In the 1800s, the U.S. government created boarding schools to assimilate American Indians, or in the words of American general William H. Pratt, “Kill the Indian and save the man.” ²  Pratt was the architect of the national Indian boarding school system. Children were forcefully separated from their families, and this trauma disrupted Native systems of education, child rearing and cultural practices. Children were not allowed to speak their Native language and cultural practices were prohibited. Most often, siblings had to attend different boarding schools. The U.S. government’s goal was to break down family structures. Native families still feel the impact of this disruption today, which can manifest as mistrust with the public school system.  Despite this history, the inherent strengths and knowledge of Native peoples carries their communities and cultures forward, as stewards of the land, since time immemorial. ⁵

The Greenville Indian Industrial School opened in 1897 near the town of Greenville in Plumas County, California. The school was built on Mountain Maidu land and the Native children were not U.S. citizens. ³ Native people did not become US citizens until 1924, with the passing of the Indian Citizenship Act. This time period was a time of Native land loss and theft.  In Beverly Ogle’s book, “Their Stories,” she describes how Greenville school agents helped Native “land to be stolen and Indian ownership systematically transferred to the timber industry and ranchers, but mostly power companies.” ⁴

The Greenville school students were primarily Maidu, Washoe, Pit River, Yana, Wintu, Paiute, and Atsugewi. At times children from other regions were taken and placed there. Some children, after learning an “industrial trade,” went on to work for local ranches as unpaid or low- paid labor. Many children ran away in resistance to the unbearable conditions, which included physical abuse. ³ Children died here of different reasons and never returned home.

The school had a history of abuse. Beverly Ogle, Mountain Maidu/Pit River historian and esteemed elder, collected the stories of former students over the years. “For many children, it was a place of sickness, physical abuse, corporal punishment and death.” ⁴   

Ogle’s research found that during the school year 1912-1913, “a great deal of interchange with local courts over alleged brutality in dealing with smaller children occurred. A petition was sent to the commissioner from eight people asking for an investigation be made…it is not known if an investigation” occurred.  Ogle adds that in 1908, Dr. Wimberly, school physician, filed a complaint at the lack of sanitary facilities at the school.  His request was not acknowledged so he quit soon after.  According to former students, “Kids were disappearing all the time.  They didn’t know if those kids were running away or died.” ⁴

Many children resisted the conditions. Eugene Benner attempted to burn the school down and ran away multiple times.  The school finally sent him home to his mom when he began to regularly pass out and lose consciousness. “He went home happy.”⁴

Researcher Kate Mook (2020), uncovered patterns of girls running away:

“The school had a history of runaway female students according to multiple newspaper articles. In April 1909, three girls (unnamed) ran away and were found three days later approximately fifty miles from the school. In October 1913, Grace Dicks and Effie Walker ran away from the Greenville School with the superintendent’s daughter June Hull.” ³

Edith Buckskin, Aelouise Stonecoal, Molly Lowry, Katherine Dick and Rosa James are the names of the five Native girls who ran away from the school in December of 1916. Their story is the focus of this unit. They were born from Maidu and Pit River families.  The grandmother of Edith Buckskin, Mattie Tom, attempted to retrieve Edith from the school when she heard about the mistreatment of students.  She made requests in letters written to the school clerk, but was denied access to her granddaughter. ⁴

Some Native children were fortunate to have a brief stay at the school.  Mamie Benner was fluent in the Mountain Maidu language and later on became chief informant to a linguist at Berkeley. Mamie said if she had stayed at the school any longer she would’ve forgotten her language and culture. She was only there for one year.  Her father was able to remove her from the school, when he learned about an uncontrolled outbreak of tuberculosis and head lice. ⁴

The school was in a state of disrepair, during its last years, as evidenced in letters written by Superintendent Miller. The letters detailed “overcrowding, the need for a new building, a problematic septic system, problematic staff, and lack of money.” After a school fire in the early 1920s, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Cato Sells, elected not to rebuild. ³

The federal government contracted with the Methodist Church to run this school, and it is at times referred to by others as “The Mission.” Today, in a “formal act of repentance,” church members are currently working with Native people, seeking truth, healing and remembrance for the children who attended the school. ⁸