Voices of Haskell Indian Students Between Two Worlds, 1884-1928

The introduction of Voices of Haskell was quite informative. It gave me an understanding on the history and how Haskell evolved. Originally, the Haskell Institute was home to Twenty- two childen of the Ponca and Ottawa tribes. The childern were sent there to be taught Anglo-Protestant cultral values. The Haskell Institution has know grow vastly since the beginning. At some points Haskell housed over a 1,000 students from 150 recognized tribes. This institute grew with the addition of a 4 yr highschool curriculum to what is now a university.
Voices of Haskell is a collection of narratives by the individuals who attended Haskell. They give their life experiences and how Haskell has effected them. Before starting this book I had my own thoughts and views on boarding schools. I believed that all experiences were negative and left a terrible scar on the childern who attended. I have come to find I am a wrong, Not all experiences were bad. Positive values and ways have also come from the boarding school experiences. I look forward into reading more of this book and weighting the positive and negative accounts as explained by Haskell's students.

I assumed the students would have left Chilocco hating the place. On the contrary, many students were happy that they got the chance to experience what came with boarding school life. They will always have that one thing in common. They will always relate to others who shared the same experiences with them. Today, there are elders who have attended boarding school and I sense that they still enjoy sharing stories from their childhood. The only people who completely understand what the students were put through are those who were there.
The students learned many valuable life lessons as well. Dorm life was their first experience with being away from home and living with others. Only the students understood what the students were going through. Today, when many young people leave for college, culture shock is to be expected. Technology has made this easier to handle and overcome. The children of Chilocco had nothing but each other. They couldn’t pick up a cell phone or e-mail their family members back home; instead, they turned to one another for support.

After reading the narratives, I realized that I have always been a little close minded about boarding schools. Experiencing Chilocco from a student’s point of view helped me understand that not every aspect of Indian boarding schools is negative. The trades and skills that the students learned will forever be with them, as well as all of the friendships that developed.

They Called It Prairie Light Chapter 5

"It was just like in the Army. We had old World War I uniforms, wrap leggings, and high-button collars, and if you can imagine a nine-year-old kid carrying a big Enfielf rifle in close order drill, that was all part of it." -Curtis 1927/9 Creek
Many of the narratives in Chapter 5 were hard for me to visualize. The children of Chilocco didn't really have a chance to be children while they were away at school. I have a nephew who is about the same age as many of the male students were while they were at Chilocco. I could not imagine him handling World War I guns or dressing like a soldier to go to school.

Chilocco was like a military school. The children were treated like soldiers. One boy even says that Marine Corp boot camp was a breeze after attending Chilocco. I’m not sure what a soldier is put through in boot camp, but I’m sure that it’s tough. It shocked me that these young children were treated with such strict discipline. Yes, I believe discipline is necessary in the classroom, but, I don’t believe that any student other than those attending military school should be forced to march everywhere they go, pass white glove inspections, or be kicked at, yelled at, or cussed at.