Tag Archives: Indian Boarding Schools

Music and Assimilation in a 19th-Century Indian Boarding School

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In the late 19th century, the U.S. government established Native American Boarding Schools, also known as Indian Boarding Schools, as a means of assimilating Indigenous youth into American culture.1

This extract is titled In a Government Indian School, written by Bertha S. Wilkins and published in 1897. The article describes Wilkins’s experiences as a teacher at a Government boarding school on the Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona. Wilkins begins by categorizing various “types” of students, stating, “Better conditions for studying the Indian child can hardly be imagined”.2 As a government employee and teacher, her role in the boarding school allowed her the freedom to write openly in this manner. She touches on topics ranging from social standing to academics, often with vivid descriptions, particularly regarding music. The tone suggests the article was written for those interested in the boarding school and in understanding what the students from the reservations were like as they went through the process of assimilation. For example, she writes, “Little Alice, under exactly the same conditions, has little power of concentration, but sings so sweetly and enjoys life so much that one is tempted to let her go her own smiling little way.”3 This shows a lack of objectivity in her observations, as there is no detailed analysis of the singing beyond the word “sweetly,” which reduces the individuality of the girl described. Browner highlights the importance of recognizing regional differences in singing styles, something Wilkins overlooks here.4

Wilkins describes this particular tribe of students as being highly musical but writes, “Their voices do not have the silvery quality of the white child’s voice, nor the rich resonance of the young Negro’s; yet under training they develop a quality of tone which is distinctive and charming.”5 This echoes similar descriptions found in Tick’s (2008) documentary collections, where Native voices were often characterized as “miserable” or “shrieking,” even when not referring specifically to singing.6
Wilkins’s portrayal carries a tone of undervaluing Native American voices, through comparison and by suggesting they require training, at least in singing.

This text reflects the cultural attitudes of the late 19th century when boarding schools were established on reservations for the purpose of assimilation and the study of Native cultures, seen at the time as “sub-cultures.” The narrative reinforces the idea of Native Americans being in the early stages of cultural evolution, with the classroom serving as a kind of laboratory where children were observed while being taught Western ways of life, including the refinement of their singing voices to produce a more desirable tone. Wilkins’s account fails to mention important aspects such as classroom management, discipline, or the children’s personal experiences, and it does not address how this education impacted their family dynamics. Instead, her tone remains light, offering little insight into the children’s emotional or psychological experiences within this system.

1 Mejia, Melissa. “The U.S. History of Native American Boarding Schools.” The Indigenous Foundation, July 26, 2022. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/us-residential-schools.

2 Bertha Wilkins, “In a Government Indian School,” Land of Sunshine, June-November 1897, 242-247, Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America.

3  Wilkins, “In a Government Indian School,” 243.

5 Wilkins, “In a Government Indian School,” 245.

6 Tick, Judith, and Beaudoin, Paul, eds. Music in the USA : A Documentary Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2008. Accessed September 20, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Carlisle Indian Industrial School & Music – Sadie Metoxen

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Sadie Metoxen, Oneida, 1918.

Growing up, I remember very little about the education I received regarding Indigenous peoples of the United States. I may have completed a project on an Indigenous tribe or been lectured about tribal territories, but I don’t recall ever studying specific Indigenous figures outside of war. This raises a critical question about the modern American education system: how are Indigenous children and cultures presented? Many students struggle to name significant aspects of Indigenous culture outside of narratives centered around bloodshed and conflict, reflecting a troubling trend of erasure and whitewashing of Indigenous history and culture in American schools. 

One stark example of this erasure is the boarding school system, which operated under the motto “Kill the Indian, save the man.”  Established in the mid-1800s, these institutions aimed to strip away Indigenous identities and impose Western-Christian values on native youth. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania operated from 1879-1918, which served as a model for several non-reservation boarding schools throughout the United States. But what do we know about its students? 

In 1912, Sadie Christine Metoxen, a member of the Oneida Nation, entered the Carlisle Indian School at 17 years old. She spent 5 years at Carlisle, becoming a member of the senior class of 1918 – the last graduating class to go through Carlisle. During her senior year, Metoxen contributed heavily to the 1918 Carlisle Indian Industrial School yearbook, including an opening letter and diary entries that depicted life at Carlisle. Throughout the diary entries, Metoxen mentions the term “music” in several contexts, on nearly every page. Entries include: “(9)8. First period in music. Seniors in a singing mood, especially “Gertie”, “(9)12. First class song handed in; composer, Abbie Somers”,  “(11)7. Chapel: good singing”, and “(12)10. “Music, music everywhere”, Miss Dunnagan declared”. Metoxen captures not just the mechanics of music education, but also the emotional landscapes of her peers. Her mention of a “singing mood” reflects a collective spirit, hinting at the camaraderie that developed among students as they navigated the complexities of their circumstances. Through her reflections, Metoxen illustrated the resilience of Indigenous culture amidst the challenge of assimilation. 

Cover of Carlisle Indian Industrial School yearbook, 1918.

In reading Metoxen’s accounts, I noted similarities to Tick’s Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion due to its primary source accounts of interactions between white European settlers and Indigenous peoples.  However, Tick’s sources often feel disingenuous, misrepresenting Indigenous peoples through an inferior lens. While both resources provide insights into the past, they highlight a significant divide in how Indigenous experiences are portrayed. While Metoxen’s writings offer a personal and authentic glimpse into the lives of Indigenous students, Tick’s sources fail to capture the richness and complexity of Indigenous cultures, reducing them to stereotypes. This contrast underscores the urgent need for a more nuanced and accurate representation of Indigenous histories in education, one that honors their voices and experiences rather than marginalizing them.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carlisle Indian School. Carlisle (1918). Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1918. Print, Archives, The Newberry Library.

Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion, edited by Judith Tick, and Paul Beaudoin, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stolaf-ebooks/detail.action?docID=415567.

Government Documents for Indian Boarding Schools

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It can be said that the worst outcomes come from the best of intentions. Of course, we look back in history and find that the definition of ‘best’ is thoroughly different between cultures, backgrounds, classes, races, etc. And obviously, if one were to take the extremely low-hanging fruit, it requires an impressive amount of logic leaps to find the ‘best intentions’ in some of the greatest historical tragedies, such as the Holocaust, any number of catastrophic wars, or the Trail of Tears.

While the history of Indian boarding schools is undoubtedly tragic, the discussion of the goals behind them is surprisingly frank and positive. As a report from a member of the Advisory Council on Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior (one who had the fantastic decency to write his name in an illegible scrawl at the end of his letter to said Secretary of the Interior, at the time Hubert Work; I therefore have absolutely no idea who wrote thing beyond this) notes that the primary goal is to “place the American Indian… upon the same basis as the rest of our citizenship, politically, intellectually, and industrially…” with the disturbance of “community life or tribal or family relationships” no more “than a growing degree of general participation in economic and… political affairs has interfered with… the Negro…”1

An excerpt from page 2 of a letter written to the Secretary of the Interior Hubert Work

Piercing through the incredible wordiness of this statement, it is perhaps difficult to gauge the true opinion of the report’s author. There is much wiggle-room presented in the goal, particular in the definition of an appropriate level of disturbance, but there does not seem to be explicit mention of disrupting family groups, of squashing heritage, and the like. Indeed, the report author notes that “the average American Indian should be educationally as well equipped and as self-reliant and self-sufficient as the average citizen of any other racial descent.”2 A noble goal, if not for the fact that the peoples in question had been self-reliant for well before the arrival of Europe in the New World.

Turning attention to the boarding schools established for the purposes of educating American Indians to the degrees mentioned above, analysis of their curriculum identifies that a significant amount of effort seems to have been put in to ensure a full coverage of all subjects, in science, history, math, and more. One example from the Office of Indian affairs, prepared for use throughout the Indian school service in 1915, dedicates 30 pages in its curriculum overview to Industrial work and over 130 pages to various vocational studies (trade, agriculture, home economics, nursing, etc)3.

A excerpt from the table of contents from curriculum proposed for American Indian students. Note the wide variety of topics available, especially relating to ‘practical’ work.

A section is, of course, dedicated to music. Although there is attention given to the coverage of ‘good’ music (which is something that many others have covered, I will therefore not beat a dead horse), interesting emphasis is placed on proper vocal techniques. Notes to have a “light, pure tone”, with special exercises for “preventing huskiness” and “the elimination of monotones” in the lower grade levels, perhaps were included specifically to ‘correct’ vocal styles that are used for Native American singing 4.

A excerpt from the table of contents from curriculum proposed for American Indian students. A guideline for vocal standards lays out what to prioritize while singing.

For example, in an analysis of different pow-wow singing styles, it is noted that the Great Lakes style uses a “medium-high voice, often with a gravelly or rough timbre” while in both the Great Lakes and Midplains style the women’s part is described as “high and tense”.5 These assertions are difficult to confirm, as during the early 20th century musical analysis of Native American styles was in its infancy, and unfortunately there is little literature that refers directly to behaviors or tendencies that need to be prevented (which would have been an obvious indicator of this type of connection), but the possibility of a link is still there.

In conclusion, this serves as a slightly different approach, as I was surprised to see that reports regarding Native Americans in the 20th century were not as overtly hostile as I might have suspected, going from history. This, of course, could entirely be fancy political language, and there is the additional factor of the majority not understanding the minority and wishing to impose upon them an idea of ‘correctness’, but I found it interesting regardless.

Works Cited:

1 Member of the Advisory Council on Indian Affairs, Report on Indian Affairs (United States Government, 1923), 1-2. Retrieved from American Indian Histories and Cultures https://www.aihc.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Images/Ayer_MS_668/3#Chapters (accessed Oct 26, 2023).

2 Ibid

3 Department of the Interior (Office of Indian Affairs), Tentative Course of Study for United States Indian Schools (Washington D.C: Government Printing Office, 1915), Table of Contents. Retrieved from American Indian Histories and Cultures https://www.aihc.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Images/Ayer_386_U5_1915/5 (accessed Oct 26, 2023).

4 Dept. of Interior, Tentative Course of Study, 111-113.

5 Tara Browner, Judith Vander, et al., Music of the First Nations: Tradition and Innovation in Native North America (University of Illinois Press: 2009), 137-138. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/stolaf-ebooks/reader.action?docID=3413835&ppg=147 (accessed on Oct 26, 2023).