Two groups of Western Indians were incarcerated in Florida. The first included seventy-four Southern Plains Indians (Cheyenne, Comanche, and Kiowa) from the Indian Territory. These were kept at Fort Marion in St. Augustine from 1875 to 1878. Some were guilty of crimes such as murder, but others selected arbitrarily by Army officers or their own tribal leaders were relatively innocent of any wrongdoing. The prisoners had extensive contact with the white population in Florida, and received basic instruction in reading, writing, and Christian religion. The officer in charge of the prisoners, Captain Richard Pratt, actively solicited support from philanthropists in this educational effort, which culminated in the foundation of the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. / Between 1886 and 1888, approximately 500 Apaches from Arizona were held at both Fort Marion and Fort Pickens in Pensacola. While the Plains Indian group was almost exclusively composed of male warriors, the Apache prisoners included women, children, and scouts who fought with the Army against renegades. The controversy generated by the apparent injustice of this wholesale removal, and concern for the health of the prisoners, attracted national attention. The efforts of sympathetic Army officers and the Indian Rights Association led to the prisoners relocation at Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama. / The captivity of these Native Americans in Florida is significant in that, while overtly punitive in nature, it had some positive results. The prisoners showed an ability to adapt to white culture and conducted themselves with dignity under adverse circumstances. White society in turn began to see Native Americans as human beings deserving their sympathy and respect. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3652. / Major Professor: Edward A. Keuchel. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76746 |
| Contributors | Kalesnik, Frank Lewis., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 312 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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