Education for Michigan Indians began with the arrival of the missionaries. A Mission was established on Mackinac Island in 1823 by the United Foreign Missionary Society. It was ministered by Rev. William M. Ferry. The school averaged 150 students per year until it was closed in 1834. In 1839 Rev. Peter Doughtery came to the Grand Traverse region and began his mission and school.

The Holy Childhood of Jesus mission was founded in 1827 with the first school building constructed that year, next to the church in Little Traverse (now called Harbor Springs.) Ottawa, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Winnebago, Menominee and some children from other out-of-state tribes came long distances and boarded at the school. A few nearby students also attended as day students.

In 1843 the Methodist Church opened Wesleyan Seminary (later changed to Albion College) in Albion and during the 1850's taught basic reading, writing and arithmetic. There were other mission schools though out Michigan and those records will be found in with the church's records.

Then the United States government got into the education business. "The Treaty of 1855 removed control of Indian schools from the missionaries and placed responsibility for Ottawa education firmly in the hands of the federal government. Of the country's forty-eight federally supported Indian schools, twenty were in Michigan, located at Onawmeceeneville, Eagletown, Grove Hill, Pine River, Bear River, Little Traverse, Middle Village, Cross Village, Cheboygan, Iroquois Point, Sugar Island, Garden Island, and in Isabella, Mason and Oceana counties."* Three government schools were constructed in Elbridge township and two in Crystal township in Oceana county and one each in Eden and Custer townships in Mason county.

The 1880's brought another change. It now became standard practice for Indian children to be taken from their families and sent to boarding schools. Many children were sent to Mount Pleasant government which ran from 1893 to 1934, the equivalent of elementary school. After graduation students from Michigan went to: Flandreau, South Dakota, Genoa, Nebraska; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and Haskell in Lawrence, Kansas. Occasionally two students would meet while at school and marry, with one or both never to return to their original home.

It is possible to find if one of your ancestors attended a boarding school and which one. One of the questions on the federal census of 1910 Indian Schedule was about schools attended. The 1900 census (taken during the school year) lists the students as residents of the schools. Indian census rolls, such as the Durant Roll of 1908, list the school name as place of residence for students away from home.

School records can give name, age, and names of parents. Siblings are sometimes sent to the same school, as are children in neighboring families.

Among the government schools attended by Michigan Indian students were:

Haskell Institute was established in 1884 in Lawrence, Kansas. Records 1884-1954 are available at the National Archives - Kansas City Branch, 2312 East Bannister Road, Kansas City, MO 64131 (861) 926-6272. These include general correspondence 1886-1954; individual student folders 1884-1954; student records 1894-1896; records of accounts of individual Indians 1909- 1954; claims files, and minutes of Haskell Club Meetings. (LDS film 1205530 has school census reports 1939-1942; films 1025530, 1239896, 1249897, and 1249899 also have information on Haskell students.).

The Chilocco Training School opened 15 Jan 1884 in Chilocco, OK. The records cover 1890- 1952, including reports on students 1916-1947; student files 1883-1952; attendance records by tribe, 1899-1941. (LDS film 1205529 includes records from this school 1885-1952).

Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Pennsylvania (records are at the National Archives)

Genoa Government Indian School, Genoa, Nebraska (records probably at the National Archives - Kansas City Branch, 2312 East Bannister Road, Kansas City, MO 64131 (861) 926-6272).

Mount Pleasant School, Mt. Pleasant, MI was opened in 1893 and closed in 1934. Records exist for the period 1904-1926 and are at the National Archives - Great Lakes Region, 7358 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60629 (312) 581-7816 Mt. Pleasant School Records &
Students from 1900 census and Students from Leelanau County

Holy Childhood of Jesus Church is at 140 West Main St., Harbor Springs, MI 49740. School records there include enrollment books, 1926-1946 which list name, grade, age, place of birth , parents, and address; and student files, 1886-present which list name, parents, birth and enrollment dates. Students - 1920 & Students - 1900

Additional Catholic records can be found in Guide to Catholic Indian Mission and School Records in Midwest Repositiories by Philip C. Bantin with Mark G. Thiel, Marquette University, Milwaukee, 1984.

Not all Indian children were sent away to school. Some attended the local, non-Indian, schools. These school records can be hard to find. The records for school district 6 in Leelanau county in 1926-1928 were found in an antique shop, and contain the names and ages of the students, many of whom were Indian.

* Quote from People of the Three Fires, Ottawa Chapter by James M. McClurken. Published 1986 by Grand Rapids Inter-Tribal Council.