Publications of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School

During the 39-year duration (1879-1918) of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, students and faculty worked together to produce several news publications for the School’s students and those interested in its work. Campus newspapers and magazines were versatile tools for the Indian School’s administration. The printed word allowed the Carlisle Indian Industrial School to both disseminate information to students, and to spread an ideology of assimilation through carefully-worded editorial pieces.

The Eadle Keatah Toh was the first news publication to emerge at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. It is interesting to note that this first campus newspaper was not published under an English title, but rather a native language. The title translates into “the night is ended, and soon the sun will rise.” ¹ The first edition of this paper was printed in January 1880. Underneath the native heading sits the subtitle “God Helps Those Who Help Themselves.” ² “The Indian Training School,” the feature article in this first edition, justifies the need for a boarding school like Carlisle. The author declared that the Carlisle Indian Industrial School will produce “a corps of practical, educated, and Christian teachers” who will “induce their tribes on the plains to adopt the peaceful pursuits of Christian people.” ³

The Eadle Keatah Toh was generally divided into three sections. The first part of the newspaper was devoted to weighty articles about political and philosophical matters (specifically in relation to the topic of Indian education). These were written by prominent white authors from the Carlisle community. The second section of the Eadle Keatah Toh was referred to as “Home Items” and discussed news pertaining to the Carlisle campus. For example, in the second edition of the newspaper, the students are notified that “we intend to issue the EADLE KEATAH TOH… not exceeding once a month…the subscription price (75 cts) pays for twelve numbers.” ⁴ Through announcements like these, students stayed up to date on campus affairs. The third section published letters written to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School campus. These letters were often addressed to Superintendent Richard Henry Pratt. In many cases, the letters were from parents, and discussed the Indian School in uniformly positive connotations. ⁵

The Eadle Keatah Toh was edited by Marianna Burgess, a white worker at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Burgess reported to Superintendent Pratt. ⁶

The second newspaper to appear on the campus of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School was The School News, launched in June 1880. This newspaper was printed once a month. ⁷ The School News was edited by Mason D. Pratt. Mason Pratt also wrote the first article for The School News, a piece about a picnic at Pine Grove, where the school administration went along with students, and visiting Indian Chiefs. ⁸ However, the vast majority of articles written for this newspaper were produced by Indian Students.

Eadle Keatah Toh changed its name to The Morning Star in 1883; however, the format of the paper did not change much. Eadle Keatah Toh/The Morning Star tended to feature more complex political commentary, while The School News tended to focus on local and campus news.

A one-off newspaper–The Carlisle Indian Boys’ and Girls’ Friend–was published on July 31, 1885. This paper was printed with the explicit purpose to “give you students of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School news from all parts of the world.” ⁹ While this newspaper did not last long, another newspaper–The Indian Helper–emerged to take its place. The Indian Helper took an interesting format. The title page was often filled with factoids from around the world, or otherwise featured a student generated poem or short story. ¹⁰

The Indian Helper was written by Native students at Carlisle. The publication was proud of this and advertised itself as a student-led paper. But The Indian Helper was also clear that the students did not have full autonomy over the publication. The paper was edited by the man-on-the-bandstand, a supervisor who was “of a different race and color.” ¹¹ This was Marianna Burgess.

The Morning Star changed its name to The Red Man in April of 1888. ¹² For twelve years, there was a period of stabilization. The Red Man and The Indian Helper coexisted in their respective formats. However, in 1900 the two major papers combined to become The Red Man and the Helper. ¹³ For four years, this was the only publication on the Carlisle campus.

The Arrow was founded in 1904, after original Carlisle superintendent Richard Henry Pratt left the superintendent position. W. A. Mercer–the new school superintendent–founded this new paper to address “the Indian question.” ¹⁴ The Arrow changed its name to The Carlisle Arrow in 1908, and would remain under that name until the boarding school closed in 1918.

Publications in the last years of the Indian School’s existence trended toward the magazine format. The Indian Craftsman (1909) and the resurgent Red Man (1910) were founded as magazines to serve the students at the Carlisle Indian School. ¹⁵

The last edition of The Carlisle Arrow and Red Man was published on June 17, 1918. The articles were highly reflective in nature, seeing as it was the end of the academic year. Surprisingly, there was no indication that the writers knew this would be their last publication, or that the Indian School was reaching its end. There was, however, a focus on the need to save food and materials for the American effort in World War I by rationing at Indian boarding schools, demonstrating the pressure the boarding school system had found itself under. ¹⁶

The only campus publication that acknowledges the closing of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School is the yearbook for 1918. The opening article acknowledges that the campus would no longer accommodate Indian students, because the grounds were being transferred to the War Department. The yearbook then proceeds to reflect upon the history of the school. ¹⁷ This yearbook would be the last of many publications produced by the Carlisle Indian Industrial School over its almost forty-year history.