The history of the United States is marked by complex and often tragic interactions with its indigenous populations. A particularly poignant and painful chapter in this history is the era of American Indian boarding schools. These institutions, also referred to as industrial schools, operated in Minnesota and across the United States from the late nineteenth century well into the twentieth, leaving an enduring legacy of trauma and cultural disruption. These schools, born from assimilationist policies, aimed to transform Native American children, often through methods that were both harsh and devastating. The story of the Minnesota Indian Boarding Schools is a crucial part of understanding this complex period.
The overarching goal of the boarding school system, whether located on or off reservation lands, was to systematically restructure the identities of American Indian children. This was achieved by forcibly severing their connections to their tribal communities, languages, spiritual beliefs, and cultural practices. The intention was to replace their indigenous heritage with the values and norms of dominant American society. This policy was enacted at the highest levels of government.
On March 3, 1891, the United States Congress formally authorized the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to establish regulations compelling Native American children to attend boarding schools. This legislation was not merely a suggestion; it was backed by coercive measures. The Indian Office was granted the power to withhold essential resources, including rations, clothing, and other annuities, from parents or guardians who refused to send their children to these schools. In some cases, parents who resisted were even subjected to imprisonment, highlighting the extent to which the government was willing to go to enforce its assimilationist agenda.
The implementation of these policies led to the forced removal of countless children from their families and communities. Indian Agents, acting on behalf of the government, forcibly abducted children as young as four years old from their homes. These children were then enrolled in boarding schools run by Christian missionaries or directly by the government. This practice began in the mid-1800s and continued well into the 1970s, impacting generations of Native American families. The trauma of separation, the loss of cultural identity, and the abuse experienced within these institutions continue to resonate within Native communities today.
A key figure in the development of the boarding school system was Captain Richard H. Pratt. A staunch advocate of assimilation, Pratt’s philosophy, while diverging slightly from the most extreme views of the time, was rooted in the belief that Native Americans needed to be "civilized" to survive. He famously articulated this view with the slogan, "Kill the Indian, and save the man." This statement encapsulated the underlying principle of the boarding school system: to eradicate Native American culture and replace it with a Euro-American identity.
In 1879, Pratt put his philosophy into practice by founding the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Located on the site of a former cavalry barracks, the school was organized along strict military lines, reflecting Pratt’s belief in discipline and order as tools for transformation. The curriculum at Carlisle and other boarding schools typically involved a division of time between classroom instruction and manual labor. Students spent half the day in academic studies, often focused on basic literacy and vocational skills, and the other half engaged in various forms of manual labor, such as farming, carpentry, and domestic work. This model, initially pioneered at Carlisle, became the standard for boarding schools across the country. The Minnesota Indian Boarding Schools followed this model.
Financial constraints played a significant role in the operation of the boarding school system. Government funding for these schools was consistently limited, forcing them to rely heavily on the labor of their students. The free labor of Native American children was exploited to maintain the schools, contributing to a system that prioritized economic efficiency over the well-being and education of its students.
Minnesota played a significant role in the boarding school system, with sixteen such institutions operating within the state. These schools drew students from all eleven of Minnesota’s reservations, as well as from tribes in other states. The earliest of these schools was the White Earth Indian School, established in 1871. By 1902, St. Mary’s Mission boarded an average of sixty-two students, Red Lake School seventy-seven, and Cross Lake forty-two. The Morris Indian School, one of the larger institutions, saw more than two thousand children pass through its doors during its history. White Earth had a capacity of 110 students, while Clontarf housed an average of 130 children from reservations in the Dakota Territory. By 1910, Vermilion Lake held 120 students, and Cass/Leech Lake opened with a capacity of fifty. The Pipestone Indian School served children from a diverse range of tribes, including Dakota, Oneida, Pottawatomie (Bodéwadmi), Arikara, and Sac and Fox (Sauk and Meskwakwi).
Life within these Minnesota Indian Boarding Schools was highly regimented and often harsh. A typical day began with a wake-up call as early as 5:45 am, signaled by a bugle or bells. Students were marched from one activity to the next, with every minute of the day meticulously scheduled. Mornings were devoted to tasks such as making beds, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, and performing assigned industrial work, referred to as "detail." Academic classes began around 9 am, and the afternoons were split between further schooling and industrial labor. After supper, students were given a brief period of recreation, followed by a call to quarters and lights out at 9 pm.
Discipline within the schools was often severe and inhumane. Some schools had cells or dungeons where students were confined for days on end, with only bread and water for sustenance. Other forms of punishment included forcing a young boy to dress as a girl for a month as a form of humiliation, or cutting a rebellious girl’s hair as short as a boy’s, stripping her of her femininity and cultural identity.
The overcrowded and unsanitary conditions within the boarding schools led to frequent outbreaks of disease. Epidemics of measles, influenza, blood poisoning, diphtheria, typhoid, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, pneumonia, trachoma, and mumps swept through the dormitories. Students also died from accidents, such as drowning and falls, highlighting the unsafe environment in which they lived.
In addition to their academic and vocational training, students were assigned to various "details" to maintain the schools. These tasks included working in the kitchen, barns, and gardens; washing dishes, tables, and floors; ironing; sewing; darning; and carpentry. The schools also operated an "outing" program, which retained students during the summer months and leased them out to white families as menial laborers. This program not only provided the schools with cheap labor but also further isolated students from their families and cultures.
One of Minnesota’s most well-known boarding school survivors was Dennis Banks, a prominent American Indian activist. At the age of four, Banks was sent three hundred miles from his home on the Leech Lake Reservation of Ojibwe, in Cass County, to the Pipestone Indian School. He endured profound loneliness and repeatedly ran away, only to be caught and severely beaten each time. Another student at St. Benedict’s recalled being punished for speaking her tribal language by being forced to chew lye soap, which burned the inside of her mouth. This was a common tactic used to suppress Native languages and cultures within the schools.
Despite the challenges and hardships they faced, many parents and relatives of students resisted the boarding school system. They sent letters to their children, sharing news from home and attempting to maintain family ties. They also communicated with school administrators, arranging visits, advocating for improved living conditions, and reporting cases of malnourishment and illness. These acts of resistance demonstrate the enduring strength and resilience of Native American families in the face of systemic oppression.
In 1928, the U.S. government released the Meriam Report, a comprehensive evaluation of conditions on American Indian reservations and in boarding schools. The report was highly critical, describing the schools as grossly inadequate. It presented evidence of widespread malnourishment, overcrowding, insufficient medical services, a reliance on student labor, and low standards for teachers, many of whom lacked formal education.
The findings of the Meriam Report led to some reforms in the boarding school system. The government began to build day schools on reservations, allowing children to attend school while remaining with their families. As a result, the original boarding schools began to close their doors, as parents increasingly kept their children at home. By the end of the 1970s, most of the boarding schools had shut down.
Although the era of widespread boarding schools has ended, their legacy continues to impact Native American communities today. As of 2016, tribes and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) continue to operate approximately fifty schools nationwide. However, no Indian boarding schools remain open in Minnesota.
Despite the profound impact of the boarding school system, there has been limited acknowledgment of this dark chapter in U.S. history by the federal government and the church denominations that initiated and carried out the schools’ policies. Unlike the Canadian government, which issued a formal apology and established a truth and reconciliation commission to address the legacy of its own boarding school program, the U.S. government has not formally acknowledged that the purpose of these policies was cultural genocide or accepted responsibility for their long-term effects. In fact, many of Pratt’s contemporaries viewed him and other enforcers of assimilationist policies as heroes.
Prior to the twenty-first century, Indian boarding schools were rarely discussed in textbooks or mainstream historical narratives. However, in recent years, historians have increasingly examined these institutions as tools of ethnic cleansing. The policies implemented by the schools’ staffs aimed to destroy the essential foundations of the lives of American Indian students. Their objective was the disintegration and destruction of the culture, language, and spirituality of the American Indian children under their care. The policies they implemented led to the deaths of thousands of students through disease, hunger, malnutrition, and alleged extreme abuse.
The legacy of the Minnesota Indian Boarding Schools and similar institutions across the country is one of intergenerational trauma and unresolved grieving. Survivors and their families continue to grapple with the emotional, psychological, and cultural wounds inflicted by the boarding school system. Healing and reconciliation are ongoing processes, requiring acknowledgment, understanding, and a commitment to justice for the victims of this tragic chapter in American history. The Minnesota Indian Boarding Schools stand as a stark reminder of the need for vigilance in protecting the rights and cultures of indigenous peoples.