The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-09
A LITTLE INDIAN SCHOOL
Where Pupils Are Men and Women
as Well as Bows and Girls.

Out on the black prairie OF South Dakota, In
tho Wiley OF little ntrcam known IA Wound
ed Knee creek, there !s p frame schoolhouso
whcro all tho pupils Indians. In tho old
Days before they wcrc confined great
bodies or land called reservations. the Indians
used 10 hunt all over tho great Western coun-
Try. and while OF them could read and
write. yet tho small boys could follow
trail ocross the prairie many days ait.r II
~ns made, aud they could toll. from looking
ut the pony tracks. whether the rider was a
white mnn or an Indian.
hut after the last Indian war had been set
tlcd-aftcr tho braves had buried the hotohct
and tho pence papers had been signed by
nil the great Indian ohicfs-,hc Government
built schoolhouscs In many portions OF th1
reservations. and white teachers werc cent 10
teach the Indians how 10 rcod and write ana
to become good citizens.
And III" pupils not all boys and girls.
every school. In this particular school In iho
Wounded Knee valley there Is on" hoy about
Is years old. tho boy tothor. who Is Is years
old. and tho boys grandfather an old man
40 years old. all going To school In the same
room and all studying the same books ana tm, tn.
and rapidly than his father or grandfather
Gose.
When tho little Indian boys and girls drRt
como 10 Rchcol they wear the picturesque
clothes which the Indians wear In their half.
savage state But az soon as they enrolled
the Government supplies them with clothing
like that the white people wear Lucy's father
was grcnt warrior whcn he was a young
older; but hc wants his llttlo girl 10 learn TO
read and write To sew and 10 cook, and 10
keep house white girls do
over nj school In Montana, a lituc Indian
Sir day came school wcarhbS a purple
velvet dTcss covered with z@o0 elk teeth The
drcas was made just like a mcal-sac Win
nrm-holcs md n hole FOR the head but inc
elk teeth worth about $50 each SO that
this little girls dress could have been sold Tor
$500
The llttlo Indians when they first come TO
school DO not know how to do anything at
n hnN IA
they have TO learn a new language before thes
can learn 10 read. Yet thcy 10 this very
English quite we'll; but 1t takes long ,imo
for them TO learn 10 read. And ell the time
THAI they leaning 10 read and write, they
aro alpo learning to do tho things which any
lItlc American boy or girl does naturally.
The girls arc taught TO sew and TO cook and
to sweep. while the boyH learn 10 cut wood
TO farm. and TO take care Of horses. pigs and
COWS. Tho larger girls cook lunch for the
arc provided with kitchens and dning-rooms.
There IL ALEC llitie farm attached to eoeh
school and in IL tho boys grow all the Vcseta-
When recess time comes, the little Indians
get out ane play just as tho white children
and bats. ana everything OF that kind, md
they make just much noise az tho girls
and boys at any American school make
White people used 10 think tho Indians never
smiled nn1 never laughed but that was be
cause the Indians were shy and Backward
when white people wcro around When the
Indians got out b. themselves, they laugh and
joke have great fun.
Every year three or four Of the brightest
pupils at each school are taken down TO the
agency where the Indian agent lives. and arc
there glazed In tho boarding school. which Is
equipped by the Government. Al this big
school there always several hundred In
dian boys and girls. and The Government pays
all Jhcic expenses. Here they learn many
things not taught at tho day schools They
have sowing societies for the girls, and a
printing Office and brass band for tho boys
The girls make the clothes that both the girls
and boys wear and the boys In turn, make
shoes for them all Tho boys work the farm.
nnI tcnl the stock. and work in the harness
shop and the carpenter shop and lcrn oil
sorIe Of useful things OF that kind. while the
girls learn 10 and TO cook ana To take
Cnro % house
But after the little Indian IS through school
he s StilI far far behind the average whit"
boy or girl. for he has never had an oppor-
tunity OF seeing railroad trains and street
cars. and electric lights and gas stoves. and
sewing machines, and Thousands OF things win
which white children arc SuTr0unded-T. X.
Porter in st. S.cholas.