The Images section features photographs, postcards, and different types of artwork, as well as reproductions of images that appeared in newspapers, magazines, and other publications. These images all reflect the Carlisle Indian School students, facilities, and staff. Images available here are drawn from files housed at the U. S. National Archives, from collections of Carlisle Indian School materials housed at various archival repositories, and from a variety of published sources. Visitors to this website are also invited to share copies of photographs from their own personal and family collections; please contact us if you have images you would like to contribute.
Search Images
Please Note: The Search box above only searches certain fields in the Image Collection. To search the entire site, use the search box on the top left.
You are searching the title, description, photographer, and location fields.
Browse Images
Studio portrait of an older Native American man (seated), with two Native American men (standing), and two male students.
Previous cataloging indicates the older man is Not Afraid of Pawnees, a visiting chief. One of the students is identified as Joel Tyndall.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of eight male students, all wearing school uniforms. The caption states that they are all from the Chippewa nation.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of eight male students, all wearing school uniforms. The caption states that they are from the Chippewa nation.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of seven unidentified male students.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of nine students and three female students. The caption identifies them as being from the Cheyenne nation.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of Samuel Six Killer wearing school uniform.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of sixteen male students and four female students, all wearing school uniforms.
The handwritten caption on this album page, located between PA-CH-014a and this image (PA-CH2-14c) reads "Crow groups," so it is presumed that both of these groups of students are from the Crow nation. The National Anthropological Archives copy of this image also identifies them as Crow students.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of Martin Round Face, Charles Clawson, and an unidentified young man.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of six unidentified male students.
Previous cataloging identifies them as members of the Blackfoot nation, presumably from information in the caption.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of a Native American man. A later caption identifies him as "Na-chi-si, New Mexico Apache." Presumably he was a chief visiting the school.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of twelve male students. The caption says they are "Pine Ridge Sioux" and identifies them as:
Front row, seated: Thomas Black Bear, Alexander Man Above, Charles Smith, Andrew Beard, Herbert Good Boy, Robert Horse, and Phillip White.
Back row, standing: Samuel C. Deon, James One Star, Howard Slow Bull, Charles Brave, and Willis Black Bear.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of six visiting Sioux chiefs with six male students.
The Cumberland County Historical Society has another copy of this image and they have made the folowing identifications based on comparison with other photos: back row, second from the left, Chauncey Yellow Robe, third from the left, Horn Pipe; middle row, from left to right, Quick Bear, High Hawk, He Dog, Hollow Horn Bear, and Good Voice.
Previous cataloging interprets the handwritten caption for this image as containing the name Charles Smith. A Sioux student named Charles Smith did attend the school, overlapping with Chauncey Yellow Robe. He may be one of the other students here.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of seventeen male students, identified as "printer boys."
The Cumberland County Historical Society has two copies of this image: PA-CH2-058d and CS-CH-084.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of five unidentified male students: three younger boys wearing school uniforms, and two older male students.
Previous cataloging interprets part of the caption as reading James.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Portrait of a large group of female students with one white woman in the center, posed on the steps of a building on the school grounds. The caption identifies them as the student group the Endeavor Society and dates the image to 1890.
The Cumberland County Historical Society has two copies of this image: PA-CH2-007 and 10-B-21. The caption for the latter copy names the group as the Endeavor Literary Society.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of Joe Pawnee.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Portrait of a large group of male students, some holding instruments, with a white man in the center of the bottom row. They are posed on the front steps of a building on the school grounds. The caption states that this is the student group, "Invincible Society, 1890."
The Cumberland County Historical Society has two copies of this image: PA-CH2-008 and 10-B-32. The latter copy identifies this group as the Invincible Literary Society.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Portrait of a large group of male students, some in school uniforms and some not, posed on the steps of a building on the school grounds. There is a white man standing at the far right of the group. The caption states that this is the student group "Standard Society, 1890."
The Cumberland County Historical Society has two copies of this image: PA-CH2-009 and 10-B-20. In the latter, the group is identified as the Standard Literary Society.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Portrait of a large group of male students, some in uniform, some not, posed on the school grounds with fence and trees in background. There is a white man in the center of the group. The caption states that this is the student group, "Standard Society, 1890."
This image appears in United States Indian School Carlisle, Penna (Carlisle, PA: The School, [1895?]), p. 55. It is captioned there: THE STANDARD DEBATING SOCIETY.
The Standards represent the oldest Literary Society of the School and have had under various names twelve years of life. From a very crude beginning, through much coaching and fostering, its members have developed a society of debaters in which live questions of national and international policy, as well as grave ethical questions, are discussed, much to the benefit of the students and the School.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Portrait of male and female students posed on steps of a building on the school grounds. The caption says that they are "Assiniboine and Yankton Sioux from Fort Peck, Montana."
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of Harry Kohpay, Robert Penn, and Paul Lovejoy, all wearing athletic attire and posing with baseball equipment.
Note: The identificaiton of Robert Penn is preliminary.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of three unidentified male students.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of three unidentified male students.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Studio portrait of Susan Summers and Alice Sheffield, both probably wearing school uniforms.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Studio portrait of Wounded Yellow Robe (also known as Richard Yellow Robe), Henry Standing Bear, and Chauncey Yellow Robe (also known as Timber Yellow Robe).
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution