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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November 16, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt informs the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that they have not yet completed the order for collars or harnesses.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives microfilm reels (M234), which were filmed from the…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Harness and Collar Order not yet Fulfilled206 KB
November 16, 1880
E. Hind states that he recently visited the Carlisle Indian School and was very impressed by the work being done there. He asks for information on how the school pays its expenses and for specific details on the Civilization Fund.
Note:…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request for Information on the Civilization Fund134.28 KB
November 18, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt informs Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz that the presidents of Amherst, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Rochester universities are all invited and will visit the Carlisle Indian School near the end of December.
Note:…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Visits by Notable People
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Plan for College and University Presidents to visit the Carlisle Indian School146.82 KB
November 18, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt transmits his Report of Irregular Employees for October 1880.
Note: The report itself was missing from the microfilm reels at the National Archives.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: School Employees - General
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Report of Irregular Employees, October 1880137.53 KB
November 18, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt states that last year both the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs agreed that he should rent a farm adjoining the Carlisle Indian School to teach male students how to farm "general crops" and female…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Rent 110 Acre Farm from Mr. Parker302.16 KB
November 19, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests authority to spend $200 on repairing floors and enlarging the wash and bathroom facilities in the boys' quarters.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives microfilm reels (M234), which were filmed…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Building Repairs and Expansions
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Repair Floors and Enlarge Bathroom Facilities in Boys' Quarters130.37 KB
November 22, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt explains to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that the price of lumber has increased by 25% since building the chapel. He also describes his issues in obtaining funding to install steam heating in the boys' quarters, and due…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Funding Issues with Building New Hospital214.69 KB
November 22, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests to purchase a four foot extension to the school's cooking range and two copper boilers totaling $126. He explains that the current range is too small to accommodate the recent increase in students.
Note: This…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Extend Cooking Range and to Purchase Two Copper Boilers129.84 KB
November 22, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests to spend $90 on butter, eggs, milk, and other food that the school physician believes is necessary for the students in poor health.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives microfilm reels (M234…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Food and Dining, Medical Care at School
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Purchase Special Food Supplies for Sick Students130.05 KB
November 22, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt submits a "Special" Estimate of Funds form for $1,700 that includes traveling expenses, supplies, employee pay, and contingencies.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives microfilm reels (M234), which…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
View Document: Special Estimate of Funds, Fourth Quarter 1880765.8 KB
November 24, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt provides a report on the seven potential plots of land they could rent and use as a school farm. He provides details on pricing, distance from the school, contracts, size of the plot, and taxes, with certain plots having…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: School Farms - Land Transactions
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Information on Potential Plots of Land to Rent for School Farm376.87 KB
November 29, 1880 - December 21, 1880
Second Auditor O. Ferriss allows Sheldon Jackson's claims for $197.97 and $23.90 for travel expenses incurred while transporting Indian students from New Mexico to the Carlisle Indian School in the Summer of 1880. Jackson encloses the claim to…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
View Document: Claim for Traveling Expenses while Transporting Southwestern Indian Students181.04 KB
December 1, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests to visit Washington, D.C. to discuss the need for a school farm. He also requests to visit New York to purchase an addition to their cooking range and material to manufacture clothing and to meet with Frank D. Karr to…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Visit Washington to Discuss the need for a School Farm148.23 KB
December 3, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt informs the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that he's received the two new students from Bishop Huntington. He sent the first one home almost immediately due to poor health, but the second one was fine, and he receives…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Issues with Two New Students that are Former Florida Prisoners212.38 KB
December 3, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt transmits his Report of Irregular Employees for November 1880.
Note: The report itself was missing from the microfilm reels at the National Archives.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: School Employees - General
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Report of Irregular Employees, November 1880134.24 KB
December 4, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests to spend $645 on flour and $1,686 on beef for the first quarter of 1881.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives microfilm reels (M234), which were filmed from the original documents found in…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Food and Dining
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Purchase Beef and Flour, First Quarter 1881142.08 KB
December 5, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt informs Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs P. M. Roberts that he received a letter from Mr. Ballou, a teacher at the Shoshone and Bannock Agency, looking to send Northern Arapaho students to the Carlisle Indian School.…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Request for Enrollment
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Possibility of Sending Northern Arapaho Students to Carlisle160.58 KB
December 6-13, 1880
Seven letters, written between December 6 and December 13, 1880, from Richard Henry Pratt to Chief White Thunder about the illness of his son, Ernest.
Repository: Yale University Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Topics: Student Illness
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Letters from Pratt to White Thunder about the Health of Ernest, 18801.32 MB
December 6, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt informs the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that Chief White Thunder's son, Ernest, is very sick and may die. Pratt believes that it's "entirely his fault" and that he "wants to die."
Note: This item was copied from U.S…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Student Illness, Student Deaths
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Potentially Terminal Illness of Ernest (Knocks Off)135.71 KB
December 6, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt informs the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that his students are very hard on their clothes and that many of them have outgrown their clothing from a year ago. He requests to spend $2,000 on materials needed to manufacture new…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request for Funds to Purchase Materials to Manufacture School Uniforms209.66 KB
December 6, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs approves spending $300 to convert the stable to a gymnasium for the male students. Pratt explains that they moved the animals to the rented school farm and no longer use the…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Convert Stable to Gymnasium142.92 KB
December 6, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests to purchase 300 washable bedspreads and blankets for the male students in order to increase cleanliness. Pratt notes that he believes it will cost $495 or less.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Topics: Student Living Conditions
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Purchase 300 Washable Bedspreads and Blankets142.89 KB
December 6, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests to purchase livestock amounting to $1,000 to stock the new school farm. Pratt notes that he would like to purchase 4 horses or mules, 12 cows, 1 blooded bull, 25 sheep, 2 sows, 1 boar, and 50 chickens.
Note:…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Purchase 95 Animals for the School Farm145.58 KB
December 6, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests to purchase a variety of school supplies in the open market amounting to $1,100 during the first quarter of 1881.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives microfilm reels (M234), which were filmed…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Purchase Supplies, First Quarter 1881147.89 KB
December 6, 1880
Richard Henry Pratt requests authority to kill two worn out mules.
Note: This item was copied from U.S. National Archives microfilm reels (M234), which were filmed from the original documents found in Record Group 75, Entry 79, "Letters…
Repository: National Archives and Records Administration
Format: Letters/Correspondence
View Document: Request to Put Down Two Unhealthy Mules138.81 KB