The Rapid City Indian School was located in Rapid City, South Dakota, and has since been converted into both an asylum and a hospital known as the Sioux San Hospital.[1] The school opened 1898 as part of the federal government's off-reservation boarding school movement for Native Americans and was shut down in 1933 to become a tuberculosis center.[2] The hospital in the past few years has been listed on the market and is currently being considered for demolition, even though local tribes had tried to claim back the land in the past.[3]
Rapid City Indian School
From 1929, the girls' Rapid City basketball team are in the top two rows.
These schools were put in place by the government for two main reasons: to require the mastery of English and to "civilize" the Indians.[4] There were roughly 100 Indian boarding schools that the US government operated, often forcing children away from their families for schooling.[5] Twenty-five of these schools were off-reservation boarding schools in 1900, holding 7,430 students.[6] Every day was filled with strict schedules and specific activities for girls and boys, home-making skills for the former and carpentry for the latter.[4] Some students were forced against their will to go, others were in poverty and the boarding schools were a way out, and others wanted education and to meet other people from different tribes.[7] Reports on these Indian boarding schools are largely negative, with most students found to be "malnourished, overworked, harshly punished and poorly educated."[5] While the conditions at the schools were often terrible, they were often regarded as better than the certain poverty that most children faced at home in their reservations.[8]
Rapid City school yearsEdit
Three reservations were close enough to the school to enroll students: the Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Cheyenne River reservations.[8] Towards the 1900s, approximately 650 children went to Rapid City Indian School from Wyoming, Montana, and western South Dakota.[8][7] Indian police around the different reservations would make sure that students came to school each day, including an escort for a child if they had missed school the day before.[8] The first superintendent, Ralph P. Collins, made controversy with reservation officials by travelling around to different reservations to recruit children to the school then forcing them all to travel by wagon to Rapid City, taking away students from the on-reservation schools.[8] His tactics were criticized as many opponents viewed this as similar to the slave trade, causing the commissioner of Indian Affairs, Francis E. Leupp, to ban recruiters going to reservations in 1908.[9] In 1909, students enrolled at the Chamberlain Indian School in South Dakota who had come from the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian Reservation were transferred to Rapid City.[10] The early 1900s to 1930s showed many families wanting to keep their families together, prompting the school to keep their lower grades available to keep up enrollment, as many boarding schools split up the younger elementary grades from the older grades.[8] Some students and families who decided to have their children attend Rapid City decided so based on the extensiveness of the course catalog and due to the fact that the parents or relatives of these students gained jobs at the school.[8]
Rapid City ran a very strict program. Their techniques stemmed from military drills and discipline, requiring students to walk in straight lines, walk in an orderly fashion, be at their dormitories during certain times of the day, and only allowing rowdiness during recess.[11] The teacher-student ratio was extremely low, resulting in a lax of discipline with teachers stretched so thin during the day. However, teachers were able to enforce their power over the students through verbal abuse and humiliation, fueling students to run away as a way to enforce their own power over the administration.[12]
Regarding student health, nutrition at the school increased after World War I, while health care was never adequate in checking for or in preventing diseases and illnesses.[13] Many families were wary of sending their children to the school for health reasons, for example some parents refused to send back their children in 1911 after two children died the previous school year.[8] The school didn't offer very much nutrition or variety in meals, and hunger from measly meals resulted in some students trying to run away.[14] As for disease, boarding schools became a main source of infection and transmission. Some believed the children learning more hygienic habits would result in a decline of sickness, yet many children passed different forms of the flu and colds between each and brought them home to the reservations.[15]
The Rapid City school required uniforms like other federal off-reservation schools. Students received dress clothes, school clothes, and working clothes, and, with money the students earned and under strict regulation, could occasionally purchase their own clothes.[16] Female students had a hard time affording to dress with the times and to have acceptable clothing, as for many families paying for these clothes was enough to pay for a full set of home furniture.[17]
The curriculum at the school focused on English, as all Indian boarding schools did. Other focuses in the curriculum included vocational jobs, such as blacksmiths and the dairy industry for boys, and classroom work.[18] Girls education focused on clothes' making and household chores, mainly focusing on learning to clean different objects and areas.[19] Rapid City followed the model of other urban schools at the time by having two teachers to teach 80 students in 1898 and by 1916, only employing four teachers for the whole school.[20]
Closure and aftermathEdit
The school was closed in 1933 to become a tuberculosis sanatorium, named Sioux Sanatorium or "Sioux San," splitting up the families within the school by taking younger students to a different boarding school and the older students to another.[8] The land was split into three lots owned by the federal government, with the Sioux San Hospital being the last remaining structure of the school.[21] In 2014, sixteen tribes from South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska requested that the land be turned back over to tribal care because the land is listed as a plot of spiritual land guaranteed to the Sioux Nation under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.[21]
^ abcdefghiRiney, Scott. ""I Like the School So I Want to Come Back": The Enrollment of American Indian Students at the Rapid City Indian School". American Indian Culture and Research Journal. 22 (2): 171–192. doi:10.17953/aicr.22.2.q2p4q7v140170536.
^ abstaff, John Lee McLaughlin Journal. "Tribes seek to take last of Indian boarding school lands". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
BibliographyEdit
Riney, Scott (1999). The Rapid City Indian School, 1898-1933. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN9780806131627.
External linksEdit
History and Culture: Boarding Schools, Native Partnership, http://www.nativepartnership.org/
An Indian Boarding School Photo Gallery, Modern American Poetry, http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/index.htm
Charla Bear, American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many, NPR, https://www.npr.org/
October 15, 2023
rapid, city, indian, school, located, rapid, city, south, dakota, since, been, converted, into, both, asylum, hospital, known, sioux, hospital, school, opened, 1898, part, federal, government, reservation, boarding, school, movement, native, americans, shut, d. The Rapid City Indian School was located in Rapid City South Dakota and has since been converted into both an asylum and a hospital known as the Sioux San Hospital 1 The school opened 1898 as part of the federal government s off reservation boarding school movement for Native Americans and was shut down in 1933 to become a tuberculosis center 2 The hospital in the past few years has been listed on the market and is currently being considered for demolition even though local tribes had tried to claim back the land in the past 3 Rapid City Indian SchoolFrom 1929 the girls Rapid City basketball team are in the top two rows LocationRapid City South DakotaUnited StatesCoordinates44 04 41 N 103 16 19 W 44 077964 N 103 272049 W 44 077964 103 272049InformationTypeBoarding schoolEstablished1898 1898 Closed1933 1933 Enrollment650 Contents 1 Indian boarding schools 2 Rapid City school years 3 Closure and aftermath 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Bibliography 6 External linksIndian boarding schools EditThese schools were put in place by the government for two main reasons to require the mastery of English and to civilize the Indians 4 There were roughly 100 Indian boarding schools that the US government operated often forcing children away from their families for schooling 5 Twenty five of these schools were off reservation boarding schools in 1900 holding 7 430 students 6 Every day was filled with strict schedules and specific activities for girls and boys home making skills for the former and carpentry for the latter 4 Some students were forced against their will to go others were in poverty and the boarding schools were a way out and others wanted education and to meet other people from different tribes 7 Reports on these Indian boarding schools are largely negative with most students found to be malnourished overworked harshly punished and poorly educated 5 While the conditions at the schools were often terrible they were often regarded as better than the certain poverty that most children faced at home in their reservations 8 Rapid City school years EditThree reservations were close enough to the school to enroll students the Pine Ridge Rosebud and Cheyenne River reservations 8 Towards the 1900s approximately 650 children went to Rapid City Indian School from Wyoming Montana and western South Dakota 8 7 Indian police around the different reservations would make sure that students came to school each day including an escort for a child if they had missed school the day before 8 The first superintendent Ralph P Collins made controversy with reservation officials by travelling around to different reservations to recruit children to the school then forcing them all to travel by wagon to Rapid City taking away students from the on reservation schools 8 His tactics were criticized as many opponents viewed this as similar to the slave trade causing the commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E Leupp to ban recruiters going to reservations in 1908 9 In 1909 students enrolled at the Chamberlain Indian School in South Dakota who had come from the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian Reservation were transferred to Rapid City 10 The early 1900s to 1930s showed many families wanting to keep their families together prompting the school to keep their lower grades available to keep up enrollment as many boarding schools split up the younger elementary grades from the older grades 8 Some students and families who decided to have their children attend Rapid City decided so based on the extensiveness of the course catalog and due to the fact that the parents or relatives of these students gained jobs at the school 8 Rapid City ran a very strict program Their techniques stemmed from military drills and discipline requiring students to walk in straight lines walk in an orderly fashion be at their dormitories during certain times of the day and only allowing rowdiness during recess 11 The teacher student ratio was extremely low resulting in a lax of discipline with teachers stretched so thin during the day However teachers were able to enforce their power over the students through verbal abuse and humiliation fueling students to run away as a way to enforce their own power over the administration 12 Regarding student health nutrition at the school increased after World War I while health care was never adequate in checking for or in preventing diseases and illnesses 13 Many families were wary of sending their children to the school for health reasons for example some parents refused to send back their children in 1911 after two children died the previous school year 8 The school didn t offer very much nutrition or variety in meals and hunger from measly meals resulted in some students trying to run away 14 As for disease boarding schools became a main source of infection and transmission Some believed the children learning more hygienic habits would result in a decline of sickness yet many children passed different forms of the flu and colds between each and brought them home to the reservations 15 The Rapid City school required uniforms like other federal off reservation schools Students received dress clothes school clothes and working clothes and with money the students earned and under strict regulation could occasionally purchase their own clothes 16 Female students had a hard time affording to dress with the times and to have acceptable clothing as for many families paying for these clothes was enough to pay for a full set of home furniture 17 The curriculum at the school focused on English as all Indian boarding schools did Other focuses in the curriculum included vocational jobs such as blacksmiths and the dairy industry for boys and classroom work 18 Girls education focused on clothes making and household chores mainly focusing on learning to clean different objects and areas 19 Rapid City followed the model of other urban schools at the time by having two teachers to teach 80 students in 1898 and by 1916 only employing four teachers for the whole school 20 Closure and aftermath EditThe school was closed in 1933 to become a tuberculosis sanatorium named Sioux Sanatorium or Sioux San splitting up the families within the school by taking younger students to a different boarding school and the older students to another 8 The land was split into three lots owned by the federal government with the Sioux San Hospital being the last remaining structure of the school 21 In 2014 sixteen tribes from South Dakota North Dakota and Nebraska requested that the land be turned back over to tribal care because the land is listed as a plot of spiritual land guaranteed to the Sioux Nation under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie 21 See also EditAmerican Indian boarding schools Cheyenne River Reservation Pine Ridge Reservation Rosebud Reservation Treaty of Fort Laramie 1868 United States Indian Police Sioux San HospitalReferences EditNotes Edit So long Sioux San Hospital will be replaced by new Indian Health Services facility Black Hills Pioneer Retrieved 2017 03 24 Ishii on Riney The Rapid City Indian School 1898 1933 networks h net org Retrieved 2017 03 24 staff Journal New hospital possible at Sioux San Rapid City Journal Retrieved 2017 03 24 a b American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection content lib washington edu Retrieved 2017 03 24 a b American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many NPR org Retrieved 2017 03 24 Riney 20 a b Riney 19 a b c d e f g h i Riney Scott I Like the School So I Want to Come Back The Enrollment of American Indian Students at the Rapid City Indian School American Indian Culture and Research Journal 22 2 171 192 doi 10 17953 aicr 22 2 q2p4q7v140170536 Riney 24 Riney 24 Riney 141 144 Riney 145 150 Riney 45 Riney 46 Riney 62 63 Riney 56 57 Riney 62 Riney 91 93 Riney 93 Riney 79 a b staff John Lee McLaughlin Journal Tribes seek to take last of Indian boarding school lands Rapid City Journal Retrieved 2017 03 24 Bibliography Edit Riney Scott 1999 The Rapid City Indian School 1898 1933 University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 9780806131627 External links EditHistory and Culture Boarding Schools Native Partnership http www nativepartnership org An Indian Boarding School Photo Gallery Modern American Poetry http www english illinois edu maps index htm Charla Bear American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many NPR https www npr org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rapid City Indian School amp oldid 1161874883, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
