Cycles of Days and Years/Discipline, punishment and violence

This picture is taken from the book titled Rapid City Indian school. In this section of the book, it talked about the different types of events that take place in and around the school that the children and their families are allowed to take part in. On June 25, 1904 Indians from reservations in South Dakota and Montana began arriving at Rapid City for the "Council of Nations," a political and social gathering of northern tribes meeting under the guise of celebrating the Fourth of July. The celebration was a fine day for Indians and towns people alike which begin with a grand parade in the morning, with students of the Rapid City Indian school leading the way. The afternoon festivites included games for all ages with prizes (gifts) donated by businesses houses and others. Although Indians and whites alike participated in the fourth of july, they did not always agree on the celebration's meanings. For the whites, the day celebrated nationhood adn the achievements of their state and municipality. For the indians, it provided an opportunity to voice the concerns of the gathered tribes and remind whites of their treaty obligations and to call on them to share the wealth flowing out of the Black Hills.

The school year began on a variety of schedules. Children typically worked a half day at tasks that the BIA defined as vocational training but were in fact routine work necessary to keep the school running and attended academic classes the other half day. The daily routine resembled that of a basic training in the military. The students rose early to the sound of a bell, in between rising and breakfast they made their beds, washed up, dressed and brought their beds, lockers, and clothing to military standards of perfection. Students with early morning duties, such as milking cows or working in the mess hall, rose earlier and had less time to prepare before going to work. After breakfast, students had a few minutes to return to their dormitories before going on work details or going to class. By lunch time, the student' day was nearly over as they switched activities in the afternoon, and those who studied in teh morning went on afternoon work details. Only after a late supper did students have time to themselves, when they could catch up on shining shoes, repairing clothes, and all other "personal maintenance." The school offered sports for the children to take part in such as, basketball, football, which also brought about team competition with surrounding schools. Most but not all of the Rapid City students had summer vacations. All had the opportunity to go home at government expense at the end of their three year terms of enlistment at the school. Those runaways were forced to stay through the summer as a form of punishment.
Some of the methods of punishment might have been taken from army practice. Running away was also physically dangerous for the students as most were too far away from their home reservations to venture out in the prarie by themselves. The winters were to dangerous as it brought about dangers such as frost bite and sickness so severe that caused amputation.
The "real dangers" of military descipline lay in the disrupted lives of students who did not flourish under the system.
The school's harsh discipline and inadequate supervision had lifelong consequences.