Their Blood Cries Up From The Ground
In 1899 the Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians came into being -
at least on paper. Its "intent" was to be a hospital dedicated
solely to the 'mental illness problem' within the Native American
Community at that point in history.
In actuality, this was not the first mental hospital of its kind. In
1873 the Cherokee Council created a home for the deaf, blind and
insane that was exclusively for Cherokee use. The difference
between the Cherokee's hospital and Hiawatha was that
Hiawatha's actual intent was to be little more than a warehouse
for 'problem' Indians.
The brainchild of an Indian agent and Republican Senator R.F.
Pettigrew, Hiawatha was considered to be yet another medium for
social change for Indian communities.
at least on paper. Its "intent" was to be a hospital dedicated
solely to the 'mental illness problem' within the Native American
Community at that point in history.
In actuality, this was not the first mental hospital of its kind. In
1873 the Cherokee Council created a home for the deaf, blind and
insane that was exclusively for Cherokee use. The difference
between the Cherokee's hospital and Hiawatha was that
Hiawatha's actual intent was to be little more than a warehouse
for 'problem' Indians.
The brainchild of an Indian agent and Republican Senator R.F.
Pettigrew, Hiawatha was considered to be yet another medium for
social change for Indian communities.
Hiawatha's building broke ground in 1901
in the tiny town of Canton, South Dakota.
The asylum itself consisted of a three
story main building with four wings. This
building sat on a hill outside of Canton, on
the site where the Canton-Inwood hospital
sits now. Behind the main building
several barns were built, two of which
remain today.
In later years a surgery/hospital building
was built directly to the East of the main
building, its purpose being to house TB
patients or to accommodate infirmary
needs.
A seven foot high fence surrounded the
asylum. Designed to keep patients in and
the public out, two steel gates with the
words "Hiawatha Asylum For Insane
Indians" set in wrought iron in an arch
above them were the only way in or out of
the property.
in the tiny town of Canton, South Dakota.
The asylum itself consisted of a three
story main building with four wings. This
building sat on a hill outside of Canton, on
the site where the Canton-Inwood hospital
sits now. Behind the main building
several barns were built, two of which
remain today.
In later years a surgery/hospital building
was built directly to the East of the main
building, its purpose being to house TB
patients or to accommodate infirmary
needs.
A seven foot high fence surrounded the
asylum. Designed to keep patients in and
the public out, two steel gates with the
words "Hiawatha Asylum For Insane
Indians" set in wrought iron in an arch
above them were the only way in or out of
the property.
Hiawatha accepted its first patient on December 31,
1902. A year later there were 16 patients. By the
time the asylum was closed in 1934, hundreds of
Native Americans would have passed through its
doors, many of them never seeing their homes or
loved ones ever again.
The first Administrator was a former mayor of
Canton and Representative, Oscar Gifford. The
man solely responsible for bringing the asylum to
the tiny town, Gifford had no medical experience,
just a head for business. He'd drafted the land deal
that secured the property upon which the asylum
sat. The Bureau of Indian Affairs deemed him
worthy to run the hospital because of this and a man
with absolutely no knowledge of mental illness was
placed in charge of a mental hospital.
1902. A year later there were 16 patients. By the
time the asylum was closed in 1934, hundreds of
Native Americans would have passed through its
doors, many of them never seeing their homes or
loved ones ever again.
The first Administrator was a former mayor of
Canton and Representative, Oscar Gifford. The
man solely responsible for bringing the asylum to
the tiny town, Gifford had no medical experience,
just a head for business. He'd drafted the land deal
that secured the property upon which the asylum
sat. The Bureau of Indian Affairs deemed him
worthy to run the hospital because of this and a man
with absolutely no knowledge of mental illness was
placed in charge of a mental hospital.
From the start Hiawatha was poorly staffed
and badly run. Kicking, striking, shaking
or choking were considered acceptable
means of control, "treatment" was doing
housekeeping and yard work.
The asylum lacked formal commitment
procedures save the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs was to authorize all
admissions. The Commissioner almost
always got the referral from the Indian
Agent who ran the reservation. If the
Commissioner agreed and there was an
available bed, the person was as good as
committed. Hiawatha even admitted
children, normally without parental consent
or even notice sometimes. The
Commissioner of Indian Affairs had
ultimate say over the lives of all Natives on
the reservations.
To this end, Hiawatha easily became a
warehouse for 'problem' Indians, effectively
turning it into a prison.
and badly run. Kicking, striking, shaking
or choking were considered acceptable
means of control, "treatment" was doing
housekeeping and yard work.
The asylum lacked formal commitment
procedures save the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs was to authorize all
admissions. The Commissioner almost
always got the referral from the Indian
Agent who ran the reservation. If the
Commissioner agreed and there was an
available bed, the person was as good as
committed. Hiawatha even admitted
children, normally without parental consent
or even notice sometimes. The
Commissioner of Indian Affairs had
ultimate say over the lives of all Natives on
the reservations.
To this end, Hiawatha easily became a
warehouse for 'problem' Indians, effectively
turning it into a prison.
Gifford ultimately had a brief tenure as Hiawatha's
Administrator due to his incompetence but, ironically,
it was also Gifford who unknowingly provided one of
the few remaining and forever present links to
Hiawatha's past - the cemetery. He ordered it started
when the first patient died in 1903. Sitting to the far
east of the hospital, over a stream and on top of a hill
the cemetery was well out of view of the hospital
buildings themselves.
Dr. Harry Hummer replaced Gifford and the rest, as
they say, is history - all of it bad. Dr. Hummer was in
his late twenties, an arrogant man with a
megalomaniac streak. He hated the west, hated his
employees and loathed the patients he'd been sent to
work with. He would spend the next twenty years
running the asylum with an iron fist.
Patients were kept highly drugged, their files
incomplete or entirely missing. Patients who were
deemed worthy for 'treatment' (ie, going outside to do
yard work) were allowed outside. Problematic patients
were not allowed outside at all, which no doubt proved
torturous for People who lived, thrived and worshiped
out of doors.
The patient ratio was one or two employees to an
entire ward, which could consist of up to 20 or 30
patients at any given time. Actual nurses were not
hired at Hiawatha until its last few years. Up until
that point 'locals' were hired to work as attendants
and they were very much so out numbered.
Administrator due to his incompetence but, ironically,
it was also Gifford who unknowingly provided one of
the few remaining and forever present links to
Hiawatha's past - the cemetery. He ordered it started
when the first patient died in 1903. Sitting to the far
east of the hospital, over a stream and on top of a hill
the cemetery was well out of view of the hospital
buildings themselves.
Dr. Harry Hummer replaced Gifford and the rest, as
they say, is history - all of it bad. Dr. Hummer was in
his late twenties, an arrogant man with a
megalomaniac streak. He hated the west, hated his
employees and loathed the patients he'd been sent to
work with. He would spend the next twenty years
running the asylum with an iron fist.
Patients were kept highly drugged, their files
incomplete or entirely missing. Patients who were
deemed worthy for 'treatment' (ie, going outside to do
yard work) were allowed outside. Problematic patients
were not allowed outside at all, which no doubt proved
torturous for People who lived, thrived and worshiped
out of doors.
The patient ratio was one or two employees to an
entire ward, which could consist of up to 20 or 30
patients at any given time. Actual nurses were not
hired at Hiawatha until its last few years. Up until
that point 'locals' were hired to work as attendants
and they were very much so out numbered.
Within the hospital, beyond the public display, the
patients lived in filth, without plumbing - because the
good doctor would not allow it to be properly installed -
and without electricity - not because they didn't have it,
but because Dr. Hummer would not allow it to be used.
Dr. Hummer seemed to be under the impression that if
he didn't spend all of the money allotted to him for the
year by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and he sent
it back, then they'd transfer him out. It was a practice
that worked against him, keeping him securely in place
as hospital Administrator, in spite of repeated
allegations of sexual harrassment by his employees and
rumors of patient abuse.
patients lived in filth, without plumbing - because the
good doctor would not allow it to be properly installed -
and without electricity - not because they didn't have it,
but because Dr. Hummer would not allow it to be used.
Dr. Hummer seemed to be under the impression that if
he didn't spend all of the money allotted to him for the
year by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and he sent
it back, then they'd transfer him out. It was a practice
that worked against him, keeping him securely in place
as hospital Administrator, in spite of repeated
allegations of sexual harrassment by his employees and
rumors of patient abuse.
If one goes to the state historical archives in
South Dakota, they can follow a sparse and
dotted path through what little documentation
there is regarding the asylum.
The first major inspection came in 1923,
followed by another in 1926 when Dr. Herbert
Edwards, Medical Field Secretary of the
National Tuberculosis Association and a
member of the Meriam Commission,
investigated the asylum. The results of this
investigation became part of what is now
known as "The Meriam Report". It was this
report that revealed the dark side of the
asylum and began a process of increased
investigation of the hospital.
Finding the staff grossly uneducated and
inappropriately accredidated to work with
mentally ill patients, Dr. Edwards' findings
show underhanded processes at work without
even actually pointing out the wrongs in
question.
For years in his annual reports to the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hummer had
blown his own horn, praising his hospital and
continually insisting upon a constant need for
Hiawatha's presence, as that there was a severe
need within the Native community for mental
health attention yet Dr. Edwards found the
patient records grossly incomplete.
Patients were 'diagnosed' under several
headings yet showed no signs or symptoms of
what they were alleged to have. The asylum
worked at over one hundred percent capacity
and seventy percent of the patient population
had lived in the asylum for over five years yet
there were no histories and many of them were
quite aware of their faculties. There was little
or no documentation regarding their intake,
their ongoing treatment or their progression.
Since Hiawatha was being touted as a place to
aid Indians in 'getting better', this stark reality
points to something else entirely - ultimate
warehousing.
South Dakota, they can follow a sparse and
dotted path through what little documentation
there is regarding the asylum.
The first major inspection came in 1923,
followed by another in 1926 when Dr. Herbert
Edwards, Medical Field Secretary of the
National Tuberculosis Association and a
member of the Meriam Commission,
investigated the asylum. The results of this
investigation became part of what is now
known as "The Meriam Report". It was this
report that revealed the dark side of the
asylum and began a process of increased
investigation of the hospital.
Finding the staff grossly uneducated and
inappropriately accredidated to work with
mentally ill patients, Dr. Edwards' findings
show underhanded processes at work without
even actually pointing out the wrongs in
question.
For years in his annual reports to the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hummer had
blown his own horn, praising his hospital and
continually insisting upon a constant need for
Hiawatha's presence, as that there was a severe
need within the Native community for mental
health attention yet Dr. Edwards found the
patient records grossly incomplete.
Patients were 'diagnosed' under several
headings yet showed no signs or symptoms of
what they were alleged to have. The asylum
worked at over one hundred percent capacity
and seventy percent of the patient population
had lived in the asylum for over five years yet
there were no histories and many of them were
quite aware of their faculties. There was little
or no documentation regarding their intake,
their ongoing treatment or their progression.
Since Hiawatha was being touted as a place to
aid Indians in 'getting better', this stark reality
points to something else entirely - ultimate
warehousing.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, one of the main
requirements of release from any mental hospital was
sterilization. This meant a physcian qualified to
handle the procedure had to be on staff of any mental
hospital. Dr. Hummer did not hire a physician for
Hiawatha so release was not an option. Whether this
was intentional is unknown but it can safely be
assumed that job security was an issue. Hummer
might have despised the west and his charges, but if he
was going to be trapped there, he would take the steps
to make sure that his position was secure, preventing
release was a good start.
So was aligning himself with underhanded Indian
agents who wanted to rid their reservations of people
they considered troublermakers or non-conformists.
There is documentation that some patients were little
more than people with a drinking problem who were
secured at Hiawatha, as is there proof that horse
thieves and other petty criminals made their way
through Hiawatha's doors, proving that this 'hospital'
was anything but.
While this is not pointed out in the Meriam Report it
is certainly alluded to and because of the Report's
publication in 1928, the fact of Hiawatha's ultimate use
while in existence would be called into question
repeatedly, and with good reason.
requirements of release from any mental hospital was
sterilization. This meant a physcian qualified to
handle the procedure had to be on staff of any mental
hospital. Dr. Hummer did not hire a physician for
Hiawatha so release was not an option. Whether this
was intentional is unknown but it can safely be
assumed that job security was an issue. Hummer
might have despised the west and his charges, but if he
was going to be trapped there, he would take the steps
to make sure that his position was secure, preventing
release was a good start.
So was aligning himself with underhanded Indian
agents who wanted to rid their reservations of people
they considered troublermakers or non-conformists.
There is documentation that some patients were little
more than people with a drinking problem who were
secured at Hiawatha, as is there proof that horse
thieves and other petty criminals made their way
through Hiawatha's doors, proving that this 'hospital'
was anything but.
While this is not pointed out in the Meriam Report it
is certainly alluded to and because of the Report's
publication in 1928, the fact of Hiawatha's ultimate use
while in existence would be called into question
repeatedly, and with good reason.
The Meriam Report stated that "practically
every activity undertaken by the national
government for the protection of the health of
Indians is below a reasonable standard of
efficiency". It should be noted that the
Meriam Report was an investigation into
federal Indian policy, not just the asylum,
but the statement from the report spoke
volumes when uttered in conjunction with
Hiawatha's name.
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs found
the Report disturbing enough to call a
special inquest. A doctor from the staff of
St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington D.C.
was to go to Canton and investigate the
hospital. Dr. Hummer offered his full
cooperation, not realizing that what this
doctor would find would be the beginning of
the end.
every activity undertaken by the national
government for the protection of the health of
Indians is below a reasonable standard of
efficiency". It should be noted that the
Meriam Report was an investigation into
federal Indian policy, not just the asylum,
but the statement from the report spoke
volumes when uttered in conjunction with
Hiawatha's name.
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs found
the Report disturbing enough to call a
special inquest. A doctor from the staff of
St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington D.C.
was to go to Canton and investigate the
hospital. Dr. Hummer offered his full
cooperation, not realizing that what this
doctor would find would be the beginning of
the end.
In spite of his distaste for the west,
Dr. Hummer had no problem banding
with the city of Canton to make the
asylum a money making property.
Under the guise of 'opening his
hospital to the medical community to
show them his success', Hummer and
the Chamber of Commerce also
opened the asylum to the public on
certain days so that not only medical
professionals could come view the
"ill" Indians, the public could as well.
They advertised in papers as far away
as Minneapolis and St. Louis, inviting
vacationers to "come see the crazy
indians". For quite a while,
showcasing the Indians in a 'cleaned
up area' of the hospital became a
popular money maker for both
Hummer and the City.
Dr. Hummer had no problem banding
with the city of Canton to make the
asylum a money making property.
Under the guise of 'opening his
hospital to the medical community to
show them his success', Hummer and
the Chamber of Commerce also
opened the asylum to the public on
certain days so that not only medical
professionals could come view the
"ill" Indians, the public could as well.
They advertised in papers as far away
as Minneapolis and St. Louis, inviting
vacationers to "come see the crazy
indians". For quite a while,
showcasing the Indians in a 'cleaned
up area' of the hospital became a
popular money maker for both
Hummer and the City.
(c) 2008 Edward S. Curtis
(c) 2008 Edward S. Curtis
(c)2008 Motts
(c) 2008 Edward S. Curtis
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