Puerto Ricans at the Carlisle Indian School

I came across this article about Puerto Rican children being set to the Carlisle Indian School while I was trying to find out what different immigrant people have been through Carlisle. I became intrigued by this after visiting the Cumberland County Museum. Here I learned about the large influx of Greek immigrants that settled in Carlisle in the early 1900’s. This is also around the same time Puerto Rican children were sent to the school to learn how to become more American. The historical context of all of this is post Spanish-American War when Puerto Rico and Cuba became possessions of the United States. At this time about 60-100 Puerto Rican kids from all over Puerto Rico were sent to the school. Many of these children had a horrible time adjusting to their new environment. Some of children wrote letters to their parents complaining about the harsh conditions at the Indian School. Parents who received these letters spoke directly to a prominent political figure in Puerto Rico at this time, Luis Muñóz- Rivera, who fought for the independence of Puerto Rico. Rivera visited the Indian School and found the conditions to be intolerable.

For further information about this check out the link below:

http://www.kacike.org/SoniaRosa.html

~CT~