Battlefield and Classroom: Four Decades with the American Indian, 1867-1904

by Richard Henry Pratt, David Wallace Adams (Foreword), Robert M. Utley (Editor)

General Richard Henry Pratt, best known as the founder and longtime superintendent of the influential Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, profoundly shaped Indian education and federal Indian policy at the turn of the twentieth century. Pratt’s long and active military career included eight years of service as an army field officer on the western frontier. During that time he participated in some of the signal conflicts with Indians of the southern plains, including the Washita campaign of 1868-1869 and the Red River War of 1874-1875. He then served as jailor for many of the Indians who surrendered. His experiences led him to dedicate himself to Indian education, and from 1879 to 1904, still on active military duty, he directed the Carlisle school, believing that the only way to save Indians from extinction was to remove Indian youth to nonreservation settings and there inculcate in them what he considered civilized ways.

Pratt’s memoirs, edited by Robert M. Utley and with a new foreword by David Wallace Adams, offer insight into and understanding of what are now highly controversial turn-of-the-century Indian education policies.

Genres: History

420 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1987

Reviews

[Anthropology_nerd]

Thanks to Utley and Adams for making Pratt's autobiography accessible to modern readers. The volume's introduction provides needed context for Pratt's writings, and the in-text citations help explain the lapses in Pratt's memory, as well as expanding on confusing topics.
This isn't an easy read, but if you are interested in a first-person account of a cavalry officer in the Red River War, or the impetus, politics, and perspectives behind the foundation of Carlisle Indian School, this provides ample space to understand Pratt's motivation and attempts at self-justification. Just remember to read Pratt with many, many grains of salt.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this for research. It is fascinating how Pratt thinks and quite insightful.