Phoenix Indian School
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Phoenix Indian School Historic District
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Phoenix Indian School
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| Location | 300 E. Indian School Rd., Encanto Village, Phoenix, Arizona |
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| Coordinates | 33°29′51″N 112°4′10″W / 33.49750°N 112.06944°WCoordinates: 33°29′51″N 112°4′10″W / 33.49750°N 112.06944°W |
| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1902, 1922, 1931 |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival, Moderne |
| NRHP Reference # | |
| Added to NRHP | May 31, 2001 |
The Phoenix Indian School, or Phoenix Indian High School in its later years, was a Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated school in Encanto Village, in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona. It served lower grades also from 1891 to 1935, and then served as a high school thereafter. It opened in 1891 and closed in 1990 at the orders of the federal government. During its existence, it was the only non-reservation BIA school in Arizona.
The Phoenix Indian School Historic District, a 3-acre (1.2 ha) portion of the 160-acre (65 ha) campus that contains some of the most historic buildings, became part of the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
After a year-long search for a school site, the Indian School opened in 1891 on 160 acres of land. Up until 1931, the federal "assimilation" policy that sought to regimentalize and culturally exterminate Native American students was in place.
Physical growth was the major theme in the 1890s as the school opened. Growth in students was quick to come under superintendents Wellington Rich and Harwood Hall. By 1896 there were 380 students, in comparison to just 100 at its 1891 founding. It had twelve buildings, including a "girls building" designed by prominent local architect J.M. Creighton (built 1892) and a Victorian-style hospital (built mid-1890s). However, the focus on growing the school didn't mean that the assimilation was occurring or meeting federal expectations. Some students did learn to speak English, however there were only four academic teachers by 1897.
Vocational training was instead the emphasis: boys learned business skills and girls domestic skills. To that end, officials instituted the "outing system," which was loosely modeled after the outing program Richard Henry Pratt had instituted at Carlisle Indian Industrial School; students worked at off-campus jobs to gain experience and earn money, as well as to help assimilate them. However, unlike Carlisle, the students did not live with one particular family, but were instead cheap contract labor. Due to several incidents and the abuses that would later be critical in changing the course of PIS's history, the idea of assimilation through employment quickly went out the window at PIS as it became a way for white Phoenix employers to procure cheap Native American labor.
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