Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1879–1918) was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations. It was one of a series of 19th-century efforts by the United States government to assimilate Native American over 1000 children from 39 tribes into the majority culture. The goal of total assimilation can be summed up in the school's slogan: "To civilize the Indian, get him into civilization. To keep him civilized, let him stay."
The late 19th century was also a period of continued expansion of public education across the country, with the Reconstruction era legislatures having created public school systems in the South for the first time, and new northern towns' founding schools to keep up with the settlement of the Midwest and West, as well as expanding immigrant populations in industrial cities.
In the early years of the 20th century, Coach Pop Warner led a highly successful football team and athletic program at the Carlisle School, and went on to create other successful collegiate programs. He coached the exceptional athlete Jim Thorpe and his teammates, bringing national recognition to the small school. In 1912 Carlisle won the national collegiate championship.
After the school closed in 1918, the United States Army took back Carlisle Barracks and used the facility as a hospital to treat soldiers wounded in World War I. Later it established the War College there.
In 1961 the complex was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL). In later decades the school was re-evaluated by historians and analysts in terms of the psychological damage done to Native American children by assimilation efforts, as well as documented cases of abuse. The school was also recognized for its ideals. In 2000 the former school was the site of a historical commemoration for its Native American students and the full history of the experience.
Read more about Carlisle Indian Industrial School: History, Student Recruitment, Education, Abuse, Results, Legacy, In Media
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