What Happened At Hiawatha
Up to this point you have been reading a
very brief history of the Hiawatha
asylum. There is a lot more to its history
that really cannot be summed up in a few
brief paragraphs.
A lot of pain and suffering went on
within Hiawatha's walls and to this date it
is one of the least known about crimes in
United States history.
The doctor from St. Elizabeth's, Dr.
Samuel Silk, would go to Hiawatha with
an open mind and walk away appalled.
very brief history of the Hiawatha
asylum. There is a lot more to its history
that really cannot be summed up in a few
brief paragraphs.
A lot of pain and suffering went on
within Hiawatha's walls and to this date it
is one of the least known about crimes in
United States history.
The doctor from St. Elizabeth's, Dr.
Samuel Silk, would go to Hiawatha with
an open mind and walk away appalled.
The children that were born there had
little hope. There are four or five actually
recorded births during Hummer's tenure
and these children lived within the
asylum's walls. Most of them died there.
As mentioned before, there was plumbing
but no fixtures, bathrooms meant to
house toilets housed people instead. The
coal furnaces blasted a thin film of coal
dust over everything, even in the
summer, leaving bedding and the sparse
linens available a dingy gray.
The wards were filthy and many patients
were kept inside locked rooms with
nobody but themselves for company.
One of the most disturbing elements of
Dr. Silk's report is that of the
chamberpot. The lack of indoor toilets
meant that waste had to go somewhere
and at Hiawatha, that somewhere was a
chamberpot.
Chamberpots were everywhere, most
loaded to the brim with waste. The
ineffective staffing meant a lack of hands
to empty the chamberpots so many of
them sat there, festering and solidifying
in the sweltering rooms.
little hope. There are four or five actually
recorded births during Hummer's tenure
and these children lived within the
asylum's walls. Most of them died there.
As mentioned before, there was plumbing
but no fixtures, bathrooms meant to
house toilets housed people instead. The
coal furnaces blasted a thin film of coal
dust over everything, even in the
summer, leaving bedding and the sparse
linens available a dingy gray.
The wards were filthy and many patients
were kept inside locked rooms with
nobody but themselves for company.
One of the most disturbing elements of
Dr. Silk's report is that of the
chamberpot. The lack of indoor toilets
meant that waste had to go somewhere
and at Hiawatha, that somewhere was a
chamberpot.
Chamberpots were everywhere, most
loaded to the brim with waste. The
ineffective staffing meant a lack of hands
to empty the chamberpots so many of
them sat there, festering and solidifying
in the sweltering rooms.
Fresh air was an alien thing inside the asylum.
The windows were sealed shut to prevent escape.
Imagine being locked inside a room for days at a
time, little or no food, with a full chamberpot
collecting flies in the corner. The smell was
hellacious and the conditions inhumane.
Dr. Silk referred to Hiawatha as a place of
'padlocks and chamberpots', a very accurate
observation.
Another of Dr. Silk's discoveries at Hiawatha was
just as disturbing. Amidst the abundance of
locked rooms, Dr. Silk found a young boy
straightjacketed inside a locked solitary room, his
chamberpot clear across the room. He was barely
clothed and could not have used the chamberpot if
he needed to because he was restrained in such a
manner. The attendant told Dr. Silk that the boy
was restrained as such because he liked to rip off
his clothing. While that could have been true,
knowing what we know about abuse in mental
institutions of any type over the decades, the
implications are a little more stark and unsettling
than a young boy who liked to rip his clothing off.
The windows were sealed shut to prevent escape.
Imagine being locked inside a room for days at a
time, little or no food, with a full chamberpot
collecting flies in the corner. The smell was
hellacious and the conditions inhumane.
Dr. Silk referred to Hiawatha as a place of
'padlocks and chamberpots', a very accurate
observation.
Another of Dr. Silk's discoveries at Hiawatha was
just as disturbing. Amidst the abundance of
locked rooms, Dr. Silk found a young boy
straightjacketed inside a locked solitary room, his
chamberpot clear across the room. He was barely
clothed and could not have used the chamberpot if
he needed to because he was restrained in such a
manner. The attendant told Dr. Silk that the boy
was restrained as such because he liked to rip off
his clothing. While that could have been true,
knowing what we know about abuse in mental
institutions of any type over the decades, the
implications are a little more stark and unsettling
than a young boy who liked to rip his clothing off.
Dr. Silk made this boy his very first
interview at Hiawatha and it would be
this interview that would bring about the
closing of the hospital entirely.
Noting that the boy was a bit untidy and
did drool, there was nothing else to
indicate that this child needed to be
sequestered and restrained as he was.
This interview would become the first
public account of life inside the asylum.
In 1933, the New York Times ran a story
that banner headlined: "Sane Indians
Held in Dakota Asylum: Patients Kept
Shackled".
interview at Hiawatha and it would be
this interview that would bring about the
closing of the hospital entirely.
Noting that the boy was a bit untidy and
did drool, there was nothing else to
indicate that this child needed to be
sequestered and restrained as he was.
This interview would become the first
public account of life inside the asylum.
In 1933, the New York Times ran a story
that banner headlined: "Sane Indians
Held in Dakota Asylum: Patients Kept
Shackled".
Other papers would pick up the story but this would
be years later. Dr. Silk's visit to the asylum
brought about a report so full of mismanagement
and abuse it was appalling.
Dr. Silk was particularly disturbed by the continued
use of handcuffs and shackles and demanded
immediately for the practice to end. It did stop, at
least momentarily, two weeks after his arrival, the
problem was, getting those who'd been shackled for
any length of time out of the cuffs. Some had been
handcuffed for so long the keys had been lost!
It was also brought to light that many of the
attendants, many who had no medical training at all,
often made decisions as to restraint, punishment or
patient control, many times without ever notifying
the administration. This left the patients, many
times, in the ultimate control of people prejudiced
against Indians in a state where the Indian wars
were not entirely over at this point and time.
be years later. Dr. Silk's visit to the asylum
brought about a report so full of mismanagement
and abuse it was appalling.
Dr. Silk was particularly disturbed by the continued
use of handcuffs and shackles and demanded
immediately for the practice to end. It did stop, at
least momentarily, two weeks after his arrival, the
problem was, getting those who'd been shackled for
any length of time out of the cuffs. Some had been
handcuffed for so long the keys had been lost!
It was also brought to light that many of the
attendants, many who had no medical training at all,
often made decisions as to restraint, punishment or
patient control, many times without ever notifying
the administration. This left the patients, many
times, in the ultimate control of people prejudiced
against Indians in a state where the Indian wars
were not entirely over at this point and time.
Dr. Hummer almost lost his position due to
Dr. Silk's report and certain requirements
were put into place, one of them being that
he hire fully trained staff immediately, in
an attempt to improve the asylum.
As with most meglomaniacs, Hummer
blamed everybody else around him and
ignored what he was told. Few to none of
the recommendations were followed and
instead of hiring more people, Hummer
managed to dismiss more, making the
asylum dangerously understaffed.
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs hired
new nurses and Hummer ultimately
refused to cooperate with them. The new
head nurse, Grace Fillius, was a
particularly nasty thorn in Hummer's side
because as an actually trained professional,
she knew what was right and wrong inside
the institution. Hummer was determined
to rid himself of her and an investigation
was launched with the Commissioner
allowing Hummer to assemble a four man
panel to determine the outcome. The four
man panel, all friends of the good doctor,
determined that Ms. Fillius should be
terminated.
The other nurse, Doretta Koepp, faired no
better, her personal life was attacked and
shredded by Dr. Hummer before he
abruptly fired her.
Dr. Silk's report and certain requirements
were put into place, one of them being that
he hire fully trained staff immediately, in
an attempt to improve the asylum.
As with most meglomaniacs, Hummer
blamed everybody else around him and
ignored what he was told. Few to none of
the recommendations were followed and
instead of hiring more people, Hummer
managed to dismiss more, making the
asylum dangerously understaffed.
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs hired
new nurses and Hummer ultimately
refused to cooperate with them. The new
head nurse, Grace Fillius, was a
particularly nasty thorn in Hummer's side
because as an actually trained professional,
she knew what was right and wrong inside
the institution. Hummer was determined
to rid himself of her and an investigation
was launched with the Commissioner
allowing Hummer to assemble a four man
panel to determine the outcome. The four
man panel, all friends of the good doctor,
determined that Ms. Fillius should be
terminated.
The other nurse, Doretta Koepp, faired no
better, her personal life was attacked and
shredded by Dr. Hummer before he
abruptly fired her.
In the four years following Dr. Silk's report, little
changed within Hiawatha. Hummer's battles with
his employees continued while patient care
remained the same.
In 1933 there was a new Commissioner of Indian
Affairs and Hummer's perverse little kingdom
was to come to a complete light in the public eye.
Commissioner Collier was asked to investigate
the committment of a paitent by his wife, a
patient who was upposedly diagnosed with an early
form of schizophrenia.
This new Commissioner was a hands on person
who carried out the investigation himself, going to
Canton, going to the asylum, and looking into the
situation. What he found alarmed him. The
patient in question was not even mentally ill.
Commissioner Collier was also a man of research,
having read the entire Silk Report before going to
visit this patient. After reading the report and
seeing the conditions of the asylum,
Commissioner Collier said that the "institution
was so outrageously cruel and injurious that we
would deserve to be blown out of the water if we
continued it".
changed within Hiawatha. Hummer's battles with
his employees continued while patient care
remained the same.
In 1933 there was a new Commissioner of Indian
Affairs and Hummer's perverse little kingdom
was to come to a complete light in the public eye.
Commissioner Collier was asked to investigate
the committment of a paitent by his wife, a
patient who was upposedly diagnosed with an early
form of schizophrenia.
This new Commissioner was a hands on person
who carried out the investigation himself, going to
Canton, going to the asylum, and looking into the
situation. What he found alarmed him. The
patient in question was not even mentally ill.
Commissioner Collier was also a man of research,
having read the entire Silk Report before going to
visit this patient. After reading the report and
seeing the conditions of the asylum,
Commissioner Collier said that the "institution
was so outrageously cruel and injurious that we
would deserve to be blown out of the water if we
continued it".
In one of the few times the United
States government actually made a
decent decision in the Natives favor,
the Department of the Interior took
swift action, firing Hummer.
Dr. Silk was returned to the asylum to
determine what patients were actually
ill and who were those that could be
returned to their loved ones. It was an
arduous process that was complicated
by the lack of records and the lack of
staff. Reinforcements were ordered
from St. Elizabeths just to help
maintain the patient load until it could
be determined who was mentally ill
and who was not.
In the mean time, the City of Canton
sued the government to keep the
asylum open. Unwilling to give up
their cash cow, the city fought hard to
keep the asylum open, garnering
support from certain family members
of patients who were afraid that their
relatives would be sent even farther
away. In an obvious misuse of their
intent, the city used their loved ones
wrongful incarcerations to try and
attempt to convince the government to
keep Hiawatha open.
States government actually made a
decent decision in the Natives favor,
the Department of the Interior took
swift action, firing Hummer.
Dr. Silk was returned to the asylum to
determine what patients were actually
ill and who were those that could be
returned to their loved ones. It was an
arduous process that was complicated
by the lack of records and the lack of
staff. Reinforcements were ordered
from St. Elizabeths just to help
maintain the patient load until it could
be determined who was mentally ill
and who was not.
In the mean time, the City of Canton
sued the government to keep the
asylum open. Unwilling to give up
their cash cow, the city fought hard to
keep the asylum open, garnering
support from certain family members
of patients who were afraid that their
relatives would be sent even farther
away. In an obvious misuse of their
intent, the city used their loved ones
wrongful incarcerations to try and
attempt to convince the government to
keep Hiawatha open.
Patients were found poorly clothed. Many of
them were tied to their beds or found
handcuffed to pipes or radiators. One woman
was found lying in mounds of her own feces
infested with maggots. Yet another was found
gagged inside a locked room. Those that were
coherent attempted to escape or tried to fight
for their release by writing to the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs only to have
their requests dismissed when Dr. Hummer
stepped in and made up a good excuse for their
continued committal.
Hospital equipment was not used appropriately
or at all. The surgery built in the separate
hospital building was used for coal storage. TB
patients were not sequestered, nor were their
utinsels or clothing, if they had any at all,
sterillized as required. Menus were not kept
but the food served to Dr. Silk was barely edible
for animal consumption, let alone human
consumption, and was described in its grisly
detail in his report.
There were several babies born at Hiawatha, all
claimed to be the children of the inmates, even
though the wards were supposed to be kept
completely separate. There was speculation
then, as there is now, as to how many
pregnancies there actually were, if the
attendants or Dr. Hummer had anything to do
with any of the pregnancies and how many were
terminated without anybody knowing.
them were tied to their beds or found
handcuffed to pipes or radiators. One woman
was found lying in mounds of her own feces
infested with maggots. Yet another was found
gagged inside a locked room. Those that were
coherent attempted to escape or tried to fight
for their release by writing to the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs only to have
their requests dismissed when Dr. Hummer
stepped in and made up a good excuse for their
continued committal.
Hospital equipment was not used appropriately
or at all. The surgery built in the separate
hospital building was used for coal storage. TB
patients were not sequestered, nor were their
utinsels or clothing, if they had any at all,
sterillized as required. Menus were not kept
but the food served to Dr. Silk was barely edible
for animal consumption, let alone human
consumption, and was described in its grisly
detail in his report.
There were several babies born at Hiawatha, all
claimed to be the children of the inmates, even
though the wards were supposed to be kept
completely separate. There was speculation
then, as there is now, as to how many
pregnancies there actually were, if the
attendants or Dr. Hummer had anything to do
with any of the pregnancies and how many were
terminated without anybody knowing.
(c) 2008 Edward S. Curtis
(c) 2008 Edward S. Curtis
(c) 2008 Edward S. Curtis
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