Student file of Matilda Thomas, a member of the Onondaga Nation, who entered the school on November 13, 1883 and ultimately departed on November 11, 1886. The student did not attend the school continuously but left and reentered. The file contains student information cards listing outings in Pennsylvania and New York.
Thomas, Matilda


Student information card of Matilda Thomas, a member of the Onondaga Nation, who entered the school on November 13, 1883 and departed on November 11, 1886.

The first page opened with a poem, "Thanksgiving Turkey," a play on the letters in the word "Turkey" followed by a description of the Acoma Pueblo by student Annie Thomas, entitled "A Queer Place To Live." This also was a subject of the article written about the monthly exhibition on page 3. The second page included news of students who…

Petition for the return of James Thomas, Matilda Thomas, and Mary Johnson from the Carlisle Indian School. The petitioners claim that the children were sent to Carlisle under the false pretense that the school was a school for white children that would allow their children to learn English. The petitioners further claim that Richard Henry Pratt…

Richard Henry Pratt answers a letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs regarding students from the Onondaga Nation and a disconnect regarding the status of R. H. Gardner as an Agent in New York. Pratt also encloses a letter from Julia E. Remington regarding sending home Onondaga students on vacation and their return to Carlisle as well as…

J. L. Thomas writes regarding a request from the Onondaga Nation to have their children returned from the Carlisle Indian School. Thomas references the Onondaga Chief Daniel La Fort's visit to Washington where he secured a promise to have the children returned home but has had no word since.

Correspondence regarding the enrollment of Onondaga students at the Carlisle Indian School between John A. Bowman, Alfred John Standing, Bishop Huntingdon, and Richard Henry Pratt. Pratt concludes the correspondence by forwarding everything to the Office of Indian Affairs requesting that they allow the students to enroll at Carlisle despite…