The Portland daily press., 1894-02-23
THE INDIAN SCHOOLS
Their Remarkable Progress in Seven Years
The Twenty Training Schools

menu Is bHe WORD or the ho"i ~ WV
routine appropriations as well as IN new
legislation, the hope is expressed that IN
the estimates for the Indian service the
cause of education will not be maze to
suffer.
A review of the past seven years shows
that the growth in desirable results ac-
eomplished has admirably kept pace with
the increase of outlays on Indian schools.
In 1887 there were enrolled in the govern
ment schools of all kinds 1902 pupils,
and in the contract schools 4,3T1, MAX
ing ii, 1913 in ALL In 1888 the number i'll
the government schools had increased
to IA, 715, and in the contract schools to
6,125, certain additions making the as-
aregate 2l,117. This is an increase OF
nearly one-half in the number OF pupils.
and it was almost entirely effected III the
boarding schools, which are much the
| more expensive. Thus the government
+! day school pupils enrolled increased only
| from 3ll s in 1887 to 1859 i'll 1888, while
| in the contract day schools there was an
actual decrease from 1,004 to GIG in the
! same period. Hence the great increase
| of almost 1000 pupils IN the period spok-
| en- of is nearly all due to boarding
| schools.
| Again, as to the average attendance,
| taking boarding and day schools togeth-
Ell, it was only 4,066 in 1882; two years
| later had grown to GLIB; in two years
more to 9,6a0; IN 1858 to II APO. and TO
| 16, 1903 last year. The school attendance
therefore, has more than quadrupled in
a dozen years. Going back again to
1882. we find that the mum Der OF schools
! of all sorts was 1875 then, whereas it was
275 in 1893. Last year, also, four schools
of missionary societies were discontinued
and the public schools attended by In
| dian pupils are not reckoned in this
count. In short it may fairly he said
that tie increase of appropriations for
| school purposes has fully Justified itself
| in the results produced.
| A noteworthy advance during the last
| fiscal year was that of opening six new
| training schools, of which four original
! ed with Congress. There are now twenty
such schools, and Commissioner Browning
| believes that no more are needed. The
first one, at Carlisle, which is still
! much the largest, was opened in 1879,
year. and in 1883 the Port Stevenson.
| In 1884 the Chiloco, Genoa, Albu-
| querque, and Haskell schools were
opened, Grand junction following two
| years. later; in 1890 the Santa Fe, Fort
| Mojave and Carson schools; in 1891 the
Pierre and Phoenix; in 1892 the Fort
| Lewis and Fort Shaw; last year the Mt.
Pleasant, PERKS, Tomah, Pipestone and
| Flandreau.
| AS they are somewhat costly, from
| their appliances for instruction intrades,
| their number will not be increased, I'M
| less soma new need should be developed.
| The twenty schools can now accommo-
l i L. IL IN nnf nl l.
ment of 4, 346, and an average attendance
| of 1881. Commissioner Browning S
idea, however, is that 81 the purpose Tor
| which they were originally established
| should be more strictly adhered to than
| formerly; that is, that they should be re-
| garded as advanced schools, compare
| lively speaking, and that their pupils
| should as rule consist of those who
| have previously attended the reservation
| schools. and, having nearly or quite fin
| ished the reservation school, will profit
| by further training both il books and in
| industries" Such policy will make
| it unnecessary to provide more schools OF
| this character.
| The Indian appropriation act of July
| 10, 1892 provides that no children should
1 thereafter be put at Carlisle without
/ previous attendance for at least three
years elsewhere. According to the views
of Commissioner Browning, which are
eminenly judlcious, transfer from res
ervation to. a non-reservation school
| and privilege, and selections for such
| transfer should be carefully made, and
| based upon merit and proficiency.
| During the last fiscal year four board
| ing schools were opened among the Vest
ern Shoshones. the Hoopas, the Wiscon-
| sin Oneidas, and the ptes at Duray,
none of which tribes had previously had
| =. la,,J;nr, vobooI .frbu 0paidaS in
| ffty-nine pupils the first day, and offered
! in the first six weeks forty more pupils
| than the buildings would accommodate.
| Another new school of the last year
| was placed among the Cheyennes and
| Arapahoes, and, with accommodations
for IS pupils, it had all average attend
| auce of s., of whom four-ffths had never
been in school before. Mr.. Seger, the
superintendent, consulted the parents
| about discipline. Some urged turning
out the incorrigible, but the majority
thought that this might be sending
away these that needed school and school
| discipline most, and accordingly that
| instead, punishment should be applied,
| including whipping, if necessary. This
| last, however, was not found necessary,
and it was thought that perhaps one
| reason for the success achieved was that
| the children had been informed by the
| parents, thus taken into consultation,
that they were to OBEY Ghe rules. Inc
rules had also been made less severe than
| would have been the case in an older
| school. Since Mr.. Browning report was
| made new boarding schools, it is under
| stood, have been opened at Round Val
! ley, Standing Rock, and Rainy Noun
| tain.
The increase in day schools last year
was chiefly among the Pine Ridge
Sioux. who now have twenty OF them,
and there are fifteen more at Rosebud.
| There are numerous and excellent
| boarding and day schools on all the
| Sioux reservations, besides varions COLI
| tract schools, with three training schools
not far off, SO that the government may
! be considered as at last meeting the
| requirements of the Sioux treaties, :"
which rather literally promised "a
school and teacher for ever thirty. child
rem of school age" In fact, nearly half
of all the day schools are among the
Sioux. AS whole, the day schools as
has been seen, accommodate much fewer
pupils than the boarding schools; but,
as Commissioner Browning says, they
are unquestionably useful as stepping
stones to the boarding and the public
schools, and can often be established
where the others would not be practical
BILE. An interesting branch of education
| ic th a which ic Oivap nv Gnjttjno In