Native American Boarding Schools

This is a before and after image of Thomas Moore, an Indigenous boy who attended Regina Industrial School in Canada. These images were taken a few years apart. The image on the left was when Thomas arrived at the school, and the image on the right was taken around when he finished his time at the school. Notice the differences in his outfit, hair, and background.

The Regina Indian Industrial School was open from 1891 until 1910 and was one of many “Indian boarding schools” that operated between 1869 and the 1960s. In a boarding school, students live at the school, not with their families. Because Maine is so close to the border, Wabanaki children were sent to schools in both America and Canada.

While some Indigenous children attended the school voluntarily, many others were forced. They were taken from their families and brought to these schools where they were often not allowed to speak their native language, wear traditional Indigenous clothing, or act in other ways that reflected their culture. When students broke these rules, it was common for them to be severely punished.

These images of Thomas Moore were taken by government officials at the Department of Indian Affairs and were widely distributed as propaganda to show the benefits of Indigenous children attending these boarding schools.

This image shows the student body at Carlisle Indian School. It was taken in 1884 by John N. Choate. Carlisle Indian School, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was the first off-reservation “Indian boarding school” in the United States that was federally run. At a boarding school, students live at the school, not with their families.

During its years of operation (1879 to 1918), around ten thousand Indigenous children attended the Carlisle school. They came from over 100 tribal nations, including the Wabanaki nations. Families in Maine today have memories of relatives attending Carlisle.

Many of the students were forced to attend the school while others attended voluntarily. The school had a particular interest in recruiting the children of tribal leaders so that other parents would cooperate.

There are about 375 students in the image. Note what the children are wearing, how old they look, and how they are positioned. Like many other Native American boarding schools, students at Carlisle Indian School had to wear Anglo-American clothes, cut their hair, speak English instead of their native languages, change their names, and conform to White American culture. Children were punished if they did not follow the rules.