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.
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Male students posed in a field, kneeling on the ground planting onions. An instructor is overseeing their work, pointing.
Johnston took two very similar photographs of this scene. The other version can be seen in Related Images.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2004676454/.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Male and female students posed with white female teacher in a classroom. At the rear of the classroom are two male students, drawing maps of South America on the blackboard, with printed maps of the world and South America hanging beside them. A male student is standing at the rear reading from a book.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. When the school closed in 1918, two albums of Johnston's photographs were sent to the Pennsylvania State Museum, which transferred them to the Cumberland County Historical Society in 1934. This is one of the images from those albums.
This image with the caption FOURTH GRADE appears in The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa.: 23rd Year (Carlisle, PA: The School, 1902) [p. 74].
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Male students seated as audience facing a male student addressing the group from a podium. A white female teacher and four male students are seated behind the speaker.
Johnston took two very similar photographs of this classroom. The other version can be seen in Related Images.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2004676455/
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Female students posed with white female teacher in cooking class with "Breakfast Lesson" written on the blackboard.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2004676524/.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Seven female students posed standing at a table peeling vegetables.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2008675517/.
This image, with the caption PREPARING VEGETABLE, appears in The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa.: 23rd Year (Carlisle, PA: The School, 1902) [p. 18].
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Male and female students and a white female teacher posed around a table, with glasses and bottles, and a male student seated with a cello. On the blackboard behind them is written "Experiment IX."
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2008675518/ .
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Young male and female students posed standing at the front of a classroom with a female white teacher. A lesson about "Buds" is written on the blackboard.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2008675516/.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Male and female students posed in classroom with a white female teacher. Two male students are standing at the rear, drawing geometry diagrams on the blackboard.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. When the school closed in 1918, two albums of Johnston's photographs were sent to the Pennsylvania State Museum, which transferred them to the Cumberland County Historical Society in 1934. This is one of the images from those albums.
This image with the caption SIXTH GRADE, ADVANCED appears in The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa.: 23rd Year (Carlisle, PA: The School, 1902) [p. 78].
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
The male students of the band, posed with their instruments, seated and standing at the bandstand. The band director, James Riley Wheelock, is standing in the center at the front.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2008675520/.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Richard Henry Pratt seated on a horse.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2008675529/.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Male and female students posed with white female teacher in a classroom with laboratory equipment.
Johnston took two very similar photographs of this classroom group. The other version can be seen in Related Images.
The Cumberland County Historical Society's cataloging of the other version of this image idenfies this as "Miss Cutter's Physics Class."
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2008675521/
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Male and female students posed in a classroom with a white female teacher.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. When the school closed in 1918, two albums of Johnston's photographs were sent to the Pennsylvania State Museum, which transferred them to the Cumberland County Historical Society in 1934. This is one of the images from those albums.
This image appears with the caption FIFTH GRADE in The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa.: 23rd Year (Carlisle, PA: The School, 1902) [p. 75].
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Female students posed at ironing boards.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. Johnston donated her personal papers, including 103 prints of the photographs taken at Carlisle, to the Library of Congress.
A copy of this print is available for download from the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2008675525/.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
Group of students posed out of doors with white female teacher. The teacher is holding a branch.
In 1901 the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston to document the school at Carlisle for an exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Johnston visited the school in the spring of that year and took at least one hundred photographs. When the school closed in 1918, two albums of Johnston's photographs were sent to the Pennsylvania State Museum, which transferred them to the Cumberland County Historical Society in 1934. This is one of the images from those albums.
This image with the caption THIRD GRADE, OUT DOOR LESSON appears in The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa.: 23rd Year (Carlisle, PA: The School, 1902) [p. 72].
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
The handwritten note on the reverse side reads: Shoe Shop. Repairing.
Note: The Library of Congress has a copy of this photo in its Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection: https://www.loc.gov/item/2006675679/
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections
Male and female students posed holding sheets of music with white female choir director and accompanist at right.
Johnston took two very similar photographs of the choir. The other one is linked in Related Images.
This image with the caption CHOIR appears in The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa.: 23rd Year (Carlisle, PA: The School, 1902) [p. 87].
Format: Photograph, Reproduction
Repository: Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections
Previous cataloging identified the students as being from Alaska and provides a date of 1901 for the image. It also identifies the white man as an Indian agent.
Based on this, this group would be the one that arrived July 11, 1901 from Woody Island, Alaska. The issue of the school newspaper also mentions that a Mr. C. E. Bunnell accompanied the group, so he is the white man in this photo. The female student in the center left is likely Kate Shepherd.
Here is the description from The Red Man and Helper (Vol. 2, No. 3) August 16, 1901:
"Mr. C. E. Bunnell is making a flying trip to the East during vacation. He took with him eleven young people to attend the Carlisle Indian School. Kate Shepherd, Anastatia Perrin [Anastasia Ashouwak], John Lolchesnekoff, Theodore Schclikoff [Fadya Shellikoff], Sashka Alexander, George Calaktinoff, and Michael Chabitnoy went from the Orphanage; Olsena Sperbaek [Orleana Yakoff], Pariscovia Feoderoff [Friendoff; Fadaoff] and Nikifer Shouchuk [middle of back row, tallest], from Wood Island : and Peter Debrowolsky from Kodiak."
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Portrait of student Nikefer Shoushick.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
Nikefer Shoushick posed on a field in football uniform and holding a football.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: U. S. Army Heritage and Education Center
Studio portrait of fifteen male students, most in sweaters with "P" on them, (one with "C" sweater). The student in the middle was identified as Dennison Wheelock. One student is holding a football with "02" written on it.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: U. S. Army Heritage and Education Center
Football players in action on a playing field.
Format: Photographic Print, B&W
Repository: U. S. Army Heritage and Education Center
A herd of cows in an enclosure next to the school barn.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
View of the interior of the school's laundry building.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
A view of the school's tin shop.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society
View of the school's Harness Shop.
Format: Glass Plate Negative
Repository: Cumberland County Historical Society