Lapwai Idaho Nez Perce Indian Girls School 1909 Real Photo Postcard

This image depicts a group of Indigenous children, likely students, with two non-Indigenous adult women who appear to be staff or teachers, positioned in front of a simple wooden schoolhouse. Postcards featuring such groups were common from the early 20th century, during a period when federally or religiously operated boarding schools for Native American children were widespread across the United States and Canada.

These institutions were established with the explicit aim of assimilating Indigenous youth into Euro-American culture, often requiring children to abandon their traditional languages, dress, and spiritual practices. The curriculum typically focused on vocational training for boys and domestic skills for girls, while family ties and cultural identities were frequently suppressed. This era represents a controversial and painful chapter in North American history, with long-lasting impacts on Indigenous communities.