Demented Girl Rescued from Puyallup Reservation
After being found chained to an outhouse floor, a young Indigenous girl has secured a place at an asylum.
Humane Officer Van Vorls has received a communication from the authorities of the Canton, South Dakota, hospital for insane Indians, to the effect that accommodations have been made for little Agnes Sloan, the demented Indian girl of the Puyallup reservation. Several months ago the little girl was found locked in an outhouse and chained to the floor. Her parents and relatives, it appeared, were afraid to have her in the dwelling house because, they said, she was possessed of the 'Evil Spirit.' Since finding her, the Humane Officer has been on the watch for a place for the Indian girl, and at last has been rewarded. She will be taken East March 18.
“Her parents and relatives, it appeared, were afraid to have her in the dwelling house because, they said, she was possessed of the 'Evil Spirit.'”
This story highlights the tragic intersection of limited disability resources and the historical treatment of Indigenous people in the region. The language used, including the reference to 'Evil Spirit,' underscores the cultural chasm and lack of support systems that forced families into desperate, brutal choices regarding their loved ones.
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