View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarWorks@UARK University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 8-2012 A Way Out: The iH story of the Outing Program from the Haskell Institute to the Phoenix Indian School Alexandria L. Gough University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Gough, Alexandria L., "A Way Out: The iH story of the Outing Program from the Haskell Institute to the Phoenix Indian School" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 545. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/545 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. A WAY OUT: THE HISTORY OF THE OUTING PROGRAM FROM THE HASKELL INSTITUTE TO THE PHOENIX INDIAN SCHOOL A WAY OUT: THE HISTORY OF THE OUTING PROGRAM FROM THE HASKELL INSTITUTE TO THE PHOENIX INDIAN SCHOOL A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History By Alexandria L. Gough University of Arkansas Bachelor of Arts in History, 2010 August 2012 University of Arkansas ABSTRACT From the earliest years of the United States, its leaders wrestled with the perceived need to assimilate Indian peoples into American society. Many believed that Indians in their “natural” condition were cultural primitives incapable of taking part in national life. However, with proper guidance they could be elevated to a level of civilization that would allow them to join the national family. After the conclusion of the Indian Wars in the 1880’s, the United States government began to address the continued “Indian” problem by establishing Indian boarding schools. Indian children attended school to learn to behave as white, Christian and productive members of society. Students attending the off-reservation boarding schools, like the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas and the Phoenix Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona were taught the fundamentals of education and a trade so they could eventually provide for themselves and their families without government support. In order to further reinforce these principles, students participated in the outing program, where they could work for local white families. This program allowed students to develop working relationships with whites, earn spending money, and practice what they learned at school in a practical setting. While this program was initially designed to quickly assimilate native children into white, middle class society, the program ensnared Native Americans in a constant state of wage labor. Students who graduated from the boarding schools often could not find jobs within their trade and many who returned home were ostracized for not knowing their traditional language and customs. These students, being caught between two worlds, were essentially assimilated as unskilled and inexpensive laborers willing to work for white employers. The outing program partially achieved the goal of assimilation, but Indians did not achieve equal standing with whites. Instead, the outing program assimilated Indians by becoming common laborers for whites. This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. Thesis Director: _____________________________________ Dr. Elliott West Thesis Committee: _____________________________________ Dr. James Gigantino _____________________________________ Dr. Patrick Williams ©2012 by Alexandria L. Gough All Rights Reserved THESIS DUPLICATION RELEASE I hereby authorize the University of Arkansas Libraries to duplicate this thesis when needed for research and/or scholarship. Agreed________________________________________ Alexandria Gough Refused________________________________________ Alexandria Gough ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is my pleasure to thank everyone who has helped shape this thesis into what it is today. This thesis originated as an undergraduate honors thesis under the direction of Dr. Elliott West, who helped me formulate my theories about the effectiveness of the outing program. After a successful honors thesis defense, I decided to continue my research on Indian boarding schools by looking at both the Haskell Institute and the Phoenix Indian School. Through the expansion of my original research I met many new people who had an immense impact on my research. First and foremost, the staff at the National Archives offices in Washington, D. C., Kansas City, Missouri, and Riverside, California aided my research with their knowledge of the collections and with the unenviable task of photocopying. I am also so thankful to them for allowing me to photograph literally thousands of documents. Without their kindness and their knowledge of their collections, this thesis could not have been written. My advisor, Dr. West, has continued to be instrumental in the writing of this thesis and my education. His enduring patience of my hypothetical questions is remarkable. He has always been generous with his time and has been a thoughtful editor all the while encouraging me to think about the subject in new and inventive ways. Without his support, I know I could not be where I am today. A special word of thanks goes to Dr. James Gigantino. Dr. Gigantino and I have gone round for some time now. As my first professor as a graduate student, he pushed, stretched, and demanded that I continue to grow in my thinking and writing. After taking more classes with him than any other professor in the department, I can honestly say I have grown. Never one to shy away from my frantic mid-night or vacation intruding emails, I’ve received some of the most valuable pieces of advice that I will not easily forget. Thank you for everything. Last but certainly not least, in any respect, I thank my family. Only they know how hard this last year has been for me, but they have never stopped encouraging me and praying for me. They are now, and have been, and always will be my cheerleaders. I love you! TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….1 II. Vocational Training in the West……………………………………………...18 III. The Outing Program…………………………………………………………43 IV. Student Experiences…………………………………………………………67 V. Community Reactions to Outing……………………………………………..90 VI. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….109 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………126 1 Introduction From the earliest years of the republic, its leaders wrestled with the perceived need to assimilate Indian peoples into American society. Many believed that Indians in their “natural” condition were cultural primitives incapable of taking part in national life. However, with proper guidance they could be elevated to a level of civilization that would allow them to join the national family. But, to successfully assimilate, Native Americans, they had to adopt Christianity, practice European farming techniques, embrace certain moral fundamentals, including monogamy, and learn the many social customs of the American mainstream. Ultimately, whites required Indians to surrender their own cultures. Initially, the responsibility for accomplishing this great change fell to missionaries and agents living among independent Indian peoples, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs expected this to take many generations. During the 19th century, and especially after the Mexican Cession and Oregon Treaty that secured American hegemony over the continent, government officials and the American people alike realized that the transformation of Indians into white needed to be accomplished far sooner. With the defeat of the last resistant Indians after the Civil War, government officials turned to ever more rigorous methods to meet the old goals of turning indigenous peoples into potential citizens. Education of Indian youth always had been a prime part of assimilation programs since the efforts of the first missionaries, and now the government re-examined Indian education with an eye to using it to accelerate the cultural evolution of native peoples. Though education would help deliver all Indians from their plight, government officials realized that they would be most successful by focusing on children rather than adults. The Bureau of Indian Affairs saw adult Indians as resistant to change, but they believed young children would be more receptive to education and white society. 2 Many believed that Indian children, if educated in a school setting similar to white children, could enjoy the same opportunities as any upper-class white child.1 In 1900, officials at the Department of the Interior argued that since “the disposition and hereditary instinct of the old and conservative Indian cannot be changed, governmental support should be provided “to train the next generation of these people so that they may become stronger mentally, morally, and physical[ly].”2 The Interior Department believed this education essential, as it would not only pacify Indians but save the government money. In the years after the Civil War the federal government spent one million dollars for each Indian killed in battle while educating one Indian child for eight years, and thereby assimilating him, only cost $1,200. In addition, after the Indians became educated and especially if they could be taught a trade, they could support themselves rather than relying upon government