Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1999 Federal Indian policy and the St Francis Mission School on Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota: 1886-1908 Karla Lee Ekquist Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Other Education Commons, Other History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Ekquist, Karla Lee, "Federal Indian policy and the St Francis Mission School on Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota: 1886-1908 " (1999). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 12660. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/12660 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. 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Ann Artx)r, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Federal Indian policy and the St. Francis Mission School on Rosebud Reservation, South Dal(ota: 1886-1908 by Karia Lee Ekquist A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Agricultural History and Rural Studies Major Professor: George McJimsey Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1999 Copyright © KarIa Lee Ekquist, 1999. All Rights Reserved. UMI Number: 9940197 Copyright 1999 by Ekquist, Karla Lee All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9940197 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ii Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Doctoral dissertation of Karia Lee Ekquist has nnet the dissertation requirements of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. Major Pr{6^ssor Signature was redacted for privacy. For ^ Major Program Signature was redacted for privacy. or the Graduate College iii For my parents Donald G. Ekquist and Diane R. Ekquist iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER TWO. PRE-CONTACT EDUCATION AMONG THE 7 SICANGU CHAPTER THREE. YOU MUST KNOW THAT DIFFERENT NATIONS 50 HAVE DIFFERENT CONCEPTIONS OF THINGS CHAPTER FOUR. ST. FRANCIS MISSION SCHOOL 1886-1890: 98 THE FIRST YEARS CHAPTER FIVE. NEW CHALLENGES 133 CHAPTER SIX. TREATY AND TRUST FUNDS: ST. FRANCIS 172 MISSION SCHOOL'S FIGHT FOR FUNDING CHAPTER SEVEN. CONCLUSION 212 APPENDIX A. SIOUX LAND REDUCTIONS BY TREATY 220 APPENDIX B. REDUCTION OF THE GREAT SIOUX 221 RESERVATION APPENDIX C. ROSEBUD RESERVATION MISSIONS AND 222 CAMPS: 1878-1890 APPENDIX D. ROSEBUD RESERVATION AND EDUCATION 1882 223 APPENDIX E. AUTHORIZATION FOR A CATHOLIC BOARDING 226 BOARDING SCHOOL ON ROSEBUD RESERVATION APPENDIX F. THE DAWES ACT AND THE ROSEBUD 228 RESERVATION BIBLIOGRAPHY 230 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Education. Since the beginning of humankind, the concept has been intricately entwined with our lives. Current generations benefit from and build on the experiences of those who went before. The transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next (i.e. education), has taken numerous forms from experiential, to observational to the highly structured classroom education, commonly utilized today. No matter its form, the goal of educational systems in which children participate are similar. The need to pass on culturally relevant survival skills and the desire to ensure the continuance and well-being of specific cultures and belief systems continues to motivate educational efforts even today. As Western Societies began to expand and explore new lands, they invariably came into contact with people and cultures that differed vastly from their own. In the majority of Western minds, however, differences did not represent new opportunities for learning and understanding, but were instead viewed as alien and threatening. The words used to describe the new peoples Europeans encountered help highlight their cultural views: 'savage,' 'heathen,' and 'barisarian' were just a few tenns applied to non-Christian, non-European peoples. The terminology made it clear these new peoples were not "us," instead they were distinctly "other." In the 2 European mind, "other" nearly automatically equated with inferior.^ European response to the native peoples of North America followed a somewhat predictable pattem based upon their ethnccentricity. Because the native peoples were different and their ways unfamiliar they were deemed inferior by the white settlers who poured into the Americas. The more humane elements of European society, honestly believed they did the Indians a great service in working to uplift them from "savagery" to "civilization."^ By the nineteenth century, when white settlers began encroaching on tribal lands in the Great Plains, (in particular, the areas that today encompass the Dakotas and Nebraska) the federal govemment had established a system for dealing with the Indian tribes in the region. The govemment offered treaties designed to ensure peace and protect both settlers and Indians. The United States Army was utilized against those tribes who resisted federal policy, which operated to confine them on resen/ations lands. In addition to the army, missionaries also worked to help enforce federal policy and hasten the process of acculturation and assimilation. The federal govemment sanctioned missionary activity among Indians and promoted their use in order to Christianize the Indians. Christianization, however, was not viewed as sufficient in and of itself. In order to be assimilated, Indians had to bring their values and cultural practices into Vor a more detailed discussion of the evolution of white perception when encountering Indian peoples see also Michael Oorris, "Indians on the Shelf," in Martin, Calvin ed. The American Indian and the Problem of History. (NY: Oxford University Press, 1987), 98-105. Another well-written book on the subject is Robert F.Berkhofer, The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present. (NY: Vintage Books, 1978). ^As opposed to those who woukl have preferred to eliminate Indian populations altogether. 3 line with those of white society. In order to facilitate this change, nnissionaries focused much of their energies on the establishment and maintenance of Indian schools, both on and off the reservations. Federal authorities eagerly supported such educational efforts. They generally viewed the older Indians as a lost cause, but believed, with the proper influences and strong role models, the children could be taught white values and culture. The Lakota, one of three branches of the Sioux Nation (Lakota, Dakota and Nakota), went through the painful process of white contact, restriction to reservations and exposure to white missionaries. The missionaries, representing numerous denominations, worked eagerly to introduce the Lakota to their various brands of Christianity and to educate them about the white way of life. The history of contact between the Lakota Indians and the whites has been examined by numerous scholars from various perspectives. The military and political conflicts that raged between the two groups are well documented in a myriad of works. Because the primary focus of so many of these works explore issues conceming politics, military conflicts and biographies of prominent leaders some of the social and cultural aspects of Lakota history have been neglected. One such area where relatively little has been written is the history of education among the Lakota. The Lakota are not a single political/social unit. Instead, they comprise 4 seven bands, or council fires.^ The various council fires represent subdivisions of political and social organization. The second largest band (outnumbered only by the Oglala) are known as the Sicangu (also referred to as the Upper Brule). It is various aspects of the educational history of the Sicangu that are examined in the