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[Home] [Next] As Churchill County tried to comply with the national mandates for Indian education in the early 1900s, it became clear that an established school near the Indian reservation was needed. In 1906, over 100 Indian children lived there. The distance for the children to go to school in town was too far and there was not enough room in the public schools for the large number of children from Stillwater. An Indian School was thought to be the solution and school attendance would be compulsory. With the support of Bureau of Indian Affairs agent Casson, the Indians would be required to reside upon their ten acre allotments at the reservation and their children would be provided with a day school and other conveniences at the expense of the government until such time as the people could learn to build schools for themselves under their own organization. Consistent with the prevailing ideas, Indian authorities and agents felt that Indian children, by learning domestic science skills, basic reading, writing and arithmetic, hygiene, and moral values, would gain efficiency. In addition, their power to resist disease would be increased. Indeed, these sentiments, especially relating to cleanliness, prevailed for many years. In the early 1940s, one former student of the Fallon Indian Day School remembers that every Monday morning the children were given baths and haircuts and were checked for lice. She felt they were referred to as the “dirty little Indians” by school teachers and, therefore, she did not like anything about her early school years. Another former student from the same school remembers that the kids had to brush their teeth before and after lunch. Despite this, she really enjoyed school even though she could only speak her own language, for, as a child, she did not know how to speak “white.” In 1907, The Women’s Home Missionary Society sent Miss Lillian R. Corwin, a graduate of the Chicago Baptist Training School, to work among the Indians in Nevada. Miss Corwin’s work as a missionary had been extensive. She had worked at Loyalton, California, and Elko, Nevada and was an expert in answering the questions on Indian education often asked by educators and government officials. In Washington D.C., Miss Corwin had consulted with the Department of the Interior more than once regarding issues pertaining to the Indian population.
With Miss Corwin’s arrival, there was no doubt that an Indian Day School would soon be underway. Two public roads crossed at the proposed site, making it a convenient location for the children living on their families’ allotments. Plans for the school complex included a main school room, a kitchen, dining room and living quarters for a teacher and a cook. Notice was given that bids for the construction of the Fallon Indian Day School would be received by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington until June 22, 1908; bids were to include furnishing and delivering the necessary materials to construct a schoolhouse and employees’ quarters. Plans and specifications were submitted and a contract for building the school was awarded to I.H. Kent. The contract called for the construction and completion of the school for $1,170.50. Adding in the cost of the employees’ quarters brought the total to $2,027.
Local people were hired to work on the project. Robinson and Wildes constructed the buildings, and the concrete foundation was taken care of by Orchard & Galloway. Painting and papering were completed by Harry Clinton. The work deadline called for the buildings to be completed by October 1, 1908. Staff for the new school included a female teacher and a male teacher, who was hired to instruct the children in practical farming. The Indian children were to attend this school during the day and be provided a hot meal at noon; then they would return to their homes for the evening. |
