Boarding School Voices: Carlisle Indian Students Speak

Although tragic for many student, for others the Carlisle experience led to positive outcomes in their lives. Some published short pieces in the Carlisle newspapers and others sent letters and photos to the school over the years. Arnold Krupat transcribes selections from the letters of these former students literally and unedited, emphasizing their evocative language and what they tell of themselves and their home communities, and the perspectives they offer on a wider American world. Their sense of themselves and their worldview provide detailed insights into what was abstractly and vaguely referred to as "the Indian question." These former students were the oxymoron Carlisle superintendent Richard Henry Pratt could not imagine and never comprehended: they were . is a professor emeritus of global studies and literature at Sarah Lawrence College. He is the author of numerous books, including (Nebraska, 2009) and . He is the editor of (Nebraska, 2015).