5th CKLA AB 10.4 Summary Paragraph 1

Luther’s Story When Luther was born, he was named Plenty Kill, because his parents thought he had the heart of a hunter and warrior. He was born in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1868. Back then, many Lakota and other Sioux tribes were still at war with the U.S. Army. Plenty Kill lived on a reservation,but he was raised according to the old, traditional ways. He learned to hunt buffalo and ride a horse. He also learned to fight. Plenty Kill’s father was a great warrior. He called the U.S. soldiers “Long Knives,” because of the swords carried by cavalry officers like Richard Henry Pratt. When Plenty Kill was a boy, his father made a bow and arrows for him. The bow and all the arrows were painted red as a sign that his father had been wounded in battle. Plenty Kill grew up expecting that he, too, would someday fight and possibly die in battle against the Long Knives. However, his father did not really want his son to become a warrior. Like many other Lakota, he was tired of fighting. Instead, he wanted something different for his son. Then, one day, Richard Henry Pratt came to talk to them about the Carlisle School. Pratt took Plenty Kill’s father and other tribal elders to visit the new school. On the trip, they also went to New York City and Washington, D.C. They met the president of the United States, the “Grandfather of the Long Knives.” When Plenty Kill’s father returned from his trip, he said this: “My son, since I have seen all those cities, and the way the Long Knife people are doing, I begin to realize that our lands and our [animals] are all gone. There is nothing but the Long Knives everywhere I went,and they keep coming like flies. So we will have to learn their ways, in order that we may be able to live with them. You will have to learn all you can, and I will see that your brothers and sisters follow in the path that you are making for them. Someday I want to hear you speak like these Long Knife people, and work like them.” So, Plenty Kill went to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, along with 146 other Native American children, mostly from Great Plains tribes. There, he chose his new first name—Luther—at random from a list of names on the chalkboard. He could not yet read, but the teacher ordered him to choose a name anyway, and Luther was the one he chose. Life at the Carlisle School was totally different than anything Plenty Kill, now Luther, had ever known, and it certainly was not much fun. The teachers forced all the boys to cut their hair, which is something Lakota men never did. The boys were very angry about it and did not understand, but they had no choice. Discipline at the school was strict and punishments were severe. If the boys refused, they were punished, and then they had to get a haircut anyway. After their haircuts, the children received new clothing. They had never worn such tight, scratchy garments and they were very uncomfortable. Aside from the sadness of separation from their families, the worst part was that they were not allowed to speak their own language. The children were only allowed to speak English, which was impossible at first since none of them knew that language. Luther was a very fast learner, though, and he grew to enjoy reading and writing. Luther was a star student at Carlisle and became a recruiter for the school, meaning that he encouraged other Native Americans to send their children there. The people at the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs liked what they saw at the Carlisle School. They built about 25 more “Indian boarding schools” around the country, all modeled after the Carlisle School and funded by the government. They also encouraged church missions and other organizations to create similar schools on reservations. Unfortunately, few Native American children were as successful as Luther and other members of the first class at the Carlisle School. Most boarding schools were run like military bases, and children were often treated very badly. In some schools, children were treated more like enslaved workers than students. They lived in poor conditions and diseases were widespread. If they tried to run away, they were captured and forced to do physical work as punishment. Pratt himself complained that the schools were hurting rather than helping Native Americans. Eventually, he complained so much that he was fired from the Carlisle School. He continued to promote “assimilation through education,” but he was never very successful, and the schools never improved much. Many were closed by the late 1920s. Luther went on to live a full and fascinating life. Despite efforts by Pratt and the teachers at the Carlisle School, Luther never forgot his native language and customs. He never cut his hair again, either, and he did not think any other Native Americans should have to. Luther spent the rest of his life working to preserve Lakota heritage. He wrote books and gave speeches, and he even became a movie actor. He tried to make sure Hollywood film directors portrayed Native Americans in a fair, honest way, instead of always presenting them as villains or savages. Luther believed in the importance of education, and he was always grateful to Pratt for the chance to attend his school. However, Luther did not agree that Native Americans should abandon their culture. He thought Lakota children should learn about Lakota history and that they should be proud of their culture and beliefs. Today, Luther Standing Bear would be happy to see that present-day Native Americans are proud of their heritage and have not abandoned their culture.