Appropriations for the various schools also exhibited a complex arrangement. Certain government boarding schools under bonded superintendents, such as Fort Hall, Fort Stevenson, and Fort Yuma, received support from the general appropriations for education, as did reservation day and boarding schools under Indian agents. Other institutions, such as Carlisle, Haskell, Chilocco, Salem, and Genoa, were supported by special appropriations, directed exclusively for their individual purposes. Similarly, some contract schools received special mention in the appropriations acts, such as Lincoln Institute in Philadelphia, Hampton, and St. Ignatius Mission School in Montana. Those not specifically mentioned received their funding from the general education appropriations. Such a diverse schedule of payment caused the Indian School Superintendent to report that "the systematic organization of the educational work of the Indian (is) an impossibility." 19

Due to the lack of uniformity in administration, management, and operation of the Indian school system, there was no real delineation between the levels of instruction offered at the various types of schools. Children of all ages were enrolled at all types of schools, both on and off the reservations. The expressed purpose of the reservation day and boarding schools was to teach Indian children the rudiments of reading and writing, but to place stronger emphasis on manual labor and industrial training.20 The stress in the school programs on learning the English language and becoming accustomed to manual labor often placed children of different ages on the same footing developmentally. Often when a child completed the requisite course work at one institution, it was difficult to direct him or her to the next step in the sequence. During the 1890's, the Indian Office sought to resolve these problems by establishing a uniform course of studies for Indian schools 21 and implementing a plan for systematic transferral of students from day schools to boarding schools and eventually to the large off-reservation boarding schools.22

The goal of the Indian school system had always been to provide a means for Indian people "to become an integral and harmonious part of this great nation." 23 However necessary the settlement of Indians on reservations had seemed, it became clear that this policy was not in line with the overall objective of the Indian Bureau to incorporate the Indians into the body of America. While the practice of sending Indian children to boarding schools to receive literary and industrial training attempted to prepare them for absorption into contemporary American life, it caused problems for them since they were forced to return to communities which were not only segregated from the white settlements, but also failed to provide any opportunity to actively involve them in the economic and community life of their tribes. Much of the Bureau's activities were directed towards dissolving the tribal

19 "Annual Report of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the Year 1886," supra note 10, p. 27. See Appendix C for a chart of the yearly appropriations for special schools (Le.. off-reservation boarding schools and certain contract schools) for years 1883 through 1946.

20 "Annual Report of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the Year 1885." supra note 10, p. 108; Same for 1886, p. 33; 1887, p. 36; 1891, p. 485; 1895, p. 10; 1900, pp. 20-21. 21 See Appendix D for an outline of the Course of Studies designed for use in Indian schools.

22 "Annual Report of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the Year 1896," supra note 10, p. 15.

23 "Annual Report of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the Year 1882," supra note 10, p. 1016.

relationship, changing the Indian way of life, and replacing it with the "white man's civilization." It was to achieve this purpose that the allotment system was proposed, and it became official policy with the passage of the Dawes Act in 1887.24

In 1890, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs reported his desire to begin transferring Indian children to public schools. He commented:

Believing that the true purpose of the Government in its dealings with the Indians is to develop them into self-supporting, self-reliant, intelligent, and patriotic citizens, and believing that the public schools are the most effective means of Americanizing our foreign population, I am desirous of bringing the Indian school system into relation with that of the public schools. Not only so, but wherever possible I am placing Indian pupils in the public schools.25

The Commissioner reported that he had contacted several states and territories having large Indian populations under federal supervision and requested that their superintendents of public instruction cooperate with the federal government in the education of their Indian children. He offered to negotiate contracts with local school districts for educating the Indians in their regions at the rate of $10 per quarter for each child.26

The movement toward public schools received the full support of the Indian School Superintendent who commented in his 1894 annual report:

the main aim of my work must be to render the specific Indian school unnecessary as speedily as possible, and to substitute for it the American public school. This is in line with the enlightened policy that labors to do away with tribal life, reservations, agencies, and military posts among the Indians. It is in full accord with the desire of the nation to do away with the Indian problem by assimilating the Indians in the body politic of the United States."

He further recommended:

that the Indian Office should continue and emphasize its efforts to secure contracts for the education of Indians in public schools with the authorities of district schools and town schools located near the homes of children of day-school age, and with the authorities of town or city high schools or suitable state institutions for advanced Indian youth.28

As the need and desire to integrate Indian children with white students continued, several policies were adopted by the Indian Office to facilitate and foster this arrangement.

First, as just mentioned, the Indian Commissioner began to work with state school superintendents to secure their cooperation in the effort. If more local school districts could be persuaded to accept Indian students, the immediate responsibility of the federal government to operate a separate Indian school system would diminish. It appears that the government was willing to maintain a financial responsibility for non-taxpaying Indians, by offering to pay tuition for their children in public schools. The allotment of tribal lands facilitated this arrangement. As Indian and white settlements became more and

24 U.S. "Statutes at Large." Vol. 24, 388.

25 U.S. Department of the Interior, "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior for the Year 1890," p. XIV. Hereinafter cited as "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs" for the specified year.

20 See Appendix E for a letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to several State Superintendents of Public Instruction requesting their cooperation in Indian education. 27 Annual Report of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the Year 1894," supra note 10. p. 4.

28 Ibid, p. 6.

more integrated, the Indian Office encouraged the establishment of district and neighborhood schools in those communities.29

Second, the Indian Office began to advocate for the admission of white students into government schools. It seemed to be an easy way to integrate the two cultures, without having to secure the permission or face the prejudice of the local population for Indian education. The Superintendent of Indian Schools had commented on the difficulty of transferring the work of Indian education to state control in his report in 1895:

even in these instances state officials, as well as the people of these States, still labor largely under the impression that the Indians are foreigners rather than citizens, and that the entire responsibility for this work rests upon the General Government.30

The practice had actually been allowed for several years before a provision was inserted in the appropriations acts.1 In the Indian Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1910, approved March 3, 1909, the provision read:

Provided further, That hereafter white children may, under rules prescribed by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, be admitted to Indian schools on the payment of tuition fees at a rate to be fixed in said rules: Provided further, That all tuition fees paid for white children on enrollment shall be deposited in the hands of the Treasurer to reimburse the funds out of which the school is supported.32

Third, in the first decade of the twentieth century, the Indian Office began to transfer certain federal facilities over to States for use in education of Indian and white children. As provided by the appropriations act of March 3, 1909, four federal facilities were turned over to the States of Utah, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Colorado, with the provision:

33

that Indian pupils shall at all times be admitted to such school free of charge for tuition and on terms of equality with white pupils. Statistics of Indian schools for the year 1909 show that Indian students attended public schools under contract with the Indian Office in four States, i.e., California, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah. These contracts provided tuition for the education of 114 children in 9 school districts in those four States. However, these statistics do not reflect the attendance of Indian children at public schools not under Government contract. Eight hundred eighteen Indian children attended public schools in 107 local districts in the States of California, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.34

In discussing the progress of the movement to integrate Indian children into public schools, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs reported in his annual report for 1910:

. . . during the last year about 3,000 Indian pupils were enrolled in the public schools. . . . The office is willing to pay a per capita tuition equal to the amount

29 "Annual Report of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the Year 1905," supra note 10. p. 20.

30 "Annual Report of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the Year 1895," supra note 10, pp. 3-4.

"Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Year 1909," supra note 25, p. 18.

32 U.S. "Statutes at Large," Vol. 35, 781.

33 Ibid.

34 "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Year 1909," supra note 25, pp. 84-86.

apportioned by the State or county per pupil for all Indian pupils enrolled in the public schools whose parents are not taxpayers.

As the districts in which Indian reservations are situated become more thickly settled the distribution of public schools is going to be much more extensive, and the opportunities for the Indians to attend public schools will be greatly increased.35

It is obvious that this movement contained the roots of the eventual adoption of the Johnson-O'Malley Act, which allowed states to contract with the federal government for education of their Indian citizens. With the passage of the Citizenship Act in 1924,86 all Indians were made citizens of the United States, and consequently, citizens of the states in which they resided. Given this legal status, it was logical that the federal government would look for greater state cooperation for Indian education, since it was a responsibility of each state to provide education for its citizens. In addition, it facilitated assimilation of Indians into American life, as well as helped to relieve the federal government of direct responsibility for Indian education.

It appears that from earliest times the educational institutions. serving Indian people have operated either apart from or in opposition to (or both) Indian cultural and community development. Again and again government officials declared that the Indian must be changed in order to become part of the American society. Continuously, they neglected to utilize the possibility of working within existing Indian social and political institutions and legal systems to assist them in adapting to the dominant culture. Thus there has been no systematic effort to preserve those traditions, customs and societal structures supportive of Indian culture and expressive of Indian identity.

The boarding school is perhaps the most striking example of this tragic neglect. But, it is apparent also in laws for compulsory school attendance,37 standards for uniform dress, strict rules for militaristic discipline and stringent behavior patterns, and forced use of the English language both in and out of school.

As reiterated by nearly every government official since President Washington, the ultimate goal of the government in its Indian relations was their eventual assimilation into the body of America-on white man's terms. The Indian school system was seen as a means to this end, and it was hoped that subsequently federal schools would no longer be necessary as Indians would be attending public schools just as other citizens of the United States.

35 "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Year 1910," supra note 25, p. 15.

36 U.S. "Statutes at Large," Vol. 43, 253.

37 Laws for compulsory school attendance were included in various appropriations acts in the 1890's as the Indian Office attempted to strengthen its regulations in this regard. In 1891, the Indian Appropriations Act authorized the Commissioner of Indian Affairs "Make and enforce . . . such rules and regulations as will secure the attendance of Indian children... at schools. . ." (26 Stat. 989). In 1893, another provision was included in the Appropriations Act which permitted the Secretary of the Interior to withhold rations and other supplies and annuities from Indian families who would not send their children to school (27 Stat. 612). However, this was to apply only to children attending reservation schools, as the following year the Appropriations Act incorporated a provision disallowing the removal of Indian children to schools outside their reservations and it forbade any attempt to influence parental consent in this matter by withholding rations or annuities (28 Stat. 286).

D. AN HISTORICAL VIEW OF FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR INDIAN

EDUCATION

Federal Financing for Indian Education During the Treaty-Making Period

Because of the nature of the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes during the treaty-making era, a large portion of federal financial support for Indian education derived from treaty obligations to provide educational services. Federal involvement was characterized more by idiosyncratic agreements with various tribes, than by a comprehensive and standard program for educating Indians. There is a conspicuous lack of substantive legislation concerning Indian education in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Only two laws were enacted in the 1800's which can be considered to provide direct Congressional authorization for federal involvement in Indian education and which permit appropriations for that purpose.

The first piece of substantive legislation to authorize federal involvement and to commit federal funds for educationally-related services for Indian people was the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1802.1 Section 13 provided that $15,000 would be annually appropriated "in order to promote civilization among the friendly Indian tribes." 2 The act empowered the President to provide the tribes with domesticated animals, agricultural and industrial tools, money, supplies, and other materials to encourage them to become settled in their ways. It also authorized him to appoint temporary agents to live among them, who were charged with disbursing funds and supplies, as well as supervising the work of the Indians. The $15,000 fund was used for a variety of purposes in addition to those mentioned in the law. It was sometimes used to contribute partially to the support of mission schools under agency jurisdiction or to employ instructors to train the Indians ir several trades.3

A second piece of legislation was enacted in 1819, in which the Congress clearly established a federal responsibility for Indian education. The Act of March 3, 1819, organized the Civilization Fund, an annual appropriation of $10,000 to be used "for the purpose of providing against the further decline and final extinction of the Indian

1 U.S. "Statutes at Large," Vol. 2, 139. Felix Cohen states that this act was considered to be the first Congressional indication that there was a federal responsibility for educating Indians, and it remained so until the passage of the Act of March 3, 1819, establishing the Civilization Fund (U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, "Handbook of Federal Indian Law," edited by Felix S. Cohen (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1942). Hereinafter cited as Cohen, "Federal Indian Law."

The term "civilization" was used by the Indian Department to refer to whatever practices were necessary to lead the tribes to adopt white ways and encourage them to become settled, in order to facilitate their integration into the dominant society. These practices included providing an elementary English education as well as the instruction in manual skills and trades of the times. In this context, civilization would be equivalent to education, but perhaps a better term would be acculturation.

3 By an Act of May 6, 1882 (3 Stat. 682) the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1802 was amended to require a reporting of the accounts of those agents who disbursed money, goods or other benefits to the Indians. These records show that money from several sources, including the Civilization Fund and treaty funds were used for many educational purposes.