Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees on June 6, 1883. The Trustees listened to a report by Dr. H. J. Minthorn, who was the second superintendent of the Forest Grove Indian Indian Training School. The Trustees approved an investigation into the possibility of 'not more than twenty' native students being housed, fed and educated by Pacific with funding from the federal government. Presumably, this program would have been conducted under the auspices of Pacific's associated high school, Tualatin Academy. The Academy did eventually enroll five students from the Indian Training School between 1883-1886: Nugen Kautz, Peter Kalama, Henry Sicade, William Lewis and George Meachum. Whether the government paid for their tuition is unknown.
Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees on August 29, 1882. The trustees heard a letter from the Department of the Interior which refused to reassign Captain Wilkinson to duty working at Pacific and the Indian Training School. (See PUA_RG2_13.pdf, which makes it clear that he was ineligible because he had been away from his unit 'on detail' for too long.) Wilkinson told the committee that he might be permitted to continue his detail if certain conditions at the Indian School were met. The trustees resolved to ask for another officer to take over Wilkinson's duties, if he were not to be reassigned.
Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees on June 6, 1882. The trustees noted that they approved of the work of its superintendent, Captain Wilkinson, and would ask the Department of the Interior to continue employing him there. Wilkinson, who was also employed by Pacific as a professor of military sciences, gave a report on how he had been conducting drill practices with the students of both Pacific and the Indian School together. He quotes one Pacific student as saying, 'that he had never associated with more gentlemanly behaved young men than the students of the Indian School.' A table of enrollments in the drilling excercises, organized by school and by student rank, follows his remarks.
Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees on June 6, 1882. As part of a discussion of how much might be spent on scholarships for tution, they noted, 'Mr. Stanup, a Puyallup Indian for example, wishes to come next year, and others apply often, whom we would like to help if in our power. Is the amount, raised by the President as scholarship fund available?' Henry Stanup, who was enrolled at the Forest Grove Indian Training School from 1880-81, had written asking permission to enroll in Tualatin Academy, which was the college preparatory high school attached to Pacific University. Stanup was ultimately unable to attend the school due to health reasons. His letters to Professor Joseph J. Marsh about his wishes to attend and his health problems explain the outcome in more detail. It is unclear whether Stanup was ever offered a scholarship. Several other Indian School students did however enroll as students at the Academy.
Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees on May 31, 1881. The trustees received a report by George H. Atkinson on behalf of the Indian School Committee. Atkinson noted that he met and corresponded with two secretaries from the Department of the Interior, Shurz and Kirkwood. He describes having told the secretaries of the Trustees' support for the Indian Training School and for the rights of the students. Handwritten copies of the letters received in reply from the Department of the Interior are entered into the minutes, as well as a short report on the school's training program from its blacksmith, W. Hudson. An issue regarding study hours at the Indian School was referred to a committee.
Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees on May 31, 1881. The trustees named three people to serve as the 'supervising committee' for the Forest Grove Indian Training School: the President of Pacific University (James W. Marsh, acting president at the time), the President of the Board of Trustees (Alanson Hinman), and the Secretary of the Board of Trustees (George H. Atkinson).
Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees in 1880. The trustees accepted the report of a committee formed by Alanson Hinman and George H. Atkinson, who had inspected the grounds and buildings of the school soon after it opened. They found that Superintendent Wilkinson 'has wrought a better work with the funds - $5,000 - & the means in hand than we dared to expect in the short time of about 8 months.' It goes on to describe the buildings, several of the staff members and the gardens. They describe the students as 'orderly & neatly clad', 'attentive & able to understand preaching & singing in English' and making progress in religious instruction as well as industrial skills.
Minutes taken at a meeting of the Pacific University Board of Trustees on June 4, 1879. This was the first time when the Indian Training School was noted in the Trustees' records. The board voted to request Lieutenant Wilkinson, who would become the first superintendent of the Forest Grove Indian Training School, to serve as a professor of military science at Pacific. It also notes: 'Lieut. Wilkinson has placed before the Board of Trustees the purpose and plan of the Interior Department to educate at some institution, upon this coast a certain number of Indian youth of both sexes, and the Board of Trustees make this application for the detail of Lieut. Wilkinson, with the understanding that this Board of Trustees incur no pecuniary liability thereby, and that the government pay all the necessary expenses attending the same.' Furthermore, they noted the passage of a motion: 'Resolved that the President and Secretary of this institution be and hereby are authorized to negotiate with the proper officers of the government for carrying into effect the proposition to supervise the education of Indian youth ...'
A table of enrollment data by tribe of students enrolled at the Forest Grove Indian Training School.This list includes total number of students from each tribe as well as how many from each sex. This table was probably created by Richard Read, former archivist for Pacific University, based on the school's roster.
Lecture notes about the Forest Grove Indian Training School by Pacific University's former curator, Richard Read. The notes include key points in the school's history, demographics of the school by tribe and gender, as well as a list of people who were key contributors to its founding.
An article about the history of Chemawa School, written by the editor of the Grande Ronde tribes' newsletter. It mentions Pacific University's history but mainly focuses on the students' history, closing with the school's contemporary curriculum. The article appeared in 'Smoke Signals' (Feb. 15, 2000), a publication of the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde.
Fact sheet by former Pacific University archivisit Rick Read about the Forest Grove Indian Training School. It includes basic facts about the school, such as its location, important dates, and enrollment figures.
A newspaper article published in the Salem 'Oregon Statesman' about the decision to move the Forest Grove Indian Training School to Salem. It describes the acquisition of land for the school and the benefits of the move.
A newspaper article published in the Salem 'Oregon Statesman' just before the Forest Grove Indian Training School moved to its new location at Chemawa. It includes a reprint of an article published by the students in their school newspaper, the 'Indian Citizen,' about the impending move. The school newspaper article describes feelings at the school about the move, their feelings towards the residents of Forest Grove, and their belief in the success of the school. It is unclear whether this was really written by the students of the school (if so, Henry Sicade was the most likely author, being the most advanced writer), or if it was written by a faculty member.
A from a newspaper article describing the display of twelve children from the Forest Grove Indian Training School at an agricultural fair in Newberg in 1883. The article was transcribed from the Yamhill Reporter; it originally appeared in the Willamette Farmer, according to notes on the page.
A brief news article on 'Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Walker' (Levi C. Walker and Sarah 'Belle' Putnam Walker), who were visiting Chemawa School to see friends and former students. The Walkers had taught at the Forest Grove Indian Training School. The article also mentions a measles epidemic at Chemawa. The article appeared in a local newspaper, the 'Washington County Hatchet.'
A brief news article from the Forest Grove 'News-Times' describes a visit by an alumnus of the Forest Grove Indian Training School, Albert Minthorn, to Samuel A. Walker, who was a former teacher at the school. Minthorn is described as a 'wealthy farmer living on the Umatilla reservation.'
A news article from the Salem 'Oregon Statesman' newspaper announcing that the third and fourth grade students of the Forest Grove Indian Training School were moving to the school's new site in Salem. It states that other students would remain in Forest Grove until construction is finished. The article also notes the death from tuberculosis of one student, Charles Thompson, age 19.
A news article from the Salem 'Oregon Statesman' newspaper about Chief Peo of the Umatilla tribe, who was visiting two tribe members in prison. The article mentions that the house Chief Peo lived in was built by four students from the Forest Grove Indian Training School who had learned carpentry.
Short article from a local newspaper, the 'Washington Independent,' about Mr. Hudson, who was the blacksmithing teacher at the Forest Grove Indian Training School and Chemawa in the 1880s. Hudson states that 'the present location of the school at Chemawa is very unhealthy, and there is now so much prejudice against the place on account of this among the Indian trives, that new scholars are secured with great difficulty.'
A senior thesis paper written by Pacific University student Cynthia Straughan on the history of the Forest Grove Indian Training School. She discusses the creation of the first off-reservation Indian boarding school, the Carlisle School, and its relationship to the founding of the school in Forest Grove. She draws on primary sources from the Pacific University Archives to describe the aims and activities of the school.
Short note in an article from local newspaper, the 'Washington Independent,' about the newly ornamented buildings and the painted fences outside of the Indian Training School in Forest Grove.
An article written in 1959 on the history of the Chemawa Indian School beginning with its founding in Forest Grove. The article, which provides a positive view of the aims of the school, includes names and information about its early staff and students. The article is based on records from the Bureau of Indian Affairs held in the National Archives and Records Administration as well as popular press accounts. This article appeared in the journal of the the Marion County Historical Society, 'Marion County History' (1959).
