Richard Henry Pratt (United States Army Officer)

Richard Henry Pratt was a U.S. Army officer best known for founding the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879. His goal was to assimilate Native American children into mainstream American culture through education, often involving the forced removal from their families and traditional ways. Pratt believed that isolating Native children and teaching them European-American customs would help integrate them into American society. While his methods are now widely criticized for cultural erasure, his work significantly impacted Native American history and the discussions around cultural assimilation and education policies.