History Museum On The Square - Photo Archives
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 | Accession Number:2002-360 Accession Date: Condition:fair Location:postcard, box 1, folder 161 Keywords:postcard, asylum, insanity, stamp, indians, Hiawatha, graveyard, injustice, prejudice, Coon Area of Origin:Canton, S. Dakota Period:uk Category:documentary artifact Object:postcard Maker:uk Description/History:A postcard of Hiawatha Asylum for insane indians, Canton, S. Dakota. Stamp and writing on back. The back reads: "Don’t' like it here. Start for home tomorrow. E.C. Coon". Opened 1/1903 and many patients died because they were denied medical care. According to Harold Iron Shield, founder of the Native American Reburial Restoration Committee, patients were "traditional spiritual people or teenagers who misbehaved or people the Indian Agent didn't like." A 1933 investigation conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined that "a large number" of patients showed no signs of mental illness. Land was set aside for a cemetary but stone markers were considered too great of an expense (121 names). The graveyard is now in the middle of a golf course although it has recently been added to the National Register of Historic Places. News-Leader Photo Information: |
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