“Kill the Indian, Save the Man”: The Carlisle Indian Industrial School Sets the Precedent for Assimilation

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Historical Context

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded in 1879 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was the first federally funded off-reservation boarding school for Indigenous American children. Its founding marked the beginning of a widespread effort by the US government to forcibly assimilate Indigenous peoples into white American society. The school was created by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, who is infamously known for his philosophy: “Kill the Indian, and save the man.” This phrase reflected the core mission of the school which was to erase Indigenous culture, language, and identity, and replace them with Euro-American norms, values, and labor habits. Native children were taken from their families, sometimes by force, and brought to Carlisle and other boarding schools across the country. Upon arrival, students were given English names, dressed in military-style uniforms, had their hair cut short, and were forbidden from speaking their native languages or practicing their cultural traditions. The school emphasized industrial and domestic training over academic learning, based on the belief that Native children should be taught to serve white society in roles deemed appropriate. Boys were trained for manual labor and farm work, while girls were trained for domestic service. This system deliberately sought to dismantle tribal sovereignty and assimilate Native children into a settler colonial vision of citizenship, one that denied the validity and richness of Indigenous lifeways. Students at Carlisle often suffered physical punishment, emotional trauma, cultural dislocation, and even death due to disease, poor living conditions, and abuse. Hundreds of children never returned home. Many who did return found themselves estranged from their communities and families, no longer fluent in their languages or connected to their cultural roots. The trauma of this system left deep and lasting scars, ones that continue to affect Indigenous families and nations today. The Carlisle model became the blueprint for over 350 Indian boarding schools across the United States. These schools were central to the broader federal policy of assimilation, a strategy that attempted to resolve what the government saw as the “Indian problem” by absorbing Native peoples into white America, thereby eliminating them as distinct cultural and political entities. However, some parents sent their children, so they would have regular access to food and shelter, and some children had positive experiences. Today, the Carlisle Indian School stands as a symbol of cultural erasure, forced assimilation, and intergenerational trauma. At the same time, Native communities are actively working to reclaim their languages, cultures, and histories while honoring the resilience of those who survived.

Connection to History’s Habits of Mind

Using this habit students can critically examine how the history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School was often presented as a benevolent effort to “civilize” Indigenous children. At the time, government reports, school pamphlets, and mainstream newspapers framed assimilation as helpful or humanitarian, reinforcing the false belief that Indigenous cultures were inferior. By interrogating these sources and comparing them to Indigenous people’s testimonies, photographs, and oral histories, students can uncover the truth that assimilation was a tool of cultural erasure, rooted in colonial fears of Indigenous sovereignty and identity. This habit of mind teaches students to ask who created a source, whose voices are missing, and how power shapes the telling of history.

Discussion Question

  • What was the purpose of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, and how did it reflect the goals of US assimilation policies?
  • How did daily life at Carlisle attempt to erase Indigenous identity and culture?
  • Why do you think the government and school officials believed assimilation was a solution to the “Indian problem”?
  • How might a government source describing Carlisle differ from an Indigenous student’s account?
  • What questions should we ask when we read historical sources about assimilation?
  • What were some of the short- and long-term impacts of Carlisle on Indigenous children and their communities?
  • How are Indigenous communities today working to reclaim what was lost due to assimilation policies?
  • Why is it important for us today to study places like Carlisle through multiple perspectives?

Suggested Activity

Materials Needed:

Step 1: Before and After – The Impact of Indigenous Assimilation Warm-up Activity

Silent Viewing & Observation [3 mins]

Project or distribute the before and after photo pairs from the following list:

  • Tom Torlino at the Carlisle School 1882–1885
  • Wounded Yellow Robe, Timber Yellow Robe, and Henry Standing Bear, 1883
  • Navajo Students with Richard Henry Pratt, 1882
  • Four Pueblo Children from Zuni, NM, c. 1880
  • White Buffalo, c.1881–1882
  • Chiricahua Apaches from Fort Marion, 1886–1887

Prompt for Students: Now that you’ve viewed the “before” and “after” images, jot down your immediate thoughts to these questions [4 mins]:

  • What changes do you notice in clothing, hair, posture, or expression?
  • What do these changes suggest about the goals of assimilation?
  • What questions or emotions come up as you look at these photos?

Brief Debrief [3 mins]

Have a few students share their responses with the class. Close out the warm-up with the following statement or something similar: “These photos were used to promote the success of Indian boarding schools, but when we look closely, we can see signs of cultural loss, forced change, and resistance. Today, we’ll continue exploring what assimilation really meant for Indigenous children and their communities.”

Step 2: Student Pair Document Analysis and Discussion [20 mins]

Divide the class into pairs and randomly assign each pair one excerpt from Pratt’s writings. Students complete the worksheet together and underline specific phrases in the text that support their answers. Encourage students to identify bias, loaded language, and the silencing of Native perspectives.

Step 3: Whole Class Reflection and Share Out [15-20 mins]

Have each pair give a brief 1-minute summary:

  • Their excerpt’s main argument
  • One problematic belief or contradiction they found
  • A reflection on whose story was left out

Optional: Create a classroom chart titled Patterns of Assimilation in Pratt’s Thinking and add notes about recurring themes (ie. forced separation from culture, anti-tribalism, anti-missionary, white superiority)

Step 4: Exit Ticket or Homework Prompt [5-10 mins]

Based on your excerpt and our discussion, explain how Richard Pratt’s writings supported the erasure of Indigenous identity. Why is it important to interrogate sources like these instead of taking them at face value?