The Documents section features digitized copies of documents relating to the history of the school. These documents include correspondence, graduation pamphlets, and other forms of ephemera, and have been digitized by Digital Resource Center staff. Today, these documents are preserved in a number of locations, including the Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections as well as private collections.
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December 31, 1880
Osage Agency Indian Agent L. J. Miles reports that the Osage School has over fifty girls in attendance and he has secured promises that at least ten pupils would be willing to attend Carlisle. Miles reports that he hopes there is room for them…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Request for Enrollment
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Osage Agency Enrolling Students at Carlisle565.3 KB
January 1, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt reports that the visit of Ponca Chiefs Harry Bear, Standing Eagle, and White Buffalo went well. He also notes that Chief Harry Bear asked that his son be returned home due to his falling ill multiple times at Carlisle. Pratt…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Return Home of High Bear Jr.474.76 KB
January 11, 1881
U. S. Indian Agent for the Moqui Pueblo Indian Agency, John H. Sullivan, writes to inform the Indian Affairs Commissioner that he has not procured students for Carlisle or Hampton originally because he believed Rev. Sheldon Jackson lacked…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Enrollment of Moqui Pueblo Indians469.72 KB
January 11, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt submits plans and specifications for building a new hospital on the grounds of the Carlisle Indian School. Pratt notes that he has received multiple estimates for the cost of the building as well as supplies and believes that…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
View Document: Submission of Plans to Build Hospital at the Carlisle School2.45 MB
January 17, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt references several letters from V. H. Cornman, and observes that based on them it would seem to be easy to recruiting Osage pupils for the Carlisle Indian School.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Pratt References Letter Regarding Osage Children92.8 KB
January 19, 1881
E. Ballon writes to the E. M. Marble, the Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs that he was informed of the decision to enroll Arapaho students at Carlisle. He notes that Black Coal was excited at this response and immediately went to gather…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Arapaho Children to be Sent to Carlisle479.89 KB
January 19-20, 1881
These materials include a cover letter and a Descriptive Statement of Pupils regarding 25 children transferred to the Carlisle Indian School from the Tullahassee Mission in Muscogee Indian Territory.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence, Reports
View Document: Descriptive Statement of Pupils from Tullahassee Mission, 1881636.9 KB
January 20-25, 1881
Carlisle Indian School physician, C. H. Hepburn, reports on the death of Dennis Strikes First due to typhoid pneumonia on January 19, 1881.
Note: In this record the student is identified as Denis.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Student Illness, Student Deaths
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Report on the Death of Dennis (Strikes First)580.67 KB
January 21, 1881
Captain Pratt writes to inform the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that he has just received notice that 25 Creek students are arriving at the Carlisle Indian School on January 22.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Arrival of 25 Creek Students270.99 KB
January 21, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt notes that when he spoke to American Horse and other Sioux Chiefs in 1880 as they returned home they were promised a light wagon produced at Carlisle. According to Pratt sending the wagons along with some tinware would be a…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Proposal to Send Industrial Articles to Rosebud and Pine Ridge Agencies501.5 KB
January 25, 1881 - January 29, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt forwards a letter from George W. Lee, the Indian Agent at the Mackinac Agency, asking if it is possible to enroll some Chippewa students at Carlisle. If so, he would also like to know the terms and conditions of admission.…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Request for Enrollment
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Admit Chippewa Students at Carlisle511.9 KB
January 26, 1881 - January 27, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt forwards a report on the health of the newly arrived Creek students from the school physician C. H. Hepburn. Hepburn indicates four students who have been physically affected by previous illness and comments on the age of the…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Report of Medical Examination of Newly-Arrived Creek Students686.97 KB
January 28, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt objects to the gender imbalance among two incoming student groups from L. J. Miles and from the Northern Arapaho. He notes that the work details of the school are divided among the sexes and depends on an equal number of girls…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Objection to Present Composition of Arriving Students2.41 MB
January 28, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt requests from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that both L. J. Miles and E. Ballon should bring as many girls as boys to Carlisle otherwise they should not come. He notes that there are at present proportionately too many…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Enrollment Preferences
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Recruit an Equal Number of Girls273.17 KB
January 29, 1881
George L. Davenport, the Indian Agent at the Sac and Fox Agency in Tama, Iowa, notes that ex-Agent Trask's recommendation to enroll Jim Poweshiek at Carlisle is inadvisable. Davenport notes that Jim is 26 years old with a wife and child and can…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Agent Response to Enrolling Sac and Fox Student at Carlisle299.87 KB
January 29, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt recommends returning two students from the Sioux Nation. The first is Lawrence due to ill health and the second is Philip Good Voice due to a request from his father and his current home sickness which may lead to poor health…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Permission to Return Two Sioux Students Home457.91 KB
January 31, 1881
L. J. Miles, the Indian Agent at the Osage Agency, requests that if convenient when he accompanies Cheyenne children to Carlisle that the leave from Arkansas City and go through Chicago.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Transportation of Cheyenne Students to Carlisle709.67 KB
February 4, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt forwards a the lease and contract for the Parker Farm. The lease and contract stipulate how the government will farm under the lease.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: School Farms - Land Transactions
View Document: Parker Farm Lease2.12 MB
February 9, 1881 - February 17, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt forwards a report from the Carlisle School physician C. H. Hepburn on the health of students recently arrived from the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Pueblo Nations to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Physician's Report on Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Pueblo Students392.58 KB
February 9, 1881 - February 16, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt forwards a copy of a letter from Archibald Young - writing from Toronto, Canada - who is seeking information on the Carlisle Indian School as he is thinking of instituting a school on a similar basis. Pratt asks the…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request for Information on Carlisle from Toronto549.06 KB
February 10, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt notes that the Carlisle Herald and Valley Sentinel of Carlisle have the two largest circulations of the local papers and would be the best to advertise for material costs. He provides estimates for lumber; masonry excavation…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Advertising in Local Papers for Supplies346.56 KB
February 10, 1881
Richard Henry Pratt requests the authority to hire an office clerk at forty dollars a month. This is in addition to a request to hire a teacher at forty-five dollars a month due to the arrival of sixteen Cheyenne and Arapaho students who attend…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Hire a Clerk and Teacher486.04 KB
February 11, 1881
Envelope wrap detailing three miscellaneous receipts from Richard H. Pratt.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Miscellaneous
View Document: Treasury Department Wrap for Three Miscellaneous Receipts128.96 KB
February 12, 1881
U.S. Indian Agent for the La Pointe Agency, S. E. Mahan, writes that both Joseph Martin and Moses White are healthy and would meet the requirements for admission to the Carlisle School.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Request for Enrollment
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Enroll Joseph Martin and Moses White288.57 KB
February 15, 1881 - March 2, 1881
W. J. Cleveland writes to Richard Henry Pratt seeking clarification on the government's policy in regards to sending children home prior to their term of enrollment ending. Cleveland writes that since Spotted Tail was given permission to pay the…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Clarification Sought on Sending Children Home Early537.99 KB