What was the role of religion in Native American boarding schools? Why did federal officials connect the assimilation of Indigenous children with their acceptance and practice of Christianity? Did reform efforts in the 1930s and 1970s change how schools incorporated Christian instruction into their curriculum?

Note: This history of religion in boarding schools is not a commentary on Christian traditions or beliefs. Rather, it traces the importance of Christianity to federal officials in their efforts to assimilate Native American children and disconnect them from their own, varied, spiritual practices and beliefs.

The individuals who established and managed the Native American boarding school system viewed Christianity as a critical aspect of Native students’ successful assimilation. In some ways, boarding schools built upon the history of Christian missionary schools on reservations or within Indigenous communities. Though these groups did not manage the off-reservation boarding schools founded after 1879, missionaries were invited to take up residence at or near the schools and were tasked with the religious education of boarding school students.

There were key differences between the missionary and federal approaches to education. Whereas Christian missionaries tended to focus on saving souls, federal officials were focused on erasing Indigenous cultures and ensuring students’ assimilation. In the late 19th century, leaders such as Superintendent of Indian Schools Estelle Reel argued that one could not be “civilized” and living within U.S. society without being a Christian. In fact, she viewed the two as basically synonymous. Reel wrote in 1900, “…the Indian must be placed in school before the habits of barbarous life have become fixed, and there he must be kept until contact with our life has taught him to abandon his savage ways and walk in the path of Christian civilization.” Students were thus required to attend church services while enrolled boarding schools, and those who did not already belong to a specific church were “urged to affiliate with some denomination.” During the school week, students attended confession, took communion, and received religious instruction “Not exceeding two hours on a week day.” A 1902 policy further directed that “Church and mass attendance on Sundays, at hours agreed upon by the respective pastors, will be strictly insisted upon by the school superintendent.”

Above: The Catholic Church near Stewart in the 1950s and the campus Baptist mission in the 1970s and 2015.

How did this impact students at the Stewart Indian School? Religion was an important part of students’ lives, and they were required to engage with Christianity in a number of different ways. Through the 1920s, Sundays and some weekday evenings were devoted to church activities. School officials also invited local clergy to lead religious activities and later housed both a Baptist church and missionary. On Sundays, students were required to attend Sunday School at 9:15am, as well as a YM/WCA activity at 2:00pm, and a chapel service at 7:00pm. During the week, school missionaries hosted evening events, and students were encouraged to sing with the church choir. In 1914, Baptist missionary Lillian R. Corwin joined the mission and began organizing the religious education of the students. The importance of religious instruction at the school is indicated by the fact that Corwin’s activities were prominently featured in annual superintendent reports into the 1920s, and she was also given space to write a “Chapel Notes” section in the school newsletter.

Federal attitudes toward religious instruction in boarding schools changed somewhat in the 1930s following the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the appointment of John Collier as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1933. in January 1934, Collier proclaimed that Native Americans, including children attending boarding schools, should be afforded “the fullest constitutional liberty in all matters affecting religion, conscience, and culture.” Collier denounced students forced attendance of church services and admitted pupils were routinely denied Constitutional protections regarding freedom of religion. The Indian Office decided to adopt a policy similar to that which existed in public schools at that time: with parental consent, Native students could opt out of religious instruction without facing negative consequences. At the same time, however, local boarding school officials were instructed not to interfere with the work of missionaries who, according to the Indian Office, still provided a “valuable service” to Native students. This mixed message thus called for Native children to have religious freedom while at the same time allowing Christian missionaries to retain their access to boarding school students.

Above: A student baptism at the Stewart School, 1930s.

In spite of federal officials’ statements about religious liberty in the 1930s, religious instruction continued to be an important component of student life at the Stewart Indian School. In the 1930s and 1940s, missionaries remained stationed at Stewart, openly taught Christianity to students, and were again provided with a column in the school newspaper. Students recall attending weekly church services, and were also involved in church fundraising activities and annual Christmas pageants. They were also required to attend Bible Study classes and perform in the church choir. Former students further recall punishments, including scrubbing toilets and dorm rooms, if they refused to go to church or participate in missionary activities. At the same time, they recall the kindness of the missionaries and the snacks they served to students.

Students had similar experiences in the 1950s and 1960s. 1954, the Stewart campus church opened a student center, where pupils could play games, read, listen to music, and spend time together. The church also held monthly fellowship dinners and provided religious services and classes every day of the week. Students continued to attend church and participate in religious events, often under the guidance of school officials, singing, for example, religious songs at Thanksgiving events, or performing hymns for the student body.

School officials also continued to promote Christianity on campus throughout the 1970s, despite rules about religious freedom that emerged in the 1960s and the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. At Stewart, religious leaders from the Baptist, Catholic, and Latter Day Saints (Mormon) churches delivered graduation blessings in 1973, 1974, 1978, and 1979, and in 1980, the graduation ceremony was held at the local LDS church with Baptist and Catholic representatives also attending. The arrival of a new minister and his family at the Baptist Community Church also warranted an article in the school newspaper in December 1976. David and Donna Anderson shared their excitement in “working with the students at Stewart” and outlined the programs and activities available to the student body through their ministry. The Andersons also used the school newspaper to invite students to Sunday services at the church.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, federal officials encouraged Christian religious instruction at Native American boarding schools across the U.S. The connection between “civilizing” Native children and forcing their adoption of Christianity was one that never went away in boarding schools, and was intimately connected with assimilationist programs. Though the infringement of these policies on students’ right of religious freedom was acknowledged in the 1930s and 1970s, boarding school employees continued to foster relationships between Native students and missionaries. While some students may have appreciated these connections, Christianity was also a tool used by boarding school officials to assimilate generations of Native children.

Sources:

Harvard University. “The Pluralism Project: First Encounters: Natives and Christians.” (Accessed June 24, 2020) https://pluralism.org/first-encounters-native-americans-and-christians

National Archives and Records Administration. Records of the Educational Division. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75, National Archives - Pacific Region (San Francisco).

National Archives and Records Administration. Records of the Educational Division. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75, National Archives – Washington D.C.

National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. “For Churches.” (Accessed June 24, 2020) https://boardingschoolhealing.org/healing/for-churches/

Nevada Indian Commission: Stewart Indian School Oral History Project. University of Nevada, Reno Oral History Archive.

Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum Collection.