Richard Henry Pratt
Richard Henry Pratt | |
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Commands held | Carlisle Indian Industrial School |
Spouse(s) | Anna Laura |
Signature |
Pratt is associated with the first recorded use of the word "racism," which he used in 1902 to criticize racial segregation. Pratt is also known for using the phrase "kill the Indian, save the man" in reference to the ethos of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and efforts to forcibly assimilate Native Americans into dominant white American culture.[2]
Early life
Pratt was born on December 6, 1840, in Rushford, New York, to Richard and Mary Pratt (née Herrick). He was the eldest of their three sons. He contracted smallpox as a young child, and had lifelong facial scarring as a result. In 1847, his father moved the family west to Logansport, Indiana.
Pratt's father later left his family to take part in the
Career
American Civil War
At the outbreak of the
Pratt served in administrative roles for the remainder of the war and was mustered out of the Volunteer Service on May 29, 1865, at the rank of captain.[3] He became a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, a military society for officers who had served the Union during the Civil War.
Pratt returned to
Pratt's long and active military career included eight years in the
Pratt was promoted to captain in February 1883; major in July 1898; lieutenant colonel in February 1901; and to colonel in January 1903. He retired from the Army in February 1903; in April 1904 he was advanced to brigadier general on the Retired List.
Fort Marion and Carlisle
After the
In the 1870s at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida, he introduced classes in the English language, art, and craftsmanship to several dozen prisoners who had been chosen from among those who had surrendered in the Indian Territory at the end of the Red River War.[6] In addition, he worked to give prisoners agency and some independence: enlisting them in guard duty, assigning them other supervisory roles over their community, leading marching and maneuvers for exercise.
On November 1, 1879, he founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the first of many off-reservation boarding schools for Native Americans.
Pratt did not regard his innovations at Fort Marion as limited to Native Americans. He developed the paradigm of compulsory immersion education. At various times, it would be used in attempted assimilation of other minorities in the United States and its territories, including African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Latinos, Pacific Islanders, Asians, and Mormons.[6] He took his pedagogical inspiration from the Puritans.[7]
Cultural assimilation of Native Americans
Pratt instituted a practice of
Pratt was outspoken and a leading member of what was called the "Friends of the Indian" movement at the end of the 19th century. He believed in the "noble" cause of "civilizing" Native Americans. He said, "The Indians need the chances of participation you have had and they will just as easily become useful citizens."[9]
But Pratt regarded Native Americans as worthy of respect and help, and capable of full participation in society. Many of his contemporaries regarded Native Americans as nearly subhuman, who could never be part of mainstream American society. [citation needed]. Pratt preached assimilation, in a day marked by rank segregation.
Pratt was opposed to the segregation of Native American tribes on reservations, believing that it made them vulnerable to speculators and people who would take advantage of them. He came into conflict with the Indian Bureau and other government officials who supported the reservation system, as well as all those who made profits from them. In May 1904, Pratt denounced the Indian Bureau and the reservation system as a hindrance to the civilization and assimilation of Native Americans. This controversy, coupled with earlier disputes with the government over civil service reform, led to Pratt's forced retirement as superintendent of the Carlisle School on June 30, 1904.[citation needed]
The legacy of Pratt's boarding school programs is controversial among modern Native American tribes. Some have labelled the wider American Indian boarding school system, that Pratt began, as a form of cultural genocide that adversely affected their children and families.[10][11]
Retirement
Pratt retired to his home in Rochester, New York. During his retirement years, he continued to lecture and argue his viewpoints.
Death
Pratt died on March 15, 1924, at the Letterman Army Hospital in present-day San Francisco. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia.[12]
Representation in other media
- The television series The Great Adventure featured an episode titled "The Special Courage of Captain Pratt" (1964); the actor Paul Burke portrayed Richard Henry Pratt.
- television series, Death Valley Days. In the same episode, Robert J. Wilke played Sergeant Wilks, who advocates a more harsh treatment of Indian prisoners than does Pratt. Leonard Nimoy was cast as Yellow Bear.[13]
- In the 2005 miniseries, Into the West, produced by Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks, Pratt is played by Keith Carradine.
- Pratt's role at the Carlisle School is addressed in the documentary, Our Spirits Don't Speak English (2008).
See also
- American Indian outing programs
- Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools
Notes
- ^ K.B. Kueteman. "From Warrior to Saint: The life of David Pendelton Oakerhater". Oklahoma State. Archived from the original on 2008-07-23.
- ^ Gene Demby. The Ugly, Fascinating History Of The Word 'Racism'. NPR.org. January 6, 2014. Accessed November 11, 2016.
- ^ a b Anderson, H. Allen. "Pratt, Richard Henry". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ Richard Henry Pratt, Battlefield and Classroom.
- ^ Richard Henry Pratt, Battlefield and Classroom
- ^ a b c Removing Classrooms from the Battlefield: Liberty, Paternalism, and the Redemptive Promise of Educational Choice, 2008 BYU Law Review 377 Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Quaqua Society – Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- ^ Bear, Charla. May 12, 2008, NPR, "American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many". Accessed September 2, 2014.
- ^ Pratt, Richard Henry. Battlefield & Classroom. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 2003. p 215
- ^ Smith, Andrea. "Soul Wound: The Legacy of Native American Schools." Web. 1 Nov. 2010. "Amnesty Magazine". Archived from the original on 2006-02-08. Retrieved 2006-02-08.
- ISBN 978-0-7006-0838-6
- ^ "Burial detail: Pratt, Richard H". ANC Explorer. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "The Journey". Internet Movie Database. March 29, 1965. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
Bibliography
- Pratt, Richard Henry (2004). Battlefield and Classroom: Four Decades with the American Indian, 1867–1904. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3603-0.
- Eastman, Elaine Goodale (1935). Pratt, the Red Man's Moses. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. LCCN 35021899.
- Haley, James L. (1976). The Buffalo War: The History of the Red River Indian Uprising of 1874. Garden City, New York: ISBN 0-385-06149-8.
- Richard Henry Pratt Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
External links
- Works by or about Richard Henry Pratt at Internet Archive
- Richard Henry Pratt Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.