By Bonnie Withers

After reading yet another horrific story about the Indian Boarding School movement which began around the 1870’s, I began to wonder if, even though most of the schools were run by the Catholic church, our Unitarian and Universalist forebears had been a direct part of this ill-conceived movement. It was reported in 1902 that Unitarians tried three different times to start such a school, one in Minnesota (lack of funding), one in Colorado (lack of encouragement by the Utes), and finally, the one successful boarding school on the Crow reservation in Montana in 1886. It was called “Montana School for Indians” or “Bond’s Mission School” run by the Unitarian minister Henry F. Bond and his wife. Bond had done a good bit of bouncing around the country before he got this assignment from the American Unitarian Association. The initial funding of $1000 came from a ladies’ group in Boston.

The school was a large, two-story building where 50 students were housed. Students were taught farming, mechanics, and domestic sciences. Bond received $108 per year for each student. After the annuity was discontinued, the school closed eleven years later.

From the few quotes we have from Rev. Bonds, we see that he shared the prevailing notion that he was saving the children from the brutality and ignorance of their home life. Here is a quote:

“They are all bright promising boys. How such good appearing fellows come of an ignorant, lazy squalid, orphaned race is a constant surprise to us. I shall dread the time, if that comes, when they slip back into their old abodes and possibly leave.”

For more background about the school and UU involvement in subsequent issues, this
website, where I drew this information, has several valuable links.

Exterior of School: