Documents
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.
Search Documents
Browse Documents
Date: December 29, 1920 - January 6, 1921
These materials include correspondence regarding a request from Eva Gould Metzger about whether and why the Carlisle Indian School was closed.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Date: February 18, 1921 - March 7, 1921
These materials include letters from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to former Carlisle Indian School employees regarding the origins of some artifacts from the school. The artifacts, including a beaded buckskin coat, an old gun, a model of a three-masted ship, and a model of a battleship, could not be positively identified by the employees.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: 
Artifacts from the Carlisle Indian School
Date: April 13-20, 1921
This material includes correspondence between Henrietta Nelson, the secretary of Wellsburg High School's Athletic Assocation, and E. B. Merritt, the Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs concerning the restoration of the Carlisle Indian School to the War Department and its transformation into a War Hospital treating soldiers after its closure in 1918.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Date: April 27, 1921 - May 5, 1921
This material includes correspondence between Mrs. Jerry Snyder, nee Daisy Doctor, to the Assistant Commissioner Charles H. Buck regarding her relation to Laura M. Doctor.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Letter from Mrs. Jerry Snyder Concerning Laura M. Doctor
Date: June 1, 1921 - April 11, 1922
These materials include correspondence and a pamphlet regarding George W. Tibbetts' eligibility for coverage under Minnesota's Soldiers' Bonus Act. Minnesota's Attorney General ruled that, because Tibbetts had initially claimed exemption from drafted military service on the grounds that he was not a citizen of the United States, he was not entitled to a bonus for his voluntary military service because he was classified as an Alien Objector.
Tibbetts' claim was initially denied based on citizenship and alien
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Military Service
Date: June 4-11, 1921
This material includes correspondence between Elias Bissell and Assistant Commissioner E. B. Merritt inquiring as to whether the Carlisle Indian School will be reopened.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Inquiry Regarding Closure of the Carlisle Indian School
Date: September 25, 1921 - October 1, 1921
This document contains correspondence between M. W. Acheson and Assistant Commisioner E. B. Merritt. Acheson inquired as to the permanence of the closure of the Carlisle Indian School, and in response Merritt informed him of its definite closure due to the need for the campus at the end of World War I, and listed other Indian Schools that still remained open.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Inquiry Regarding Closure of the Carlisle Indian School
Date: June 2-3, 1922
This document contains correspondence between former Carlisle student R. J. Bonga and Assistant Commissioner E. B. Merritt concerning Bonga's desire to enroll students from his area in the closed Carlisle Indian School.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Date: June 9-10, 1922
This document contains correspondence between Albert W. Blake, the editor of The Christian Science Monitor, and the Assistant Commisioner E. B. Merritt concerning Blake's interest in a potential continuation of industrial training despite the closure of the Carlisle Indian School.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Inquiry Regarding the Fate of the Carlisle Indian School
Date: March 5-22, 1924
These materials include correspondence and a draft letter to Congress regarding an upcoming bill to transfer the Carlisle Indian School campus from the Department of the Interior to the Department of War. Included is a copy of an earlier letter, from 1918, discussing the possibility of such a transfer.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Date: November 9, 1925 - December 4, 1925
These materials contain correspondence regarding Gertrude Provost's time as a student at Carlisle.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Record of Gertrude Provost
Date: December 5-24, 1925
This material includes correspondence between L. J. Williams and Assistant Commisioner E. B. Merritt. Williams had requested help in locating a former student, known only by the surname Bishop, to resolve a business dispute.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Incident Between L. J. Williams and Mr. Bishop
Date: April 18, 1926 - May 4, 1926
This material includes correspondence between R. D. Hetrick and Assistant Commissioner E. B. Merrit. Hetrick sent a letter concerning carpets for the Carlisle Indian School, and Merritt responded that the school had closed.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Commercial Solicitation for Carpeting
Date: April 27, 1926 - May 4, 1926
T. H. Schimfessel asks the "Athletic Coach" at the Carlisle Indian School if he knew of any good pitchers because he is organizing an all-Indian baseball team to tour the east coast. Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs E. B. Meritt informs Schimfessel that the school closed in 1918 and refers him to the Assistant Superintendent in Charge of the Haskell Institute or the Chilocco Boarding School Superintendent.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Baseball, Professional Athletics
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Search for Indian Baseball Pitchers
Date: May 1-11, 1926
These materials contain correspondence regarding an inquiry into the Carlisle school record of Paul Purdy.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Inquiry Into Paul Purdy
Date: August 9, 1926 - September 2, 1926
This material includes a request from the Free Library of Philadelphia for copies of the Annual Report of the Carlisle Indian School. The request was forwarded to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics:
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Date: June 8, 1927 - June 21, 1927
Mrs. Calvin Burns asks the Carlisle Indian School regarding how much material she needs for a rug. Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs E. B. Meritt informs her that the school is closed.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
Date: August 25, 1927 - September 7, 1927
These materials contain correspondence regarding an inquiry by the Municipal Court of Philadelphia into an alleged former student, Edna Roberts.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Former Student
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Inquiry into Edna Roberts
Date: January 28, 1928 - August 9, 1928
These materials contain correspondence regarding various inquires made to the Carlisle Indian School in 1928. The various senders are all notified of the closure of the school.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Inquiries Regarding Closure of the Carlisle Indian School
Date: November 28, 1928 - December 22, 1928
These materials include a request from Gerda-Maria Morris of Berlin, Germany for information about the Carlisle Indian School. Morris sought information for a book or film on Native American history. Her request, sent to Carlisle after she obtained copies of the school magazine the Red Man, was forwarded to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which responded.
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence