Cultural Voices or Pure Propaganda?: Publications of the Carlisle Indian School, 1879–1918

Abstract

The publications run by and for the school-age American Indians sent to the Carlisle, Pa., Indian Industrial School during its existence from 1879 to 1918 illustrate the roles of a scholastic press at the residential school to educate Indian children to “white” ways and to promote the effectiveness of these efforts. This descriptive study of such publications as the Eadle Keatah Toh, The Arrow, The Morning Star, and The Red Man and Helper at the Carlisle Indian School explores the relationship between these publications, the Indian children, and the school's promotional efforts. This study assesses how these publications balanced their stated assimilationist agenda with representations of the cultural voices of American Indian children.