As history has well documented, U.S. military forces landed on the shores of Guanmca in 1898 in what was to become known as the beginning of the American occupation of Puerto Rico.

General Miles, who led this invasion, was already a veteran of the American Indian Wars and U.S. expansionism in the Southwest.  At the time of the U.S. occupation, General Miles was quoted as saying that the people he encountered on the Island were not much different physically than those whom he had just encountered in the Southwest.  Perhaps this is one reason why, between 1898 and 1905, 62 "Porto Rican" children were placed at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

After reviewing documents taken from the National Archives in Washington DC, thanks to the tireless efforts of Jorge Estevez of the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, the mystery still remains as to why these "Porto Rican" children were placed at the Carlisle Indian School.  (These archives can be accessed through Mary Frances Morrow at the National Archives in Washington, DC.)

It would be easy for those of us involved in the Taïno movement and restoration to shout, "Here it is, proof that we were once considered Indians by the U.S. government!"  But such a statement could easily be refuted, upon closer inspection of the many files and letters from the National Archives, by those less inclined to believe in the legitimacy of Taïno cultural survival.

    Sex:  35 boys; 18 girls; 9 not listed.

    Ages: 12 to 18 (with the girls decidedly younger than the boys)

    Grades Attended:  First grade through Tenth grade

    Parents Living or Dead:
        3 orphans; 22 with 1 parent deceased; 18 with both parents living

    Occupations After Leaving Carlisle:
        Domestics; Farming; Printing; Stenography; Postmaster;
        Laborer; Law; Medicine; Naval Lieutenant.

    Most returned to Puerto Rico with one "run away."
 

        Classification of Indian Blood Quantum:

        41 "Full Blood"; 12 with no classification
        (of these 53, 1 "Full Blood"and 1 with no classification,
        were mentioned in subsequent documentation as being "Negro"
        or "mostly Negro" Porto Ricans)
 

The archives, mentioned above, document the poignant histories of these misplaced children of a new colony.  All correspondence to the school from these former "Porto Rican" students show a never-ending gratitude towards the school and its teachers.  Some of the students wrote to say how improved Puerto Rico had become since the American occupation and what fine citizens they had become for having attended the Carlisle School, and some even asked if their relatives could be allowed to attend.  These students were, apparently, the seemingly perfect products of an Indian School education.

One student, although grateful for the education received, was bitter at the government order, issued in 1905, for the removal of the "Porto Rican" students in order to make room that "rightfully belonged to the Indians."  Precious few documents exist regarding those whom I have affectionately come to call the "Carlisle 62," so the following mysteries remain.

Were these children forcibly placed at the school because they looked Indian or because they were orphaned, or were they simply children of war?  Certain surnames, such as Santaella and Rexach, can make people wonder since these were the surnames of two of the wealthiest families in Puerto Rico during the first half of this century.  Were these children placed at the Carlisle School by their families as token gifts to the new colonizing government in order to maintain their wealth and status or were they the children of their servants?  Were these children ever considered Indians?  Did these children consider themselves Indians?  Based on the currently available records reviewed, not all were, and not all did.

Thanks to the help and generosity of Barbara Landis, of The Cumberland County Historical Society, the names of these 62 individuals have been made available for research so that we may find answers to some of the questions regarding the "Carlisle 62."  It is up to us, the Puerto Rican/Taïno/Boricua community, to find these answers and to maintain the legacy of these 62
individuals alive in our hearts.  You may even find a piece of your own personal history within these documents.  I and others have.

NOTES:

62 Students identified as "PORTO RICAN" in Record Group 75 of The Carlisle Indian School - Group 1327 at the National Archives, Washington, DC [NARA75]; and/or in the Indices of the Carlisle Indian School Cellection of the Cumberland County Historical Society, Carlisle, PA [CCHS].

This list compiled by Barbara Landis combines the student files in the NARA holdings from the database of Genevieve Bell and the CCHS index by Barbara Landis. For more information on the contents of these archival holdings, contact Landis and/or Bell.