A landscape of what is now Haskell Indian Nations University, circa 1890
Walking a thin cultural line Native Americans' identity can be lost in educational process
Haskell Indian Nations University, then the United States Industrial Training Institute, circa 1890.
By Hannah Naughton Kansan staff writer
Education represents a bittersweet trade-off for Native Americans.
For Elyse Towey, losing pieces of her culture is a risk in the face of an educational system still grounded in Caucasian culture.
"Some people want to succeed to go back and help their tribe," said Towey, Napa, Calif., junior. "But when you're in the system, you might lose track of your own culture. It might not seem to mean as much in the big picture."
Towey transferred to the University of Kansas from Haskell Indian Nations University this semester. Her educational experience at Haskell helped cultivate a greater appreciation for her heritage, she said.
"I was raised in an urban area and wasn't raised in the traditional manner," she said. "Haskell made me realize how rich my culture is."
But Haskell wasn't always a harbor for Native American culture. When it opened in 1882, Haskell was an elementary school called the United States Industrial Training Institute.
"Several schools opened at that time, approved by Congress," said Hannes Combes, education secretary to the president at Haskell. "Their purpose was to Christianize and culturalize the American savage."
During that time, children in kindergarten through fifth grade attended the school. Often, they were taken from their parents by agents of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and were forced to attend, Combesat said. They were given a new name and were not allowed to speak their language. Their hair was cut short, and they had to wear woolen clothing year-round.
"They wanted to take the Indian out of the child." she said.
Early sanitary conditions at the school were poor. Between 1884 and 1889, 49 children died from pneumonia. Many children's bodies were sent to reservations for burial, Combest said. Elders reported the number might have been in the hundreds.
In the early 1920s, the elementary school was changed to a high school and renamed Haskell Institute. It included students in grades eight through 12, Combest said. In 1920, the Haskell's newspaper, the Indian Leader, reported on the importance of assimilating students.
"The Indian youth of 40 years ago did not know what the modern house was like; he had to learn the joys of honest labor; he must learn
the methods of a democratic government; he must be converted to the Christian religion, and he must be taught to use his leisure time worthily," the article said.
In the next three decades, Haskell offered vocational education. Archie Hawkins, a 76-year-old Lawrence resident, attended the Haskell Institute from 1938 to 1940 and learned furniture upholstery. He taught his trade at Haskell from 1946 to 1976.
"I wanted to learn a trade and get off the Indian reservation," Hawkins said. "When I worked there, our philosophy was to place them in jobs so they wouldn't have to go back to the reservation."
Hawkins said his education earned him respect from others.
"It was all about how to get acculturated," he said. "There was a time when it was not very popular to be part of an Indian culture."
Although much of Hawkins' education was assimilation into the dominant society, he said Haskell was
the reason he still was alive.
"When I left the reservation, the average age a man reached was 44," Hawkins said. "That has improved. It's now 60 something."
He said retaining his own culture was difficult while he was growing up. On Hawkins' Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, Native Americans were not allowed to speak their language.
"My parents didn't speak Sioux at home because they didn't want us to get in trouble at school," Hawkins said. "I think now people realize it was a mistake. I wish I knew more about my own language."
From 1978 to 1980, Hawkins taught the Lakota language to students at what was called Haskell Indian Junior College. The vocational school was phased out between 1965 and 1970 and was replaced with college-level classes.
In 1989, the school was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and was authorized to offer junior and senior
classes in elementary teacher education. In 1993, its new name became Haskell Indian Nations University as part of a vision the Haskell Board of Regents had for the school, Combesaid.
Haskell represents more than a century of changes, and Native American history, arts, literature institutions and languages have become valued subjects.
"These are examples of how Native-American perspectives have been integrated into the curriculum," Combest said.
Elyse Towey said Haskell still needed to develop more traditional classes and language instruction, but she understood that the school's tight budget made it difficult.
Most of what she learned about different Native-American cultures came from interacting with the different students at Haskell, she said.
The issue of assimilation still exists in mainstream education, but it is more subtle, said Michael Yellow Bird, assistant professor of social welfare at the University of Kansas.
"You are empowered to get a job in a field that will make you enough money to move to the suburbs, but it's more a part of material, cultural empowerment," he said. "I don't think it really speaks to a person's social and spiritual culture."
In the past, Native Americans were forced to become part of Caucasian society. Yellow Bird said this dominant society needed to be assimilated to the Native American culture.
"There really has to be an understanding of what Native people have gone through, some thought to what they continue to go through, so that history and those policies and those circumstances are not glossed over," he said.
Towey said incorporating more Native-American culture into KU's curriculum was important not only to make it a better university, but also to enrich and educate people who don't know about it.
"Today it's a lot easier to integrate yourself into the system and retain individual values," she said.
Haskell Indian Nations University, then the United States Industrial Training Institute, circa 1890.
The assimilation that exists today occurs because students must learn in English before any other language, Yellow Bird said.
To try to keep the culture alive and assimilate non-Native Americans into Native culture and ideas, Yellow Bird said he incorporated his traditions, beliefs and language into all of his teaching, from the classroom to his office hours.
"It transcends being a professor; it transcends being academic," he said. "I have a personal belief that I'm here to fight for Native people, to revitalize the culture."
1882 The United States Industrial Training Institute, now known as Haskell Indian Nations University, is established by Congress.
1886 Teachers are required to teach in English only.
1884 Haskell officially opens for grades 1-5.
1889 The school is expanded to include grades 6-12.
1890 The name of the school officially becomes Haskell Institute.
1892 Staff cabin built to catch children who ran away and to stop families from trying to visit or take away their children.
1912 Kindergarten through second grade is elimi- nated.
1913
1913 The cemetery has 102 graves, mostly children who died at Haskell because of disease caused by inadequate facilities.
1887
English teacher H.B. Peairs was fired by superintendent Charles Robinson (first governor of Kansas) for breaking the leg of John Yellow Bear by throwing him to the classroom floor when he wouldn't sit down in class. Yellow Bear did not speak or understand English. H.B. Peairs was to become Haskell's superintendent between the years of 1898-19-10 and 1917-1924.
Forty-nine Indian children died between 1884-1889, many between 5 and 10 years old, from pneumonia. Each child was required to make his own clothes and could not receive help from other students. When the school first opened, there was no heating system because the government had not appropriated the necessary funds to complete the school buildings. The sanitary conditions were reported to be appalling.
1948
Haskell becomes a member of the North Central Association.
1963
High school is eliminated. The last class graduated in 1965.
1994
Haskell faculty begin researching the number of Indian children who died at Haskell. Estimates place the number of deaths at Haskell since 1884 at 600, with 300 children missing or unaccounted for.
Music calendar
What Gives, 10:30 p.m. at Mulligan's, 1016 Massachusetts St. Cover charge.
Tonight
Seam, with Spent, Vitreous Humor and Compound Red, 10 p.m. at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Cost: $5-$6.
Lie Awake, 9:30 p.m. at Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second St. Cover charge.
Guitar and Mandolin Bigg and Tichenor, 6 p.m. at Full Moon Cafe, 803 Massachusetts St.
Jazz Jam Session, with the Craig Akin House Band, 10 p.m. at Full Moon Cafe. Free.
Little Hatch and the Houserockets, 6 p.m. at The Grand Emporium, 3882 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. Cost.$2.
Free.
Tim Mahoney and the Meienes,
with The Dellahas, 10 p.m. at The
Jazzahus of Lawrence, 926 1/2
Massachusetts St. Cost: $3.8
Saffire, 9:30 p.m. at The Grand Emporium. Cost $8.
Saturday
Lie Awake, 9:30 p.m. at Johnny's Tavern. Cover charge.
Jackpierce, with Wakeland,
10 p.m. at the Granada Theater,
1020 Massachusetts St. Cost:
$11.
Pumpkinhead, with Shag, 10
p.m. at The Bottleneck. Cost: $5-
$6.
Celtic Dinner Music with Talisman, 6 p.m. at Full Moon Cafe.
Free.
Ashilkar, 10 p.m. at Full Moon
Cafe. Free.
Rawls and the Luckett Reville,
10 p.m. at The Jazzhaus. Cost: $3.
Wilson, Olbert. 4 p.m. at The
Wednesday.
Frankie Lee, 9:30 p.m. at The Grand Emporium Cost: $6.
Sunday
Hellcat Trio, 10 p.m. at the Grand Emporium. Cost $8.
Open Mike Night, 9 p.m. at The Bottleneck. Free.
You Fantastic, with Rocket
Tuesday
Terry Ebling + 1 more. 10 p.m.
At The Bottleneck. Cover charge.
Benefit for KU Environs, 10
Parker Frogs, 8 p.m. at Full Moon Cafe. Free.
Boss Hog with the Rughurnes, 10 p.m. at The Bottleneck; Cost: 86. Sambrazi, 8 p.m. at Full Moon Cafe. Free.
Fuel Is The Key, and Dirtnap,
9:30 p.m. at The Grand Emporium.
Cost: $3.
p.m. at the Jazzmus. Cost: $8.
Irv Brelives; 8:30 p.m. at the
Jazzmus.
Thursday
Irie Vibrations; 8:30 p.m. at the Grand Emporium. Cost $4.
Mercy Rule, with Superdrag and Action Man, 10 p.m. at The Bottleneck. Cost: $4-$5.
Delphic Duet, 9 p.m. at Fulh Moon Cafe. Free.
Bob, 10 p.m. at The Jazzhaus.
Cost $8.
Baby Jason and the Spankers,
8:30 p.m. © The Grand Emporium. Cost $3.