Carlisle Indian School

Carlisle Indian School was one of the largest boarding schools established in an attempt to "civilize" Native Americans and assimilate them into white American society. However, conditions at the school were poor, and over 180 students died during their time there. Most of these deaths were the result of outbreaks of disease. As well as poor living conditions, the school was so determined to separate students based on gender that they too drastic measures, such as locking girls in their dormitories, to achieve this. Although this was successful, it was also dangerous, as the girls could not have escaped had there been an emergency. Discipline at the school was quite harsh, involving corporal punishment and missed meals.

"Before and after" photos of students were taken, with the "before" pictures showing them in their own clothing and the "after" pictures showing them with their hair cut short and wearing school uniform. Although these photos seemed like proof that the schools were successfully assimilating Native Americans into white society, few students graduated. As well as this, parents living on reservations had no legal right to decide whether their child would go to an off-reservation school until 1978, when the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed. Before then, police were sent to reservations to collect children from unwilling parents, or, on some occasions, rations would be withheld until parents gave up their children.

In short, Native Americans were given little choice when it came to deciding what happened to their children, and the children were often mistreated at Carlisle. Despite this, many whites were impressed by "before and after" photos, and came to believe that schools such as Carlisle were actually a good thing.