Perceptions/Attitudes Towards Native Americans in Carlisle

The Perceptions and Attitudes towards Native Americans in Carlisle Around the Nation’s Centennial

As the centennial anniversary of the United States approached, an exciting period of great social, political, and economic transition was just getting underway. The nation was in the midst of the healing process following the Civil War and the period of reconstruction was almost at an end. However, as the nation moved on from its troubled past, new challenges emerged. While conflicts with Native Americans were certainly not new to this time period, the expansive nature of the post-Civil War era certainly exacerbated the disputes between the Natives and the United States Government. These conflicts were often extremely violent, the reactions to which were felt not just out west, but throughout the nation as a whole. The echoes of the violence on the frontier were certainly heard here in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, at the centennial and in the years leading up to the foundation of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. The perceptions and attitudes towards Native Americans in Carlisle took on many different forms throughout the town, but generally speaking, the students were welcomed and encouraged. However, intense fascination defined the general reaction of the citizens of Carlisle to the initial presence of Native Americans.

In the decade after the Civil War, new opportunities inspired American adventurers to set their sights to the west; as a result, American expansion flourished and the frontier was quickly closing. As a result, disputes between American settlers and the indigenous populations became an increasing concern. On December 6, 1875, the U.S. Commissioner on Indian Affairs ordered all indigenous peoples onto reservations and threatened that they would be treated as “hostiles” if they did not obey the orders by January 31, 1876. Soon after, the army was called in to confront various disgruntled tribes and several serious battles ensued. In a national sense, the most significant of these violent conflicts, arguably, was the Battle of Little Big Horn and the death of General Custer, which occurred on June 25, 1876. The death of Custer and the subsequent loss of the United States Army at the hands of the combined Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Lakota forces attracted an immense amount of national attention, fueled anti-Native American sentiments out West, and encouraged patriotic fervor. All of a sudden, the “Indian problem” became a national focus, not just some nuisance out in the western territories.

In Carlisle, a town unscathed from conflicts with Native American tribes, the death of General Custer marked a turning point in how Native Americans would come to be viewed. No longer would the occasional skirmish out west be given a couple-lined blurb in The Carlisle Herald or in The American Volunteer; in fact, the “Indian problem” became one of the major re-occurring themes in both newspapers starting with the extremely detailed accounts of Custer’s death. However, both newspapers presented their articles to the Carlisle community in different ways, generally reflecting their outspoken political loyalties. Articles in The Carlisle Herald, a Republican periodical, were typically patriotic and rational while showing signs of frustration. Articles concerning the “Indian problem” in The American Volunteer, the newspaper supporting the Democratic Party, were extremely critical of the Republican administrations and overtly sensationalized.

In the June 13 edition of The Carlisle Herald, a solemn account of the event details “the story of Custer’s slaughter and that of his brave command” in great length. The Carlisle Herald treats the event as a tragedy and a sorrowful event, and while various articles characterize Sitting Bull and some of the Sioux as enemies, the paper reports with a sort of neutrality towards Native Americans, in general, while refraining from sensationalizing or exaggerating. They even credit friendly Native Americans for their various supportive efforts. That being said, there does exist a certain level ignorance and feelings of superiority as reflected by the not uncommon references to “savages” or “red man.” The paper supports the soldiers and often times portray them as “brave” and “noble.” However, it is not uncommon for articles in The Carlisle Herald to reflect a sense of growing frustration. As a Republican-loyal newspaper, articles do not call out the administration for its failures, rather, articles ask “Why cannot our government have a vigorous Indian policy” and attribute the problems in the west with “that stupidly illogical thing we call and Indian policy.” The Carlisle Herald is careful to vent its frustrations in a manner that highlights the failures of Indian policies while vaguely attributing those failures to Congress and other governmental agencies, rather than affixing them to the Republican administration.

The American Volunteer is very quick to politicize the Indian wars by tailoring their accounts of the battles to fit their political agenda. In an attempt to turn public support against the Republicans, The American Volunteer often blames the Republican administrations of President Grant and President Hayes for conflicts with Native Americans. After the Battle of Little Big Horn, it was contended that when Custer had previously asked for reinforcements, the Republicans denied the request; as a result, “the administration is directly responsible for this butchery of brave men, and one unanimous curse should be visited upon it by the American people.” Another article expresses outrage towards the Republicans and accuses President Grant’s administration of referring to General Custer as a “dime novel hero” and a “circus riding officer.”

The American Volunteer seems to be fascinated with reinforcing the stereotype of the “brutalized red man,” much more so than The Carlisle Herald. In several articles, Native American “practices” and “culture” are examined and detailed to highlight the eccentricities and “primitive” ways of the Indian. The paper covers “the shocking massacre of the heroic Custer” in extreme detail, portraying how the enemy “Indian warriors” mutilated the bodies of soldiers and officers while they carried away their own dead and wounded after the battle was over. Another article recounts how one man “found the women at the revolting work of scalping a soldier who was perhaps not dead yet. Two of the ladies were cutting away, while two others performed a sort of war dance around the body and its mutilations.” In an article from July 6, 1876, entitled “How It Feels to Be Scalped,” the act of scalping is explained to the reader along with a first-hand account from a man who was ambushed, clubbed, half-scalped, and survived. Finally, the entirety of an article from September 14, 1876 describes in great detail the “trophies” acquired from a Native American tribe, included are several Indian scalps, a headdress, a blanket, and various other items. The style of writing and portrayal of Native Americans in these articles are incredibly insulting, narrow-minded, and demeaning in the sense that they emphasize a sort of arrogant fascination with the “savage way of life.” These types of articles must certainly have played a large role in forming many disturbing and unfair notions about Native Americans in minds of the citizens of Carlisle.

While the materials in both newspapers are clearly catered to suit their respective political allegiances, the extensive coverage of the conflicts out west and the Native American “way of life” formed the only significant connection between the citizens of Carlisle and Native Americans. Lacking first hand experiences with any Indians, the population of Carlisle was left to form their own perceptions and attitudes towards Native Americans based off of articles like these. As a result, it is no shock that many of the citizens of Carlisle perceived Indians as “primitive animals.” After a few years of reading these kinds of articles, the town would be struck by fascination when the once invisible faces behind the stories finally came to life.

Attempts to assimilate Native Americans into “civilized” white society through education were prevalent in much of the late nineteenth century. Prior to 1879, Indian schools took the form of reservation day schools and reservation boarding schools, which were located in close proximity to the homes of the students. In general, “the government preferred the industrial boarding school located among the tribes.” However, Captain Richard Pratt believed that there was a better way to assimilate and “civilize” Native Americans through education. He proposed a non-reservation boarding school system that would fully immerse Native Americans into the “white ways” by entirely relocating the students away from their cultures. “Rather than killing Native Americans or confining them to reservations, he now wanted them to forget their traditions and begin living like white people.” This would be accomplished through military-like discipline and other harsh tactics. It was often proposed that “soap and education are not so sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long-run.” He chose the Carlisle barracks for the location for his school because the barracks “was ideally placed in the heart of Pennsylvania farm country, perfect for teaching agriculture and the residents were relatively free from the anti-Indian bigotry that plagued the western states.” Before he founded the school, Pratt “instigated the drawing up of a petition, signed by every Carlisle resident, calling for the conversion the Carlisle barracks into an Indian school.” Pratt received overwhelming support from the community and was typically very concerned about forging a happy relationship between the school and the town from that point on.

Word had spread throughout Carlisle that Pratt was returning to Carlisle from the Dakota Territory with the first group of Native American students (sixty-two boys and twenty-three girls) on either Saturday, October 6, 1879 or Sunday, October 7, 1879. As a result, “the entire community, and particularly Young America, was much exercised” and many “had an idea that these red men of the forest would transported in cages” to Carlisle. Obviously, the community had been swayed by the many stories about the “primitive savages” printed in the town papers. In fact, “so great was the excitement over the arrival that a construction train which passed westward…caused a rush and a cry ‘the Indians are coming.” Finally, the train pulled into Gettysburg Junction at about midnight. “Despite the hour, hundreds of residents gathered to stare at the disheveled children who climbed wearily down from the train cars. “ This was the first Indians the town had seen in many decades and there was a clear fascination throughout the town. After the students got off of the train, they were led two-blocks on foot towards the station, “shuffling through the dark wrapped in vividly dyed blankets or shawls, clad in buckskins and elk-bone breastplates, adorned with softly jingling bracelets and earrings, wearing moccasins covered in intricate beadwork.” The townspeople had never seen anything like this, only reading about these people in the town newspapers. In fact, the citizens were so fascinated that many of them accompanied the students in their walk to the barracks.

The townspeople were in awe. The unbelievable stories, horrors, and rumors were all they had known before this moment. In Sioux City, the children were harassed and taunted by bitter white men, but in Carlisle, these children became the focus of an entire town’s curiosity. The day after the arrival of the students, many of the townspeople visited the barracks, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Indians they had heard so much about, “some persisted in remaining out all day.” The flow of visitors of the barracks continued into Monday and, at which point, Pratt announced that no one would admitted onto the grounds of the barracks from that point on, with the exception being the Saturday of each week. Which, even weeks later, several hundred townspeople took advantage of “for the purpose of seeing the ‘red men of the forest’.” Additionally, the attention given to children was so overwhelming that Pratt felt it necessary to construct “a seven-foot picket fence around the campus to keep the sightseers out.”

Along with the town’s curiosity and fascination came a general acceptance of Pratt’s proposal and almost a sense of relief. An article from October 16, 1879 states: “surely time works wonderful changes. It seems almost incomprehensible that a barracks where only a few years ago men were trained to kill Indians, should now be occupied by Indians anxious and clamorous to become civilized.” An article in the Herald, from November 16, 1879, quotes a general as saying, “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” but states, “fortunately, there are some Americans who do not sympathize with that sentiment.” This seems to be the general attitude in Carlisle at the time. The article also offers dozens of anecdotes that reflect in great length how wonderful, adorable, skilled, receptive, and well-behaved the children are. Many of the townspeople made considerable efforts to welcome the children, women in town even volunteered to make new clothes for the Native American boys and girls.

Pratt was very confident that positive encounters between the Native American students and the community would encourage a welcoming and peaceful environment. He made it a point “to involve the Carlisle community in the school’s activities, starting with local churches.” Students were assigned to attend Sunday schools at several different churches in Carlisle. Carlisle was a very Christian town and the visible efforts made to spread religion to the students was appreciated and certainly noticed. The previously mentioned article from November 16, 1876, praises the children because “they have already learned the words and music for ‘Come to Jesus,’ and sing it very sweetly.” An article in the October 16, 1879 edition of The American Volunteer criticizes the “quite a number of our people who seldom appear at church” while giving credit to the “children of the forest” who “were more attentive to exercises than the whites.”

Despite the general acceptance and welcoming of the Native American students in Carlisle, there were some “signals of powerful resistance of the local white community.” Some citizens were worried that a large Native American population in Carlisle would mean an influx of skilled workers; in turn, creating significant competition in some areas of production. The Indians were not always treated well; there were certainly instances of harassment. For example, The Carlisle Herald from November 6, 1879 mentions that “some of the ‘street arabs’ down town visited the barracks…and treated the guards in a very abusive manner.” There were also occasional racial concerns in the town; for example, when the first child died at the school it “rapidly became clear that it was unacceptable for Indian children to be buried in the local cemetery and Pratt had to open a cemetery at the school.” However, Carlisle was generally racially tolerant and the overwhelming majority of the citizens of Carlisle accepted and welcomed the Native American children, even housing students through the “outing system” for, sometimes, up to a year at a time.

The town of Carlisle was the ideal place for Pratt’s school because the town was so far from the violence out west and, therefore, was generally receptive to hosting the “savages.” While the Native Americans were certainly not characterized well in the local papers or considered to be “civilized,” or even human, in many of the townspeople’s minds, their presence was certainly met with a great deal of excitement, interest, and welcome.