African-Americans and American Indians, a shared history

Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Nov 30, 2006

On April 13, 1878, an unprecedented event in American Indian education began in Virginia at the Hampton Institute, now Hampton University. Capt. Richard Henry Pratt arrived on campus, bringing with him 17 American Indian prisoners of war from Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Fla. Pratt believed in education for all, and began teaching the men how "to read, to count, about God, about justice and truth." He wrote several agricultural and labor schools requesting admission for his charges, but Gen. Samuel Chapman Armstrong, the founder of Hampton Institute, was the only person to honor Pratt's request.

Captain Pratt's First Party in Front of the Marquand, 1878 The first 49 students from Dakota Territory represented a broad spectrum of tribal society, including orphans, siblings and the relatives of chiefs.

Class in American History, 1900 Louis Firetail (Sioux, Crew Creek) wearing tribal clothing. History classes were enlivened by object lessons relating to the American Indians' past.

St. Augustine Indians at Hampton, Summer 1878 Thirteen of the 17 Fort Marion students a few months after their arrival at Hampton institute.

Columbia's Roll Call, 1892 Feb 8, 1892: Hampton students in "Columbia's Roll Call," a pageant on Indian Citizenship Day.

Little Chief (Con-way-how-nif, Cheyenne) Welcoming Two Newcomers From Dakota Territory, 1878 Although "nearly all" of the newcomers spoke Sioux and some were fluent in more than one American Indian language, at times the universal sign language of the Plains cultures was necessary.

Past, Present, and Future, 1886 In 1886, when Susan La Flesche and Charles Picotte graduated, commencement exercises included recitations by costumed students declaring "their desire to be civilized."