The First Students at Haskell

The first students of Haskell in May of 1884 before the school officially opened up the author calls them "the Chilocco seven." The author says there is a book under the title "Record of Pupils transferred from Chilocco Indian Territory." It includes their tribal origins and blood, as well as a notation that they are all "physically sound." These young men would plant crops and fruit trees, fence, transport supplies from the railroad depot to the institution, remove debris from grounds, clean and prepare things around the school. The first group of students, presented as twenty-two individuals who were present at the official opening ceremony on September 17, 1884. There were twelve Ponca males, eight Chippewa, and Muncie children. Throughout the year the number of students attending increased.
The first decade of Haskell was focused on "civilization" of Native students.






During the day they would study there academics and the rest of the day for industrial work. The students at Haskell in the early years suffered the most the author points out. The methods of arrival at the instiution were not always pleasant. At all boarding schools at various points in time and to different degrees, children were forcibly removed from their homes. Parents were coerced and threatened with the withholding of rations, and starvation. Parents were forced to choose between children in order to keep the rest of the family alive. They would have to pick one child to send to boarding school to keep receiving their rations. Nonetheless there were some Native American parents that saw boarding school as an opportunity to learn and a positive outlook for their children attending them.
How the book talked about how the children arrived and taken from their families made me think of the movie Red Proof Fence that I have recently seen for another class. There is a part in the movie where you see the individuals coming to the families home and taking the children away from their families. A lot of hearbreak occurs at that moment. I can't image if that was to happen to my family if I had children and hope I will never have to experience that all during my lifetime.



Picture from www.archives.gov

Haskell Institute: 19th Century Stories of Sacrifice and Survival

        The First Chapter of this book as I began my journey reading was the Founding of the Institution. Congress appropriated money for the education of Native students at the three off reservation boarding schools in existence at the time. Funding for two new boarding schools was included. Dudley Chase Haskell was a representative from the Second Congressional District in Kansas and chairman of the House of Committee on Indian Affairs. He advocated for one of the schools to be located in his hometown. The government basically said that he could if he could get the city to donate land. That’s exactly what he did. The city of Lawrence raised almost $10,000 which was used to purchase a 280 acre plot of land southeast of town. By 1884 it took two years of planning and building the buildings for school. There would be three buildings; school building, boys and girls dormitory. The generic name for the school was originally called The United States Indian Industrial Training School then eventually recognized as the Haskell Institute.

        I found appealing  was the over turn of the Haskell Superintendents. Between the years of 1884 to about 1900 there were seven superintendents. They were either were forced out, retired, resigned and a couple did stay there for awhile.

        Haskell starting off was found as a grammar school grade level of one through five. The school focused on English speaking skills. Three and one half hours of each weekday were devoted to formal instruction and four hours were spent on industrial training, such as cooking, sewing, carpentry, masonry and farming. Later on the school would be revised to include kindergarten, department for teacher training, commercial department, ten other grade levels. The departments would eventually discontinue and the school would be accredited as a high school by the State of Kansas. The last high school class graduated in 1965. In 1970 the school's name was changed to Haskell Indian Junior College. Once again in 1993 the name of the school would change to Haskell Indian Nations University and began offering baccalaureate programs in 1994.

       This school that started off from five grade levels to now a University under went so many changes fast, in the first two decades. What started off as a 280 acre plot of land in 1884 and accumulated to 650 acre plot of land in 1901 is
astounding. I choose this book because I have little knowlege about the Haskell Institute.  Learing the origin of the Haskell Institute I am eager to read the stories, journeys, and experiences the students went through attending this school.
Picture from http://www.amazon.com/