Everyday Life at the Stewart Indian School – Part 1

What was a typical school day like for students who attended the Stewart Indian School? The answer depends on a number of factors. Students who attended in the 1890s and early 1900s were subjected to a highly regimented, strictly assimilationist environment, whereas students who attended in the 1970s had much more freedom to express themselves and explore their Indigenous identities. National politics are another important factor: the 1934 passage of the Indian New Deal changed many aspects of student life at Stewart, as did termination and relocation laws in the 1950s. However, some student experiences remained constant over the 90-year period Stewart was open. Alumni from every decade report varying forms of abuse at the school, forced Christian religious instruction, and negotiating with teachers who underestimated their intelligence and resilience. At the same time, former students also recall lifelong friendships forged at Stewart, moments of pan-tribal solidarity, and glorious moments spent performing in the school band or participating in Stewart’s decorated athletic programs. All of these moments are important in telling the story of the Stewart Indian School.

This post explores just a few of the ways daily life changed between 1890 and the end of World War II. Next week, I’ll discuss the late 1940s through the school’s closure in 1980.

**Also: The Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum has a great exhibit describing how students’ lives changed over the 90 years the school was open. Since it is currently closed, I am including images from the museum throughout this post. Please go see it for yourself when the world is open for business again!**

Daily Life During the Early Years: 1890-1920s

When the first off-reservation boarding school opened in 1879, the operating principle was “kill the Indian to save the man.” Everything about Native cultures was deemed inferior, and school officials did everything they could to try and destroy students’ connections with their tribal nations, languages, and values. This led to a strict system through which school officials attempted to control all aspects of students’ behavior.

During this period, Stewart students woke up 5:00 in the morning, put on their uniforms, participated in military drills before breakfast, and then went to class. They marched in military formations to all activities. Pupils spent their mornings in academic lessons and their afternoons engaged in vocational training. Teachers focused their lessons on developing English language skills, counting, and basic math, and addressed topics such as patriotism and “orderly living,” as a means of advancing Native children’s assimilation. Religious instruction was also considered paramount. Sundays and some evenings were devoted to church activities, and school officials invited local clergy to lead religious activities and later housed both a Baptist church and a resident missionary. On Sundays, students were required to attend Sunday School.

Vocational training was another major part of student life at Stewart. Afternoons were generally devoted to gendered physical work, which school officials considered to be the most important aspect of students’ educations. Male Stewart students learned carpentry, blacksmithing, tailoring, shoe making, harness making, farming, plumbing, and how to operate dairy equipment. Female students focused on domestic skills, which included cooking, baking, sewing, laundry, and housekeeping. This training was viewed as critically important because it taught students how to support themselves financially when they graduated. Students also worked outside jobs as well, through what was called the “outing program.” Stewart students participated in the outing program to gain work experience, earn money, and to enhance their assimilation by spending time with white employers.

1920s: Beginnings of Reform: 1920s-1934

In the 1920s, increasing numbers of boarding school graduates advocated for dramatic changes in the boarding school system. After some limited progress in the early 1920s, a massive study on Native American education occurred, with the result published in the 1928 Meriam Report. This report criticized the Indian school system as overcrowded, dirty, and lacking proper academic and vocational instruction, largely due to inadequate government funding. Students suffered from malnutrition and preventable illnesses, and were subjected to corporal punishment by school staff for minor infractions. The report also decried the militaristic nature of the schools and recommended that regimented drills and marching cease. As a result, federal officials took initial steps to improve material conditions and educational programs at boarding schools.

At Stewart, these reform efforts resulted in specific changes to students’ experiences at the school. In 1927, Stewart joined a statewide athletics association as a means of encouraging interaction between Stewart and public-school students. In 1928, the first playground was installed at the school for the enjoyment of younger students, and the amount of time students spent working on projects to improve school facilities was reduced. Stewart added a tenth-grade class in 1929, a dorm for younger female students was constructed, and students in the 4th through 7th grades planted a garden to supplement student meals.

In 1930, as a result of increased federal appropriations to the Indian Service, funding for another new dorm, a shop vocational building, a laundry facility, and a commissary was allocated, and school officials asked for additional funds for a new gym and a building in which to teach home economics classes. In 1931, every classroom was fitted with a library of at least 100 books, which included primers for the younger students. All teachers received assignment books, monthly exams and grades were given, and a written report was produced for each child. These changes improved students’ access to educational materials and eased some of the crowding at Stewart.

The New Deal Years: 1934-1945

Daily life at boarding schools changed once again with the passage of the Indian New Deal in 1934. After the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, newly appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier worked quickly to reshape the relationship between the federal government and Indigenous tribes. In 1934, two pieces of legislation emerged out of Collier’s efforts: the Johnson-O’Malley Act, which authorized federal contracts to pay local school districts for enrolled Native pupils, and the Indian Reorganization Act, which ended the allotment of Native lands, called for the rebuilding of tribal governments, and the protection of Indigenous cultures. Collectively, these programs are often referred to as the ‘Indian New Deal.’ For Native American boarding schools, the Indian New Deal led to significant policy changes. Schools had to cease using corporal punishment against students, end religious proselytizing, stop punishing students for speaking Indigenous languages, and permit limited expressions of tribal identities among students.

Not all of these policies were embraced by Stewart Indian School employees. Religion and student baptisms continued at the school, as did episodes of corporal punishment. However, students also had more leisure time during this period, new student activities in which to participate, and the opportunity to create and sell Indigenous crafts through a school-sponsored artist cooperative. Academic classes that focused on Indigenous history also emerged during this period, and some school officials demonstrated a willingness to listen to Indigenous parents and craft school programs according to their wishes. Though a period of reform, many aspects of the assimilationist mission of the boarding school system also remained during this period, particularly with regard to the gendered vocational programs that remain in place throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

 Thank you for reading and see you next week for part two of student life at the Stewart Indian School.

 - Samantha

 Sources:

Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, RG 75; National Archives - Pacific Region (San Francisco).

Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, RG 75; National Archives and Records Building, Washington, D.C.

Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum Collection.