Early Schooling: Before Tuscarora Indian School

*The following history was contributed by various members of the Tuscarora Community.*

Many years ago there was a one room schoolhouse on the reservation. This school was attended only by those who lived close to it. Other children went to schools located off the reservation. Students had to walk or, in bad weather, were taken in horse and buggy.

Children who had no parents or only one parent were often sent to a boarding school called the Thomas Indian School located on the Cattaraugus Reservation south of Buffalo, New York. Thomas Indian School took Indian students only from New York state in grades kindergarten through eight. Students stayed at the school for the nine month school year. They lived in dormitories which typically had about 24 students each and a caretaker. There were four buildings for boys and four buildings for girls.

At first students were allowed to return home during the Christmas holidays. However, as these students were exposed to more childhood diseases such as chicken pox and measles, they were no longer allowed to go home because of the fear of spreading the diseases to other students.

Schooling at the Thomas Indian School was very different from the education of today. Girls took a class called, Domestic Science where they learned to wait on tables, sew, cook, and do laundry and ironing. They were given music lessons if they had good grades in music class. They could learn to play instruments such as piano and trumpet. Boys had a room called the Engine Room where they learned to do mechanical things. The boys also did gardening and farming. There was a milk house and horses and cows. They kept their produce in a root cellar. Boys also did carpentry work. Both boys and girls were taught the basic academic skills along with these practical skills.

When an Indian student first came to the school, he or she was quarantined in the hospital building until officials felt there were no communicable diseases and the student could mingle with others. They were forbidden to speak their native languages. Students were severely punished for speaking their native language.

Students often put on "cantatas" or pageants for outsiders. At graduation all the parents and families came to the ceremonies. There was chapel after breakfast every day and a special services on Sunday.

The school supplied students with all their clothes though they could wear their own if they had them.Students paid no tuition for the school since it was state funded. After eighth grade students either returned to the reservation or attended one of several other schools. They could attend public school in nearby cities. Some attended other Indian schools. Some of these schools were in New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Oklahoma. Those who came home could attend a local junior high school off the reservation.

No transportation was provided so students had to find their own way to get to the schools. The closest school was about ten miles away. A local resident often provided transportation for students by driving his Pierce Arrow which seated about eight people. He also returned at the end of the day to give students a ride back home. When requests were made to the state for buses to provide transportation, it was denied because there were not enough students living on any one road who needed to be picked up. After junior high students could attend one of several high schools off the reservation. Eventually, they state began to provide transportation.

Originally, when a school was built on the reservation, students could attend from grades kindergarten to eight. Later, as the population changed, the grade levels served by the school varied with some attending through grade four and at other times, through grade six. From seventh grade on students were bussed to Niagara Falls public schools. They attended different junior high schools depending on which school held a contract with New York State. Students were sometimes moved from school to school when a contract ran out after two years.

Eventually the present school was built to accommodate grades kindergarten to six. In addition, there is now a closer school district where students attend higher grades after leaving the reservation school.