A Holiday Gift for Indian School Children
When the government failed to fund a holiday celebration for Indian children at the school, staff and local supporters stepped in to create a festive Christmas event.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Indian department furnished a $20 dinner for the Indian children, but declined to furnish a Christmas tree or its equivalent. Undaunted, the school and agency employees succeeded in raising about $50 by subscription, but were unable to get their materials in time for Christmas, so celebrated Tuesday evening, Dec. 29, in the school house. As the 120 happy Indian boys and girls marched into the school hall two tall pine trees reaching from floor to ceiling and filling one entire end of the room met their delighted gaze ablaze with tiny lights and brilliant with fancy glass ornaments. After which the presents were distributed under the immediate supervision of the ever genial agent. Everyone was bountifully remembered. Over thousand marbles and many tops, dolls, books, handkerchiefs, neckties, etc., gladdened the hearts of the children.
“As the 120 happy Indian boys and girls marched into the school hall two tall pine trees reaching from floor to ceiling and filling one entire end of the room met their delighted gaze.”
This event highlights the complex and often fraught relationship between federal Indian policy and the local community. It serves as a reminder of the historical context of assimilationist schooling in the Yakima Valley while documenting the humanity of those who lived within that system.
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