Anishinaabe students at Carlisle Indian School used the school’s official publications to subvert the mission of cultural assimilation and preserve their traditions.
The Carlisle Indian School, known for its infamous mission to “Kill the Indian and save the man,” was a boarding school founded in 1879 with the aim of assimilating Native American children into white American culture. However, as Julie Morrow reveals in her research, some Anishinaabe students at Carlisle found a way to resist this cultural genocide. Through their writings in the school’s official publications, these students used the platform to showcase their cultural heritage and challenge the narrative imposed upon them.
Carlisle’s Publications and the Preservation of Native Cultures
Between 1904 and 1918, Carlisle’s publications began encouraging more writing about Native American legends, customs, and history. This shift in focus was driven by the growing nostalgia among white Americans for Native cultures, leading to a fad for Indian arts and crafts. Moses Friedman, the superintendent from 1908 onwards, saw these stories as a means of “preserving” cultures that were believed to be on the brink of extinction. However, Morrow argues that the young Anishinaabe writers saw an opportunity to use these publications to highlight their own cultural resilience and evolution.
Challenging Stereotypes Through Writing
A core part of Carlisle’s curriculum was to prepare students to become “civilized” workers, dismissing traditional Native ways of working as lazy. Yet, in the Indian culture pages of the school’s publications, Anishinaabe students described their tribes’ traditional ways of working. For instance, Estelle Bradley used a trickster myth to not only entertain but also to showcase the skill of Anishinaabe women in making rope from the inner bark of a basswood tree. These details, although not essential to the story, allowed Bradley to challenge the disparagement of native women’s work by Carlisle and mainstream society.
Stories of Resistance and Resilience
Margaret Blackwood, a nineteen-year-old student, wrote an origin story set in living memory, recounting the true story of the theft of her tribe’s land in Ontonagon, Michigan. By grounding the tale in recent history, Blackwood emphasized the ongoing struggles faced by her community. Another student, Edward Bracklin, used an essay about Christmas to contrast the materialistic focus of white children with the joy experienced by “Indian boys” spending the holiday in the plains and forests that had always been their source of enjoyment. These stories showcased the students’ pride in their heritage and their ability to navigate their cross-cultural identities.
Anishinaabe Students as Sites of Adaptation
Morrow concludes that the Anishinaabe students’ writings in Carlisle’s publications served as both products and sites of adaptation. Through their articles, they proudly displayed their values, native knowledge, and cross-cultural identities. These writings allowed them to challenge the narrative of cultural assimilation and assert their agency within the confines of the school.
Conclusion:
The writings of Anishinaabe students at Carlisle Indian School provide a fascinating insight into their resistance against cultural genocide. Through the school’s official publications, these students turned a platform intended for assimilation into a vehicle for cultural preservation and subversion. Their stories, essays, and myths showcased their traditions, challenged stereotypes, and celebrated their resilience. The Anishinaabe students at Carlisle demonstrated that even in the face of oppressive assimilation policies, they could find ways to assert their identities and preserve their cultural heritage.
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