So not too far from there is a brick building on the Cattaraugus
Territory that houses our Peacemakers and Surrogates court systems and on the
next floor is where our planning department is.
Growing up I would hear stories about how my Great uncle would run away
from the School and walk the tracks and heard back home. From what I understand he did this more than
once and actually walked the 40+ mile journey home to the Allegany
territory. “The Thomas Asylum for Orphan
and Destitute Indian Children was incorporated in 1855” (nativeheritageproject.com)
and was used to house such children.
However 20 years later the NYS welfare system took over and their main
purpose was to provide native children a structured program of “care, moral
training and education, and instruction in husbandry and the arts of
civilization” (nativeheritageproject.com).
Sounds fair I guess, I mean it’s not like we already have our duties as
men and women already established. A lot
of our elders had to go to this “school”.
Not because they were poor, orphaned, or unloved but because it was
forced. They would show up at houses
and take children to this “school” and were abused. I’ve heard stories about abuse physical,
mental, and sexual that would happen there until it closed.
americanindiantah.com
 |
| iarchives.nysed.gov |
My uncle had the unfortunate please of having to spend half
of his child hood here. There were times
when he was in so much pain from manual labor that he would just want to
die. Out of fear he never said anything
about it. A number of times late at
night him and some other children would takeoff. Sometimes they were immediately caught
brought back and punished. A few times
he successfully made it home but only to be picked up and taken back. One night as he was telling his stories he
talked about how he would have to work in the mortuary from time to time. It was hard for him to see these children who
were dying from illness and some he said were “accidental”. It was a hard way for him to grow up. My great grandparents weren’t interested in
sending him there and fought it and then it came to a point where he had to
go. They came to the house said that it
was deplorable conditions and took him. There
was nothing his parents could do.
 |
| iarchives.nysed.gov |
I’m thankful that he survived schooling and was able to hear
the stories he would tell. I’ve always heard
about Carlisle Indian School and Thomas Indian wasn’t as big but mistreatment
was just as bad. To make matters worse
it was happening on our own territory. Our
own people were being punished for speaking our language, cutting our hair, and
sometimes physically beating their identity out of them. It almost seems that the more things change
the more they stay the same. It’s just a
different battle but it’s always with the same group.
 |
| letstalknativepride.blogspot.com |
nativeheritageproject.com/2013/06/12/thomas-asylum-for-orphan-and-destitute-indian-children/
Sara that is so awful and I am glad that your uncle was one of the children that survived! I have been doing research for my project on the boarding schools and I also feel that is was very unfair treatment. I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u3VOZ4n4aM and was so upset about what was done that I had to know more. It may seem to some that it is history and in the past but just as you have proven with your story it is still influencing today's children.
ReplyDeleteHi Sara! Thank you for sharing your personal family story with us! It helped to hear someone's personal accounts told to make the connection to the reading that we've been doing. I am sorry to hear about what your uncle endured but as you said- it is a blessing that he survived and is able to share his story with others.
ReplyDelete