taught in public schools. Also, a significant number of this
group, the children of faculty for example, come from college-educated families.
Statistics give a fuller view of the demographics. There are 482 Indian students
presently enrolled in the Lawrence Public School District, K-12, spring semester of 2006
(Subject C). This represents 4% of the total student population, which is 9,980 (Subject
C). The local representation of Indian students is in fact a high percentage when
compared to a national average of 0.6% American Indian/Alaskan Native enrollment in
55
�public school districts similar to USD 497 (Characteristics of American Indian/Alaskan
Native Education). To appreciate the diversity of Indian students enrolled in USD 497, it
significant to understand what percent of the students are acculturated to the public
school system or recently off the reservation. Indian students who have been exclusively
taught in public school institutions during the course of their academic career are
characterized as acculturated. This representation locally is roughly 60% in USD 497
(Subject C). Indian students that come to USD 497 recently off the reservation embody
approximately 25% of the Indian enrollment, but that percentage fluctuates from year to
year (Subject C). There are 15% of the Indian enrollment in USD 497 that are not
represented by these two categories, but these students can be categorized as students that
come from rural or other urban school settings. The most notable challenge these Indian
students face within USD 497 is collectively they have the lowest standardized test scores
of all races/ethnicities.
The Lawrence Public School District’s configuration bears a strange resemblance
to the historical description of public school design given earlier in the essay. The design
of local schools, organizational-structure, rigid class schedules, faculty-student
relationships, and the standardization of students through testing are evident in USD 497.
Close to the way public schools conditioned students for industrial jobs early in the
twentieth century, the present-day “function of public school education is to prepare
students for productive employment in the national economy,” according to Subject A.
Therefore, the “learn to earn” philosophy is clearly relevant to local students. This
philosophy in education has been problematic when applied to Indian student populations
in the past. However, contemporary Indian students and their families have been
assimilated to the point where they accept this concept as a means of survival. The more
valid problem at the present lies in the approach the system takes to accomplish the
initiative. According to Mike Charleston, Project Director of Indian Nations at Risk Task
Force in 1992:
The present American education system is a relic of the industrial
age. The educational system is doing poorly for a large number of students
of the mainstream society for the simple reason we are no longer living in
an industrial age. Native people never were and will not ever be in the
industrial age! (20)
After all these years of enlightened federal policy, the public school system is still
dominated by the industrial principles of the past. Indian students under these
circumstances are frequently offered two choices, assimilate or fail. Both decisions can
be and are considered failures in Indian communities.
While interviewing Subject B, the individual stated that in his/her experience,
“Indian culture, more than any other culture is least able to acclimate to the standards of
public schools.” Subject B was asked what approach the local district takes to improve
the situation for these types of students. Subject B answered, “according to recent
education policy, we need to get students from different cultures to buy into the system.”
Subject B’s personal views were different from that though; Subject B thought the system
of education should “get them to understand what is important to succeed without losing
56
�their culture.” Out of the three faculty members interviewed, Subject B was the most
culturally sensitive to the needs of students.
Native American Student Services is the school unit that dispenses federal
funding into programs that are intended to benefit local Indian students. The program
provides basic school supplies, tutoring, and assistance with school-related fees for all
Indian students (Dee 22-23). The program also includes a Parent Advisory Committee
(PAC), since JOM was amended in 1974 to require this input from families and
community. The PAC was attached to the program to allow parental involvement in the
implementation of specialized programs.
The PAC would seem to be a great initiative, allowing the parents of Indian
students to be directly engaged in their child’s education. In contrast, when examining the
recent JOM instruction manual, written by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there was a
glaring discrepancy conveyed in the introduction. According to the manual, the JOM Act
“has been amended various times, but its main objective has remained the same” and “its
basic purpose has also remained the same” (Johnson-O’Malley Handbook 1). Persuasive
phrasing makes the programs look as if they have the best of intentions, followed up by
these statements, but the assimilationist motives of the federal government have not
wavered. In addition, JOM and Title VII are primarily supplemental programs that have
no genuine impact on the nature of public school education. Realistically, the only
function these two programs serve is to make the transition of assimilation less abrasive
for Indian students and their families. Most of the services are economic, not cultural
enrichment.
Cultural and academic enrichment are possible. Services to assist Indian students
academically and culturally are available through Haskell’s Upward Bound Program.
Upward Bound provides tutoring, stipends, and a college preparatory program for all
Indian students who qualify. Requirements for Upward Bound services are based on the
student’s household income and membership in a federally recognized tribe. Upward
Bound, a summer program, provides a better service for local Indian students than the
two government mandated programs JOM and Title VII. This is largely due to their
culturally pertinent summer academy that prepares Indian students to go to college. I
have served the capacity as a counselor during the last two summer academies and have
personally witnessed affirmative outcomes for Indian students as a result of the culturally
appropriate program. In my experience with the Upward Bound program and as a student
at Haskell, whenever facilitators of educational initiatives can make the process culturally
relevant for Indian students, the results are positive.
Local USD 497 Indian high school students do have the additional benefit of a
Native American history course. The Native American history course is a step in the right
direction as far as the implementation of culturally relevant curriculum for Indian
students is concerned. Despite the relevancy of Native American history for local Indian
students, the course is strictly considered an elective, and a standard series of social
studies courses are first required for graduation. This series of social studies courses in
the two local high schools consists of Social Studies in 9th grade, Modern World History
in 10th, American History in 11th, and U.S. Government in the 12th (Lawrence Public
57
�Schools). The historical landscape illustrated by these required courses engages students
in a misleading interpretation of the past, particularly for students of color.
Subject C, in an interview, emphasized that American History poses the greatest
challenge for Indian students. Moreover, Subject C believes, “if there was one class the
students in the program consistently fail and hinders their ability to graduate, it is
American History.” American History courses today provide students with a description
of the past that upholds a longstanding tradition of White superiority, which was at the
expense of Indian peoples land, culture, and lives. Thus, the curriculum may be in
opposition to what students already know about Indian/government relations if Indians
are even mentioned at all.
As illustrated, there are a series of programs in Lawrence that attempt to support
Indian students in the local public school setting, more so than urban locations similar to
this town. Alternatively, the fact remains that the programs are supplemental and
generally support the process of assimilation.
It is an exceptionally complex task to accurately evaluate local Indian students
collectively because of the number of Indian families that move to and from Lawrence.
Due to this, the total Indian student population in USD 497 can fluctuate vastly from year
to year. USD 497 experiences a turnover of at least 25% of the students eligible for
Native American Student Services annually (Subject C). The drastic turnover in Indian
enrollment is primarily attributable to the number of Indian students that transition on and
off the reservation (Subject C). Approximately 25% of the students in the Native
American Student Services program come from a reservation location (Dee 90). Indian
students that come to Lawrence from a reservation pose the greatest challenge for
educators of Indian students in the school district.
All, every one of the students that come to USD 497 from reservations, are
substandard in terms of: literacy, language proficiency, grade point averages, and
standardized test assessments, according to Subject C. Additionally, Subject C declares
that students recently off the reservation commonly come into the local school district
two grade levels behind. An obvious explanation for these conditions is to blame the
reservation schools for their inability to effectively prepare this group of students. On the
other hand, when asking all of the subjects interviewed if there was a system set in place
to acclimate and reduce the culture shock for this group of students, they all answered
“no.” Ralph Nader, when testifying before Special Senate Subcommittee on Indian
Education in 1969, stated:
The student, bringing with him all the values, attitudes, and beliefs
that constitute his “Indianness” is expected to subordinate that Indianness
to the general American standards of the school. The fact that he, the
student, must do all the modifying, all the compromising, seems to say
something to him about the relative value of his own culture as opposed to
that of the school. (quoted in Rehyner 53)
Almost thirty-six years has passed since Nader made his proclamation on the topic of
Indian education. It is obvious in USD 497 that Indian students are still required to
subordinate their “Indianess” to the basic customs and beliefs of the local school system.
58
�The challenges Indian students encounter within the institution of public schools
are not equally dispersed to all racial/ethnic groups in American schools, but make
inexplicable connections to particular students of color. After investigating national
patterns in educational figures that parallel race/ethnicity, the results either support a
racial class structure or explicit biases in education, depending on personal points of
view. These patterns include inequalities in: special education, socioeconomic status, and
academic achievement (NCES). All three have been proven to have a profound impact on
how students perceive themselves and the subsequent potential for them to do well in
school. These characteristics suggest significant implications for Indian and Black
student populations locally and nationally.
Nationally, American Indian and Black children are more likely than any other
racial group to require special education services (Freeman 34). The same statistic holds
true in USD 497. Pewewardy alleges, “The major reason why there is an
overrepresentation of poor and ethnic minority youth in special education is because there
is a lack of appreciation for different cultural learning styles” (Wilson and Yellow Bird
142). The Indian enrollment statistics show that a disproportionate number of Indian
students receive special education services in USD 497. Approximately 21.6% of the 482
Indian students in the Lawrence Public School District require special education (Subject
C). Two years ago, the percent of Indian students in special education was 24% (Subject
C).
To give you an idea of how high this representation is, Subject C was asked if this
percentage was equivalent to other race/ethnic groups. Subject C stated, “If any subgroup
of students reaches 25%, then the system set in place to determine if special education is
required is considered to be over-testing students.” This percentage of Indian students is
exceedingly high when compared the district average for the total student population.
According to Kevin Harrell, assistant director of Special Education Student Data
Management, Black students locally are the only group that have a higher percentage of
students in special education and have been deemed as overrepresented in USD 497 by
the Kansas Board of Education. At this time, the average for the entire student population
receiving special education services is 14.64% (Harrell). That average includes Indians,
Blacks, and all other race/ethnic groups in USD 497.
According to the U.S. Department of Education report “Status and Trends in the
Education of American Indian of 2005”: “Poverty poses a serious challenge to children’s
access to quality learning opportunities and their potential to succeed in school.”
American Indian and Black families are nearly two and a half times more likely to live in
poverty than White families in our country (Freeman 16). Again, the socioeconomic
status of Indian and Black families in Lawrence draws a parallel to national averages. Of
the 482 Indian students enrolled in USD 497, 66% of them meet the criteria for free or
reduced breakfast and lunch (Subject C). That indicates that 66% of the total Indian
student population is at or below the poverty level in the Lawrence community. This
current feature of Indian residency in Lawrence is significant because socioeconomic
statuses have been directly linked to achievement levels and standardized test levels of
minority students in public schools.
59
�Similar to the way low socioeconomic conditions have been shown to adversely
effect academic success, “A considerable amount of data shows that power and status
relations between minority and majority groups exert a major influence on school
performance” (Reyhner 4). As a result, minority students can be “disempowered
educationally much the way that their communities are disempowered by interactions
with other social institutions” (Reyhner 4). The Indian community in Lawrence is
distinctively different from other Indian communities due to the number of educated
Indian people with a higher education. However, this characteristic does not appear to
have had a major impact on the local Indian students’ academic performance.
There are large discrepancies when studying achievement levels by race/ethnicity
in the United States. The federal government breaks race and ethnicity up into six
categories consisting of: White, Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Native Alaskan,
Asian/Pacific Islander, and Other. Indians, Hispanics, and Blacks are lower than Asians
and Whites when comparing achievement levels in reading, writing, science, and math
(NCES). Indians, Blacks, and Hispanics when academically compared to with Whites and
Asians, constitute what is known as the “achievement gap” in education (Rehyner 3).
When examining the history of these race categories within our country, it is not hard to
point out that the three lower achieving ethnicities consistently have been the victims of
oppression at the hands of the dominant White society (Reyhner 3). This trend in
achievement levels is evident in USD 497, but carries over to the more recent fixation
with standardized test scores.
The current fascination with standardized test scores in education is a result of
President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, of 2002. The broad objective of
NCLB is to lift achievement levels of every student, particularly underperforming groups,
“and to close the achievement gap that parallels race and class distinction” (Meier and
Wood 3). Moreover, “the bill intends to change this by focusing schools’ attention on
improving test scores,” particularly standardized test scores (Meier et al. 3). Schools that
do not meet standards of NCLB are penalized and deemed as failing schools. If parents
have children in failing schools, they can transfer their children to passing schools,
theoretically reducing the failing schools’ student enrollment and federal funding.
The system of penalizing schools for not meeting test standards has been
controversial and largely debated. Many educators believe that NCLB is creating an
environment that “is pressuring teachers to substitute an inappropriate focus on testtaking skills instead of serving the individual needs of the students in front of them”
(Meier et al. 56). Given that Indian students have history of scoring poorly on
standardized tests, they have yet again gained the attention of policy makers and school
administrators. Subject C explained that with the implementation of NCLB standards in
2002, “for the first time the local administration was concerned with the work of the
Native American Student Services department.” It is apparent that pressure on the local
school administration to meet NCLB standards triggered the more recent interests in
Indian education within USD 497.
Presently, NCLB standardized tests are administered to assess academic
achievement for every student, but more extensively for students in underperforming
groups because of the substantial gap in education that parallels race and ethnicity. These
60
�underperforming groups include Indian students and ultimately “perpetuate a system of
institutionalized racism” (Berlak 1). The result of measuring academic success solely on
a student’s ability to perform well on standardized tests justifies the labeling and
subsequent discrimination of underperforming groups like Indian students.
In 1998, Helen Dee, a student writing her masters thesis about Indian students in
the Lawrence Public School System, conducted an interview with the coordinator of
Native American Student Services. The coordinator told Dee that she “believes the
school programs in Lawrence school district are not adequately preparing the Native
American students to attend a college or university” (Dee 89). The students, she said,
“need extensive educational counseling to be able to prepare for college or to know about
their other options, such as vo-tech training” (Dee 89). She did not indicate if students are
receiving such counseling. She further stated, “Government grants allocated to the
program have assumed all students are going into the academic setting after high school”
(Dee 89). However, JOM and Title VII do not provide for post-secondary preparation
programs. First and foremost, government allocated grants do not presume that Indian
students are going to college. The grants specifically address Indian students enrolled K12 and attempt to meet the “unique and specialized educational needs of Indian children”
(JOM Handbook). The goal is very broad and makes no reference to an ensuing transition
for Indian students to “an academic setting” after high school. Nevertheless, if the
coordinator feels that this might be part of the program then why not provide the students
in the program with the prospect of going to college? Especially with opportunities that
Haskell Indian Nations has to offer?
At present, there is no organized effort to bring USD 497 American Indian or
Alaskan Native students to visit Haskell to encourage enrollment after high school
graduation. Kickapoo Nation School in Powhattan, Kansas, 83 miles away, is one of
several schools that provide organized trips for their students to Haskell to make students
aware of their opportunities at this college. Nor does USD 497 organize visits for
students during Haskell’s Career Day, when representatives from over fifty businesses,
universities, and federal agencies are present. The only official interaction between USD
497 and Haskell is the placement of Haskell’s education students in schools for student
teaching assignments.
In her interviews with Dee, the USD 497 Native Services coordinator said she
was a firm believer in vo-tech training and thought it “could make a difference for those
students who needed some maturation time between high school and college or wanted to
go to the technical fields” (Dee 89). The philosophy behind placing Indian students in
vocational training stems from the boarding school era; in that Indians worked well with
their hands and were not capable of performing jobs that required an extensive education.
The rich tradition of Haskell and the sum of Indian students striving to achieve a
higher education is what makes Lawrence so unique for the local Indian residents. Local
Indian students are missing out on valuable support of Haskell and KU Indigenous
Studies-related communities.
Sensitivity to different family patterns of Indigenous Americans was also lacking
in USD 497 employees. During the interview process, Subject C was asked what the
number one deterrent to academic success for local Indian students is. Subject C thought,
61
�“The schools should not and can not be responsible for raising the child.” Also, Subject
C refers to fact that 85% of the students in her program do not come from homes with
both biological parents, and other family members, such as grandparents, aunts, and
uncles, have to pick up the responsibility of raising the child. Subject C believes this is “a
tragedy and the situation for many African American students is the same.” Once more,
Indian and Black students share peculiar tendencies in education as a result of a built in
classification system that is rarely in their favor. And both ethnicities have family
structures that differ from the nuclear family model, in which grandparents, aunts, and
uncles have primary roles. Nonetheless, in Dee’s interview, the coordinator says that
“Many of the students who transfer from reservation schools have multiple problems
which include not living with the biological parent(s), attendance problems, high poverty
level, Social Rehabilitation Services-related problems, and a major gap in education in all
subjects” (Dee 89). This makes the parallel between parenting and high poverty adversely
affecting academic performance, but does not correlate them into the correct order or
context of deterrents to academic success.
To gain an additional perspective about Indian students coming from non-nuclear
households, Dan Wildcat, an author of a book on Indian education, was asked his opinion
about Indigenous students’ families being considered an academic liability. Wildcat felt
that it was a “moral value judgment about family; in the dominant society, nuclear
families are what constitute a good family.” This is not necessarily the case in Indian
homes where kinship can take on distinctively different roles than that of the dominant
society. It is perfectly normal and frequently necessary for additional family members,
other than the biological parents, to assist in raising the child in Indian homes. Wildcat
viewed this as “a good example of blaming the victim.”
When asking Subject C why Indian students have collectively the lowest
standardized test scores in the district, Subject C gave several explanations. First, Subject
C referred to the lack of both biological parents being present in the home. Next, Subject
C stated, “Indian students have trouble living in both worlds.” The “living in both
worlds” philosophy used to be a popular theory of non-Indians, but over the course of
social enlightenment, the model has been considered unworkable.
In a recent class held by Dan Wildcat, he expressed that “trying to live in two
world’s would create a condition of schizophrenia.” The point Wildcat was trying to get
across to the class was that it was impractical to live in two worlds, and if attempted
would lead to mental illness. If local Indian students are currently struggling to live in
two worlds, the situation for these students can create conditions where they likely would
view their world as inferior to that of school system. This is not because this is the truth,
but because principles that support a class structure have been rooted into the system of
education and justification is readily available, in standardized tests written for dominant
society experiences. Indian students should not and cannot be expected suppress their
cultural identity just because it may conflict with the mainstream custom and beliefs of
public schools.
Senator Edward Kennedy was part of a report, Indian Education: National
Tragedy, a National Challenge, and wrote that “Indian children more than any other
minority group believed themselves to be below average in intelligence” (Reyhner 55).
62
�Nearly all the discouraging educational statistics in relation to Indian students in the
report are apparent in USD 497. What is most disturbing about the comparison of the
report to local Indian students is that the report was delivered to Congress in 1969. One
can presume that Indian students have and will continue to believe they are below
average in intelligence, given the institutionalized racism of public school education.
To probe further into Subject C’s point of view, the subject was asked how other
race/ethnic groups overcome similar adversities to perform well on standardized tests.
Subject C uses Hispanic’s as an exemplar race/ethnic group “that has a consistent level of
improvement on standardized tests that never waivers.” What's more fascinating is that
Subject C alleges the Hispanic students, “come from more stable homes, do not expect to
live on welfare, are hard workers, value education, and are more apt buy into the customs
and values of the school system.” Subject C places the blame of Indian student failure
solely on the students and their families without recognizing the system failures of the
school. It is also remarkable that Subject C uses the Hispanic population to draw a
comparison to a racial/ethnic group that is overcoming challenges to show improvement
on standardized test. It may even be commendable. However, the circumstances of
Indians, when compared to Hispanics, are polar opposites. The motivations for
immigrants are extremely different from those of Indigenous people in the United States.
Immigrants’ generally seek opportunity in America and embrace assimilation; American
Indians, currently and over the course of history, are in quest of cultural survival in the
face of constant oppression.
Conclusion
The parents of Indian children acknowledge that education is a necessity; in the
same way tribal leaders in the past negotiated treaties that contained educational
provisions. This is undeniable, but education continues to be the supreme tool exercised
by the federal government to further assimilation and maintain a racial class structure. All
too often, Indian children have been subjugated to the customs and beliefs of an
educational system that is supposed to act in the students’ best interests. On the other
hand, it is only appropriate to state that the faculty and specialized programs in USD 497
are not consciously attempting fail Indian students. The local district and faculty, for the
most part, are trying to provide Indian students with an education that will allow them to
succeed academically and, for the future, economically. However, the institutions of
education and conditioned faculty maintain an absolute point of view that is intolerant of
customs and beliefs from cultures that may differ from Western thought. As a result,
Indian students under these circumstances are left with two basic choices, assimilate or
fail.
I argue that if assimilation, by definition, is the process whereby a minority group
gradually adopts the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture, the government’s
assimilation policies of the past have been in a constant continuum by means of the
public school system. The basic assimilation of Indian people by way of education has
and continues to be only a part of the undertaking of public school education. The other
63
�part of the function makes certain that Indians and other minorities recognize their
inherent inferiority in relation to the White race. Dictatorial instruction, culturally biased
curriculums, culturally biased assessments, and the subsequent labeling of
underperforming groups accomplish this dual mission of public school education. These
conditions pose immense challenges for contemporary Indian students, but these
challenges should not lie solely on the shoulders of Indian students. When educational
failure is placed exclusively on the students and their families, a racial social structure in
education is perpetuated and even institutionalized.
Time continues to go by and the parents of Indian children today would like to
believe that their children go to school under more promising circumstances than
previous generations of Indian students. It is a fact that contemporary Indian students,
when compared to previous generations, demonstrate higher levels of educational
achievement. This is a clear indication of progress for the policymakers of Indian
education, but progress always arrives with a price. The reality of the existing conditions
in Indian education is that Indian students today are more culturally assimilated into the
mainstream society than ever before. However, these conditions in Indian education did
not occur naturally over time. The process of public school education has and continues
to be a self-serving machine that promotes assimilation and preserves a racial social
structure. These two concepts have been implanted into the foundation and function of
public schools, creating a progression of indoctrination to every new generation of Indian
students taught within the system. Once Indian students are placed in public schools, the
systematic function of the school carries out the complete process.
Works Cited
Berlack, Harold. Race and the Achievement Gap. Rethinking Schools. Online Volume 15. Summer 2004.
<http://www.rethinkingschools.org> March 2006.
Charleston, Mike G. Toward True Native Education: A Treaty of 1992. Final Report of the Indian Nations
at Risk Task Force, 1991.
Dee, Helen K., The Urban Native American Student: The Success of Native American Junior and High
School Students in Lawrence School District 497 Lawrence, KS. Kansas University, Masters
Thesis, 1998.
Fredrick, Joseph. Personal Interview. 22 Feb. 2006.
Freeman, C. and Fox, M. “Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaskan Natives.”
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 2005.
Harrell, Kevin. Telephone Conversation. 4 Apr. 2006.
Haskell Indian Nations University. Self-Study: Haskell Looks To The Future To Reclaim A Past. 2005.
www.haskell.edu/haskell/selfstudy. April 2006.
Jaimes, Annette, ed The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonization and Resistance. Boston: South
End Press, 1992.
Lawrence Public Schools USD 497. 2006-2007 High School Course Description Catalogue. Student
Services. February 2006.
http://lhs.usd497.org/lhs%20page/pages/Student%20Services/course%20descrip/HSCourseDescB
k.htm April 2006.
64
�Meier, Deborah, and George Wood, eds. Many Children Left Behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act is
Damaging our Children and our Schools. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004.
Pewewardy, Cornel. “From Subhuman to Superhuman: Images of First Nations Peoples in Comic Books.”
Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education 2.2. (2002).
http://www.utpress.utoronto.ca/journal/ejournals/simile March 2006.
Rehyner, Jon, ed Teaching American Indian Students. 2nd ed. Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
Subject A. Personal Interview, Lawrence Public Schools, Feb. 2006.
Subject B. Personal Interview. Lawrence Public Schools, Feb. 2006.
Subject C. Personal Interview. Lawrence Public Schools, 22 Mar. 2006.
Swisher, Karen G., and John W. Tippecconic, eds Next Steps: Research and Practice
To Advance Indian Education. Charleston, WV: Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small
Schools, 2001.
United States Census Bureau. US Census 2000 Demographics Profile. The American Indian and Alaskan
Native Population: 2000. Issued February 2002. www.census.gov March 2006.
United States Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Characteristics
of American Indian/Native Alaskan Education. 1997-2004.
www.nces.ed.gov March 2006.
United States Government. U.S. Department of Education. American Indian Education 1998-2005.
www.ed.gov March 2006.
Wildcat, Daniel. Personal Interview. Haskell Indian Nations University, April 2004.
Wilson, Waziyatawin Angela, and Michael Yellow Bird eds. For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonizing
Handbook. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press, 2005.
65
�♦♦♦♦
Spirits Residing on Haskell Campus
By Aaron Edenshaw
Historical Background of Haskell
Haskell Institute was established in 1884 as a tool geared to assimilate Native
Americans into overall American society. Students at Haskell Institute varied in age,
from infancy to early twenties and adulthood. Over the years many Native Americans
have lived and died on Haskell campus. It is important to understand the complexities of
the spirits here at Haskell to fully appreciate the life of the school. The Native American
spirits residing here at Haskell have various reasons for spiritual residency. There are
spirits here who are trapped at Haskell, and then there are those who found sanctuary here
and wish to remain. Whatever the reason, most people who have been at Haskell for an
extended period of time have experienced their presence. I myself have had amazing and
often frightening experiences with the spirits here at Haskell within the past five years. I
have conducted research into this unseen population of the Haskell campus.
At Haskell there have been many fatalities. In regards to those that have passed
away at Haskell, here is an example of the severity in child deaths in the early years from
1884 to 1889. The student death record during those years limits the full understanding
and range of numbers. However, it is a good representation of just how much and how of
often death occurred in short period of time:
The one thing that must be remembered about the death record is that
those deaths are the only ones that were documented and does not count
the students who were sent home due to severe illness, nor the ones that
were not recorded. In some cases there is no diagnosis (Capes-Altom).
How many of these were documented and how many remain unsolved? There were
thirty-five entries total: 1 dead in accident, 1 dead of malaria, 6 deaths from pneumonia, 6
deaths from consumption, and 21 deaths with no diagnosis (Capes-Altom). As you can
see from “no diagnosis, deaths” records in the early years at Haskell were not well
documented. There remains a good possibility that many more deaths were
undocumented and remain that way today. This record of death suggests sorrow and
premature loss. Through my research, I hope to get a better understanding of the overall
picture in relation to spirits residing on Haskell campus and the reasoning behind the
mystery.
Many people have perished at Haskell, so have those deaths all been ill fated? Are
there past employees or their family members who may have found spiritual sanctuary
here at Haskell in the after life? Many Native American deaths have occurred off the
Haskell campus in Lawrence, Kansas. Yet there are stories of how these spirits now
occupy Haskell campus. Where did some of these deaths occur, and how did these deaths
66
�occur—tragically, accidentally, or naturally? So who will my research project benefit? I
believe my project will service those who have experienced spirits, those who may
eventually deal with spirits at Haskell.
Background Information and Stories
Background information is essential in understanding the true complexities and
realities of the paranormal experiences that have occurred in my lifetime. I want to
provide further insight into who I am and where I am from. It might help explain some of
the occurrences that since became a major part of my existence. I was born in Anchorage,
Alaska on March 3, 1981. My parents are Darryl Edenshaw, a Haida from Hydaburg,
Alaska and Sharon Quiver, a mixed Arapaho and Cheyenne from Wind River, Wyoming.
My mother helped raise me until the age of five. After a custody battle she no longer was
permitted visitation rights. It was difficult as a youth being raised without a mother. The
loss of cultural identity in the wake of her departure seemed miniscule during those years
as a youth. My father raised me and my siblings in Hydaburg, Alaska. He worked often
and left us under the care of our grandmother for extended periods of time. I grew up
since then as Haida and nothing else.
However, I always felt as though a part of my eternal makeup was missing or lay
dormant deep inside of me. It was as if something was there without me being able to
grasp the full context of its meaning. It was at this point, that I realized a difference in my
reality. I am not only Haida, I am also part Cheyenne and Arapaho.
I needed to find out more about that side of me. I tried tracking down my mother
through her relatives. I was able to locate her whereabouts but was not able to reach her.
In the end my search proved unsuccessful. Not many years later after my extended
search, I was notified that my mother had perished. I attended the funeral and became
partially acquainted with her side of the family, primarily my older brother John Quiver
(Beep John). The younger siblings from my mother's side were not able to attend the
funeral, which was a decision made by their grandmother, her husband's mother.
Intervention by opposing family members has been the biggest barrier in search of my
Cheyenne and Arapaho cultural identity. My primary culture, then, is Haida.
There is a complex cultural belief system that encompasses the realm of the Haida
people. The Haida people are divided into clans, the two most prominent being the Eagle
and the Raven. Ts'laanas in translation means Eagle clan. Yak' laanas in translation
means Raven clan. All other clans (Wolf, Bear, Frog, Killer Whale, etc) are a derivative
of the two main clan moieties mentioned above. Every Haida born naturally follows their
mother’s clan. This tradition has been followed to ensure that our people do not
intermarry. The clan system for the Haida people is very strict. Only members of
opposing clans can marry. There can be no intermarrying; it would result in catastrophic
events causing disruption of the gene pool (Marlene Edenshaw).
The Haida people are Potlatch people (sharing of wealth ceremony) who
commend their good efforts by gift giving. It is believed that if a person is generous in
this lifetime, then in the next they shall be rewards for their efforts towards helping
67
�people in good faith. Some Haida wish to be reincarnated as an animal such as their clan
symbol or be born again into wealth or good fortune. Other Haida would much rather
leave it up to the Creator to decide their next beginning (Claude Morrison). Through the
oral passages handed down from generation to generation, it is safe to say that my people
the Haida are believers in reincarnation. Haida people rely on trial and error and good
faith as predominant factors contributing to their placement in a new beginning. This way
of life is still prevalent in Haida society and is exonerated in day to day interactions
among those living in my community. The effects of civilization have masked or buried
some of these old life ways. However, if you look deeply into societal structure, you
recognize the commitment and respect people have for one another (Alice Kitkoon).
Haida people have the utmost respect for their dead, in part because of the belief in
reincarnation, as this Haida elder shows:
At a meeting with the non-Haida citizens of Sandspit, the forest industry
town in Haida Gwaii, loggers insisted on their legitimate right to jobs and
to their way of life on the islands. Finally, a Haida elder rose and said,
Most of you have lived here for only five or ten years. Our people have
been here for thousands of years. How many graves of your people are
there in Sandspit? After a stunned silence, the Answer came back. None.
(Suzuki/Knudtson).
As a Haida person, I have this respect for the afterlife.
Haskell Indian Nations University
I heard about Haskell as an adolescent and planned on attending college in Lawrence,
Kansas. I was accepted to attend the spring semester of 2000. I had never been to the
plains area before; the experience was shocking yet very exciting.
My first semester here was when the stories began, I heard of spirits roaming the
halls on the third floor in Blalock Hall. After hearing the story I feared looking out my
second floor window up to third floor, thinking that I might see the spirit students talked
about. For reasons unknown to my person, I felt as though it was a bad spirit trapped on
the third floor. Later in the semester I was assigned to clean rooms on the third floor. As I
cleaned room 313, I heard a loud crash come from room 315.These two dorm rooms were
linked together by a bathroom; I instantly ran out of the room as if I was being chased. I
have only been to the third floor in Blalock Hall a few times after that incident and
remain uneasy and extremely alert whenever visitation to that eerie place occurs.
During that same semester, I heard multiple stories about Pocahontas Hall and the
haunting that occurs there. The first story I heard about Pocahontas Hall was that a girl
was thrown, jumped, or got pushed out of a window on the second floor and fell to her
death inside the four corner confinement that was built to hose the students down in the
most inhumane hygienic fashion.
Well, as the story goes, she can be seen there sometimes in the middle of the night
looking up at the window. Also, she is sometimes seen staring out of the window in
which the incident occurred. Another story about Pocahontas Hall is that girl was hung in
68
�the basement and can be seen en route to what is now the laundry room. My girlfriend at
the time said, “I always felt creepy doing my laundry, even during the day” (Heather
Larsen). This was before she had ever heard the story. Even to this day, Pocahontas Hall
residents would rather do laundry with a friend whether it is day or night.
I eventually moved into to Roe Cloud Hall, as do all students continuing on at
Haskell. Roe Cloud is one of Haskell’s finest dorm residencies. Roe Cloud appeared to
serve as a type of sanctuary in comparison to Blalock Hall. My first encounter there
began during an evening nap in room 312. I heard two men having a mild conversation
during a song sung in a Native tongue not my own. I tried desperately to open my eyes so
that I could vacate the room.
At one point I couldn't even move. My eyes were stuck staring upward as far into
my eye socket as they would go. It must have looked as though I was having a seizure.
Then when I had just about given up, the spirit or spirits released me. I immediately left
the room; it was so strange and unbelievable that I could not bring myself to tell anyone. I
slept at my friend’s apartment that night. I moved out of that room eventually and was
placed in various rooms located in Roe Cloud. I decided to move back into room 312
upon chance, noting that it provides its occupants with a luxurious balcony.
This time however, my roommate was almost never present. The haunting started
in the beginning of the semester, and it was strong. Almost every night I felt a spirit or
some type of existence standing beside my bed staring at me. This spirit was definitely
creepy and left me terrified at times, leaving me awake all night on the edge of suspense.
I slept with my back towards it and my face staring directly at a white concrete wall.
I talked to a friend of mine, and she referred me to a person who carried medicine
for these types of occurrences. By this person I was given tobacco, which had been
blessed by a medicine man in Montana. Also, I was given sweet grass. I was told to
sprinkle the tobacco in every corner of the room that was bothering me, and then I was to
make prayers, asking the Great Spirit to lift the harm from my room. During the prayer I
was to use the sweet grass to smudge away the bad feeling into a new beginning.
After this was complete, I felt confident my troubles were alleviated, and they
were for awhile. This is when I found out that drinking alcohol allows for bad spirits to
enter our lives and our homes. The disturbances went off and on for the remainder of the
semester, in pretty much the same way. At one time, later in the semester, I felt as though
my mother was watching out for me in that room some nights from the other side. If
nothing else, it was a comforting thought, a thought that got me through some of those
horrible nights.
Personal Interviews
My own experiences are not uncommon. Others have experienced Haskell spirits.
Selma John is a College Residential Assistant at Roe Cloud Hall. She has been employed
at Haskell for seven going on eight years. Selma claims that she has never physically
experienced spiritual activity at Haskell campus herself but has had students complain
over the years about spirits on Haskell campus. She worked at Pocahontas Hall for four
69
�years; during her time there she heard a story about a girl who committed suicide by
hanging herself. The girl's spirit is now referred to as "Ms. Pocahontas" by many Haskell
CRA employees.
Selma remembers one recent occurrence within the last year where a student from
Alaska was staying at Pocahontas Hall. The student came to her in the middle of the night
with a pale face, scared as ever. She told Selma, she was lying in her room asleep when
she felt someone jump on her, holding her down in bed. All the sudden, that person
jumped off her.
By then she realized there was no one else in the room with her. The student just
lay there in shock, scared to look and see what or who it was that just attacked her. The
girl told Selma that she felt the spirit staring at her, but when she finally worked up
enough courage to look in that direction, there was nothing to be seen. This is when the
girl bolted out of her room to tell Selma about the occurrence. Selma checked the room
and found no evidence of an intruder.
Selma had a discussion with the student and tried to assure her that the spirits
were not there to hurt her. Luckily it was a one-time experience, and Selma never heard
any more complaints from the Alaskan girl. Selma told me that she once got a complaint
in Winona Hall about a basketball being bounced in the middle of the night on the second
floor. Selma told the complaining student that there was not anyone on the second floor
in that wing because everyone had checked out for Thanksgiving. Selma went to
investigate the noise anyway, about half way up the stairs she heard the basketball
bouncing. She hurried up the stairs to catch the perpetrator, but when she got around the
corner all she saw was a basketball rolling towards the upstairs exit. No one was present
in that wing; she turned right around and made her way down stairs quickly.
Tom Spotted Horse is a Kiowa and a College Residential Assistant at Minoka
Hall. Tom grew up on the Haskell campus during the 1960's. He has fond childhood
memories of Haskell. However, he makes it very clear that he never experienced spirits
during his younger years. Tom later returned to Haskell and has been employed here for
fourteen years.
Almost immediately after our introduction, Tom explained that he had some very
revealing photographs and asked if I wanted to check them out. I replied yes of course,
and then he pulled up the photos on the computer. Astonishing. There were various
pictures of a face that, seemingly, had been pressed up against a window. The impression
was so well defined that you could see the individual wrinkles upon the face. The eye
socket, nose, and cheek were prominent throughout the photographs.
Tom then explained how the facial impression got there. It happened to Ed
Simpson, a College Residential Assistant at Osceola Keokuk Hall. This occurred during
the middle of the night. Haskell was not in session at the time, and he was said to be the
only one occupying the building. Ed was sitting in the front office when he heard
someone rattling the door handle, as if they were trying desperately, to leave the building.
Startled, he got up at once to see what all the commotion at the door was, but when he got
there nothing except an impression was evident. Apparently he decided it needed to be
recorded, and so he and another staff member took photographs. Tom said he knew who
70
�made the facial impression. It was the face of a man who used to work at Haskell, a
College Residential Assistant that died in 1996.
Tom said he had a more recent spiritual encounter. One night during the fall
semester of 2005, he heard foot steps come down the stairs from the common area at
Minoka Hall. The foot steps walked towards his office located at the western most edge
of the building. Those footsteps passed his room and proceeded down the hallway where
student housing was once provided. Tom got up to inspect the noise and to his
amazement, no one was there, not a trace. The next night it happened again in the same
fashion and again, no one. This time, Tom decided to turn the lights in that hallway. The
disturbance stopped, so Tom left the lights on every night thereon for the remainder of
the semester.
Tom shared an even more recent occurrence, which happened only a few months
ago. Tom sat at his desk typing when he heard someone trying to get into his office. He
saw the spirit’s footsteps draped under the door; however, when he got up and answered
the door, Tom did not see anyone.
Every so often Tom brings his dog with him to work. He said on various
occasions his dog would bark and growl at spirits that Tom himself could not see. One
day the dog was getting on Tom's nerves by barking, He told the spirit to leave the dog
alone and assured the spirit that the dog did not want its company. All the sudden the dog
stopped barking and all was well.
In closing, Tom said that as a youth he and friends heard of a girl who hung
herself in Pocahontas Hall and of a boy who did the same at Powhatten Hall. The other
story was about a girl who drowned beneath Hiawatha, in a swimming pool.
Henry Collins is a Ponca and CRA at Blalock Hall. Henry seemed reluctant to
talk with me at first, since I brought up the term “ghost.” The Ponca believe that once a
person dies, the spirit leaves unto another place other than earth. Henry says that Ponca
believe spirits travel through the mind. He believes that a person's spirit can travel to
another place through envisioning this occurrence. He said people often do this by day
dreaming and envisioning better times in their lives.
Henry said that for many people Haskell has been a happy place and people like
to remember it in that fashion. So, their spirits often travel here for sanctuary, and
remembrance:
Real Indians know about spirits, they’re comfortable and accept them. They don't
fear them. Non-Indians don't know about spirits. They’re not taught about them,
and so when they reveal themselves, it’s scary to them (Collins).
This was an interesting concept, and I began to realize what he was saying. Henry used
alcoholics as an example. He said that they often envision themselves during a better era
in their lives and they use alcohol to bring them back to these happier times. It all began
to make sense; he then began to explain the complexities of our distinct societies.
Tom Spotted Horse recommended that I see Ed Simpson, the CRA on duty at
Osceola Keokuk Hall. Ed could tell me first hand what he experienced the night he found
the facial impression on the window. When Ed and I sat down, he paused and began
going into full detail of what took place that night. He said it happened in the winter
months around Christmas. Ed decided to curve the conversation at that moment and told
71
�me about how the door at the main entrance seems to open around powwow time like
clock work. “It wasn’t the first time it opened like that,” he said. “It does it every so
often, mainly around powwow time” (Edward Simpson). He got back to his story; he
explained to me that there had been a little traffic before that with staff coming in and out
prior to its happening.
Ed said things slowed down two hours prior, and the building was awfully quite
by then. All the sudden, he heard the door handle rattling as if someone were trying to
leave. At the time Ed was positioned where he was fully capable of seeing people leaving
or entering. This struck him as somewhat strange.
He got up to check it out, and as he walked toward the door where the noise
originated, he felt an extremely eerie feeling come over him. “It made the hair on the
back of my neck stand up,” he said. ”That never happened before”(Edward Simpson). Ed
went out side to check the perimeter, but he did not see anything unusual, and no one was
around. He turned to go back inside and he saw it, the facial impression. He got spooked
and called security over to investigate, Ernie Wilson came over, and he and Ed took
multiple photographs of the impression using Ernie’s camera phone.
Ed has since then wondered why something of that nature would reveal itself to
him at that particular time. He remained skeptical and alert for any more supernatural
phenomena to occur on his watch. Ed remembered a student who lived on the second
floor of Osceola Keokuk Hall. The student complained that children would wake him in
the middle of the night by playing in his room. The student said that when he arose to
turn on the lights, the children seemed to scatter and then follow each other out the
window at an alarming rate. The student said it happened on more than one occasion. He
was obviously scared; his body trembled as he rehashed the story to Ed. It had gone on
long enough to where the student did not even want to stay in the dormitory at all. So, he
packed up and moved from Osceola Keokuk Hall over to Roe Cloud Hall.
I ran into Ernie Wilson as I was leaving. He is now campus security. Ernie agreed
to an interview with me. He has worked at Haskell for fourteen years. He has served
various positions at Haskell throughout his many years, most importantly as a CRA. I
was excited to meet with Ernie, since all of my other interviewees said he was the main
man to talk to about spirits at Haskell.
We finally got a chance to sit down; I asked him if he ever experienced spirits on
Haskell campus. He chuckled and remarked, “So what do you want to hear? Where
should we start?” I replied, “Wherever you feel comfortable.” His first story was a follow
up of what had happened at Osceola Keokuk with the facial impression. I had heard from
Tom that Ernie had seen something at Osceola Keokuk. It seemed as if I had reminded
him of something that he had stored fresh in his memory the whole time, as if it happened
yesterday.
He said he was working at Osceola Keokuk before renovations had been done. It
was roughly ten years ago. He was working during the summer when no one was around.
He was sitting in his office when he heard tiny little foot steps running down the hallway
away from his office. He got up to see who it was and heard more tiny footsteps; he
followed those footsteps, and heard more. It began to freak him out, so he went back to
his office. Not long after that, he saw a child’s face peek around the corner at him, and
72
�the face was smiling. The child took off again as if he wanted to play with Ernie, so Ernie
got up and went out to the hallway and saw the first child and a second child at the end of
the hallway.
Ernie admitted to being semi-scared but then figured that the children must have
just wanted someone to play with. At the end of shift the secretary came in. Ernie asked
her about the children, and she said she saw them from time to time also. Then she
explained to Ernie that Osceola Keokuk Hall was built over the original Haskell
cemetery. And there was a good chance that the excavators did not remove all the bodies.
After awhile Ernie said he got used to it and learned to accept spirits at Haskell.
Ernie remembers a student at Blalock Hall who had a spiritual encounter. The
student came screaming out of his room on the second floor all the way down the stairs to
the CRA office. He was pale in the face; Ernie asked the student what happened, hoping
to be of some assistance. The student just shook his head no. After hours of persistence
with no answer, Ernie began losing his patience and gave up trying to get answers from
the student. That night the student slept on a couch in the down stairs lobby.
The next day went by fine and all was forgotten, until the following night. Again,
the student came screaming out of his room like the night before. And still the student did
not comply with Ernie’s request for information. The student then asked if Ernie could
assign him to another room in the dormitory.
Ernie then explained that it would be impossible for him to do that without a valid
explanation. The student paused and then began to tell Ernie what he had seen. He said he
was sleeping fine and awoke out of a dead sleep to find that he had a visitor; he described
it as a white figure with gray hair. The figure was seated with its back towards him and
its face fixated staring out of the window. The student began towards the light switch,
and then the figure slowly turned around. With a persistent gaze, the figure slowly moved
closer. It eventually began passing through the student. The student said he endured an
indescribable chilling numbness residue from within reaching outward throughout the
whole of his body. This is when he was finally able to break from his room. It happened
identically two nights in a row. Ernie felt like it was a valid reason to reassign the student
another room.
Ernie told another story about Osceola Keokuk, where a student was involved in
devil worship. In the late nineties Ernie worked over at that dormitory. One week in
between room checks the satanic student painted the whole of his room black except for a
white pentagram on one wall and what appeared to be a devilish goat. Eventually they got
rid of the student and repainted the room and replaced the vandalized door. However, the
CRA on duty recognized the replaced door had the face of a devil engrained into the
outside of it. That door was replaced and again a devil appeared engrained on the outside
of the door. So, the room was smudged and prayed for, and a third door was installed.
The room remained all right for the moment; eventually they moved a student into
the room. His name was Michael, a Comanche boy from Oklahoma. All was well until a
fellow student complained of loud noises and what sounded like appliances crashing into
the walls. So, Ernie and staff went up to Michael’s room. They heard him cussing and
screaming for staff to let him out.
73
�They all took turns trying their keys, none of them worked: “the tumblers in the
lock just kept spinning round and round nothing was catching” (Ernest Wilson). They
asked Michael to let them in since the door was capable of opening from the inside also.
He tried and staff heard it, but still no luck. Michael threatened to jump out the window if
staff didn’t think of something quick. He said that there was definitely something in there
with him, and it was either jump or open the door.
Ernie told him to hang tight that there was a ladder on the way, and then he
radioed in a latter from facilities. Just as the latter were arriving, staff members were able
to get the door open. Michael came out of the room in complete hysteria; he swung
punches violently at staff. Eventually they were able to calm him down and reason with
him. After the discussion, he realized that they had sincerely tried to help him. He
couldn’t stay there another night and immediately moved off campus with friends and
family. Two weeks after this incident Michael and two other Haskell students died
violently in car accident in the late hours of the night, close to the same hours of the
occurrence at Osceola Keokuk two weeks prior.
One story Ernie had involved a Lawrence Police Officer. His name was Robert
Heffel a non-Indian man. The police were making routine checks at Haskell campus
during the summer months. School was not in session, and the cops were doing random
checks in regards to vandalism. As they rounded the circle drive in front of Pocahontas
Hall, one officer noticed a girl in a window on the second floor.
The girl was banging on the window as if she were trapped and needed help. The
officers tried desperately to enter the building but could not. Eventually they were able to
notify facilities and someone came to let the officers in. One went bolting up to where he
had seen the girl, but the door was locked. He had facilities open the door to the room.
No one was in there. The officer was stunned, as were his counterparts. They began
poking fun at the officer who had seen the woman banging on the window. The Haskell
facilities worker stopped them short. He explained that a girl once hung herself in the
room where Heffel saw a girl pounding on the window. The officers looked terrified, and
the man from facilities escorted them out of the dormitory.
Conclusion
It is highly evident that many spirits reside on Haskell campus. Those spirits
consist of children from early boarding school days. There are past students who have
perished and remain on campus by choice. Past employees have passsed on and returned
to the Haskell campus for the sanctuary they once found when alive. Then there are those
whose spirits might be condemned or confined to Haskell because of the tragic nature of
death. The bottom line is that there are spirits on the Haskell campus, and the reasons for
them being here could just as well be as complex as the reasons for those living beings
that reside on the campus.
Being Native American and having so many different belief systems in one area,
it is impossible to bundle together the whole spiritual presence and determine a valid
explanation. It is just too diverse of a subject. We should, as Native people, be able to
74
�share cultures with one another comfortably. The creator gave our nations individual
belief systems for a reason, and each should be equally respected. I believe even more
sensitivity needs be applied to each other at Haskell, because inevitably we are our own
community.
In the short time I have been here Haskell, I experienced a bond among students
that quite possibly does not exist anywhere else on the planet. At powwows away from
school Haskell, students always seem to find each other for comfort. With this knowledge
the spirits residing here I believe find comfort in one another. This may be the case for
spirits at Haskell. Maybe they in some way comfort each other and look out for one
another.
The Haida believe that if you exert good energy in life, then there is a good
chance it will be matched in the afterlife. We believe that everything is set in place, and
that this is the chosen way and it should not be contested by human beings. Our spirits
serve as guidance in our journey. They help us by reminding us of who we are and where
we ought to be. My spiritual encounters have helped me realize that I am mortal and that
there is another world after this one. It is partially up to me to determine my after life. In
closing, the experience has been spiritually enlightening and has helped broaden my
understanding of spiritual presence.
Works Cited
Beck, Peggy V. Walters, Anna Lee. Francisco, Nia. The Sacred. Tsaile, Arizona: Navajo Community
College Press, 1992.
Capes-Altom, Mila. Students at Haskell Institute from 1884 to 1889. Lawrence: Haskell Indian Nations
University, August 2000.
Collins, Henery. Personal Interview. Lawrence. 25 Apr 2006.
Deloria, Vine Jr. God is Red. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing, 1994.
Deloria, Vine Jr. Spirit & Reason. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing, 1999.
Eakins, Paul. "Haunted: Many Haskell Students Accept Spirits on Historic University Campus." Topeka
Capitol Journal 4 Nov 2001.
Edenshaw, Marlene. Personal Interview. Hydaburg, Alaska.
Irwin, Lee. The Dream Seekers. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
John, Selma. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 24 Apr 2006.
Kitkoon, Alice. Personal Interview. Hydaburg, Alaska.
Larsen, Heather. Personal Interview. Sisseton, South Dakota.
Morrison, Claude. Personal Interview. Hydaburg, Alaska.
Simpson, Edward. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 25 Apr 2006.
Spotted Horse, Thomas. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 25 Apr 2006.
Suzuki, David. Knudtson, Peter. Wisdom of the Elders. New York: Bantam, 1993.
Wilson, Ernest. Personal Interview. Lawrence, Kansas. 25 Apr. 2006
75
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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A Deep Map of Haskell Indian Nations University
Subject
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Haskell Indian Nations University (Lawrence, Kan.)
Description
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A collection of essays, written by seniors enrolled in Denise Low's American Indian Literature Seminar, exploring the multi-faceted history of Haskell Indian Nations University.
Creator
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Claunch, Joseph
Crawford, Sheila
Edenshaw, Aaron
Lary, Richard
Low, Denise
Pete, Samantha
Wise, Blaine
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Haskell Indian Nations University
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May 2006
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Associated videotaped interviews are on deposit in the Haskell Cultural Center archives.
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PDF
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eng
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text
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DeepMapHaskellIndianNationsUniversity_2006.pdf
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Douglas County (Kan.)
1884 - 2006
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75 pages