Carlisle Indian School Research Podcast - podcast cover

Carlisle Indian School Research Podcast

Share my research journey as I make my way through the many sources of information newly available about the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Founded in 1879, Carlisle was the first off-reservation government-sponsored boarding school for Native Americans. I will be examining documentation chronologically and sharing the stories, facts, and insights I discover about the school, its staff, and most importantly, its students.
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Episode 25: Research Activity Updates

This week Kate and Jim discuss what's been going on lately, including new acquisitions, walking tours and walking tour publications, a former student in the movies, a finding about Superintendent Mercer and outings, and an update on digitied materials from the Pratt papers at Yale. Show notes, including links and images, here: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2022/10/17/episode-25-research-activity-update This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Oct 17, 202231 minSeason 2Ep. 25

Episode 24: A Tragic True Crime Story

As noted at the beginning of this episode, Kate and Jim are discussing a murder-suicide of a former Carlisle student, and reading from newspaper accounts of the time which contain words and characterizations that may be offensive to some listeners. We don’t get into graphic detail of the crimes, but listener discretion is advised. Show notes, including some of the newspaper clippings are available here: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2022/7/26/episode-24-a-tragic-true-crime-sto...

Jul 26, 202234 minSeason 2Ep. 24

Episode 23: Our Exploration of the Richard Henry Pratt Papers

Welcome to Season 2! We talk about our first visit to the Beinecke Library and our initial exploration of the Richard Henry Pratt Papers. We talk about what we did, the kinds of things we found, and all the things we want to get back to and explore some more. Show notes: [https://carlisle-indian-school-research.zencast.website/episodes/episode-23-our-exploration-of-the-richard-henry-pratt-papers] This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Jul 18, 202231 minSeason 2Ep. 23

Episode 22: Calisthenics and The Cage (not what you think)

In this episode Kate examines a book of Calisthenics Songs purchased by the school, and presumably used, in 1879. And we follow a research journey about a building on campus known as "The Cage." It's not as bad as it sounds. Show notes, including the images, are at https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/9/13/episode-22-calisthenics-and-the-cage-its-not-what-you-think This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Sep 16, 202123 minSeason 1Ep. 22

From the Newspapers of January 1880

This week Kate and Jim review a selection of articles from newspapers across the country about the school published in January of 1880. Articles describe specifics about the school and the activities of the students as well as events on the national level regarding the education of Native Americans. You can find the shownotes for this episode, include parts of some of the articles discussed at https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/9/7/episode-21-from-the-newspapers-of-january-188...

Sep 07, 202147 minSeason 1Ep. 21

Episode 20: Big Concepts

This week Kate is on her own sharing some concerns about the process of deciding what Topic tags to apply to publications and documents on the Carlisle Indian School Digitial Resrouce Center site. She also reads some insightful sections from a book about the Holocaust and discusses how she applies similar approaches to her own work. The show notes for this episode are available at https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/7/20/episode-20-big-concepts This podcast is powered by ZenCas...

Jul 20, 202124 minSeason 1Ep. 20

Introduction to Native American boarding schools in the U.S.

This week Kate and Jim briefly discuss some recent events including the announcement of the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiave and the challenges that group will face. We then give an introduction to the reasons boarding schools were often seen as the most effective way of "civilizing" young Native Americans and what kinds of schools were already in place before Pratt founded Carlisle in 1879. Show notes at: carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/7/6/episode-19-introd...

Jul 06, 202148 minSeason 1Ep. 19

Research Roundup

This week, Kate and co-host Jim Gerencser discuss new resources about Chief Spotted Tail and the sons he sent to Carlisle and then quickly removed, as well as more resources about how outings worked, the progress being made on confirming the number of students who attended Carlisle, and the disinterments of deceased persons from the school cemetery which are taking place this summer. Link to the show notes for more info: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/6/8/episode-18-resear...

Jun 08, 202129 minSeason 1Ep. 18

Episode 17: Comparing evidence about the gathering of the first students

This week, Kate and Jim do their first "mythology busting" episode and compare the stories and details of the available documentary sources about the gathering of the first students to come to Carlisle. Show notes available at: Carlisle Indian School Resarch: Episode 17 This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Apr 21, 202133 minSeason 1Ep. 17

Episode 16: Research Roundup

This week, Kate and Jim discuss a LOT of discoveries they made this past week including a photo that led to an interesting example of a student on outing, uncovering people who have documentation as students but who actually never were enrolled, a Dickinson college-CIIS connection that Jim didn't know about before, and a link to an interesting talk about the football program at the school. Show notes: Episode 16: Research Roundup This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Apr 13, 202124 minSeason 1Ep. 16

Tour of the school grounds in 1879

This week Kate and Jim discuss the buildings that were remaining on the grounds from the Army's Carlisle Barracks, their condition, and how they were adapted and used by the Carlisle Indian Industrial School when it first opened in 1879. Show notes, including images, are at: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/3/29/episode-15-tour-of-the-school-grounds-in-1879 This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Mar 29, 202138 minSeason 1Ep. 15

Episode 14: Research Roundup

This week Kate explains why there's no proper new episode this week because of all the other interesting research activity, including exploring information on students and updating information about those places in other places online. Show notes with links: This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Mar 18, 202115 minSeason 1Ep. 14

Episode 13: Beginning to mine the correspondence files

This week, Kate is once again joined by Jim Gerencser to begin to explore the incoming correspondece files from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In this episode we are focusing on the difficulties the school's founder, Richard Henry Pratt, had in obtaining needed supplies and funds as the school opened. Show notes for this episode: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/3/9/episode-13 This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Mar 09, 202150 minSeason 1Ep. 13

Episode 12: Research Roundup

This week, Kate goes solo and gives an update on what's been crossing her desk this past week, including books to read, new photos, old photos, and considering organizational software. Show notes at: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/3/3/episode-12-research-roundup This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Mar 03, 202120 minSeason 1Ep. 12

Episode Eleven: Newspapers from 1879

This week, Kate is joined again by Jim Gerencser to review some of the content about the Carlisle Indian School in a selection of newspapers from 1879--the year the school was founded. You can find the shownotes here: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/2/23/episode-eleven-newspapers-from-1879 This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Feb 23, 202154 minSeason 1Ep. 11

Episode Ten: Early documentation

This week, host Kate Theimer and resident expert Jim Gerencser discuss what documentation about the school and its students is available for the years 1879 and 1880. Show notes available at: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2021/2/16/episode-ten-early-documentation-1879-1880 This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Feb 16, 202135 minEp. 10

Episode Nine: An Introduction to Medicine at the School with guest Frank Vitale

In this episode Kate welcomes guest Frank Vitale who gives a overview of the history of medicine at the Carlisle Indian School, including how students were treated, what the most common ailments were, and many references to "we really need to give that topic an episode of its own!" Shownotes here: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2020/4/22/episode-nine-an-introduction-to-medicine-at-the-school-with-guest-frank-vitale This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

May 12, 202041 minEp. 9

Episode Eight: Local churches and the Indian School

In this episode I give an overview of how church attendance figured into the lives of students at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and role I think it played in the school's goal of assimilation. To see the images and find links to more information go to: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2020/3/23/episode-eight-local-churches-and-the-indian-school This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Apr 03, 202033 minEp. 8

Episode Seven: Discoveries among the glass plate negatives

This week, I discuss some of the discoveries I made while working with thousands, yes, thousands, of images of Carlisle Indian School subjects. Just a couple of high-level observations about photographer J.N. Choate's process. To see the images and find links to more information go to: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2020/2/6/episode-seven-lets-talk-glass-plate-negatives This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Feb 24, 20200Ep. 7

Episode Six: Carlisle Before Carlisle

In this episode I discuss the Native people who originally lived in the Carlisle area, the history of the Carlilse Barracks, and a bit about what Carlisle would have been like in 1879 when the first students arrived. See the show notes at https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2019/12/6/episode-six-carlisle-before-carlisle This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Dec 06, 201928 minEp. 6

Episode Five: Researching Ulysses G. Paisano

This week I answer a question received via Facebook about a specific student: Ulysses G. Paisano. In doing so I share a deep-ish dive into the kinds of documentation we have connected to him, as well as exploring the information about him in the student newspapers. UPDATED with information that I overlooked. Because sometimes I'm just a careless idiot. Let's hope not most of the time. To learn more, visit the show notes for the episode at: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2019/11...

Nov 20, 201935 minEp. 5

Episode Four: How young were the students?

In this episode I sort of answer the questions "how young was the youngest student?" and "how young were the students generally?" So, you'll get some numbers and some stories. And some photos if you check out the show notes at: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2019/11/13/episode-four-the-youngest-student Thanks for listening! This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Nov 14, 201930 minEp. 4

Episode Three: Richard Henry Pratt's Beginnings

In this episode I share my research about the family, youth, and military career of Richard Henry Pratt, the founder of the Carlisle Indian School. For complete show notes visit: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2019/10/25/episode-3-youth-and-military-career-of-richard-henry-pratt This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Oct 28, 201933 minEp. 3

Episode Two: The arrival of the first students

In this episode Kate reads some newspaper and first person accounts of the arrival of the first students at the school and share some information about the photographs taken of the first group. You can find complete show notes for this episode at: https://carlisleindianschoolresearch.com/podcast/2019/10/2/episode-1-the-arrival-of-the-first-students This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm...

Oct 04, 20190Ep. 2
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android