Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories | Exhibit

The exhibit takes a frank, open-eyed look at the initiative put in place by the United States government beginning in the 1870s that attempted to educate and assimilate American Indians into “civilized” society by placing children—of all ages, from thousands of homes and hundreds of diverse tribes—in distant, residential boarding schools. Many were forcibly taken from their families and communities and stripped of all signs of “Indianness,” even forbidden to speak their own language amongst themselves.

This exhibition explores off-reservation boarding schools in its kaleidoscope of voices. Visitors will explore compelling photographs, artwork, interviews, interactive timelines, and immersive environments, including classroom and dormitory settings. Objects such as a period barber chair and a young Seminole girl’s skirt, as well as reproduction elements poignantly illuminate first-person accounts. Stories of tragedy and familial love and friendships intersect. Please check back to www.manitowoclibrary.org/events to discover the auxiliary programming being put in place to accompany this amazing exhibition.

This Exhibition is made possible by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is brought to you by Mid-America Arts Alliance. It was adapted from the permanent exhibition, Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories and organized by the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.