An old postcard of the Wahpeton Indian School shows a line of buildings and a cow minding her own business. She was Beauty Colantha Fresian Tidy No. 1083302, a retired dairy champion whose celebrity status entitled her to graze along Seventh Street in view of the public.
On this date in 1932, the Farmer Globe reported that Beauty would enter the state competition, having already won all the national Indian Service honors for milk and butterfat production. The government Indian School herd ranked third in the state, while the state penitentiary herd ranked first, based on average butterfat per cow. But the second-ranking cow was 24 pounds under the Indian School champion.
Breeders were very interested in this cow, who continued heavy production even at 14 years old. In 1939, her two-year-old “granddaughter,” Beauty Pride of Wahpeton, became the state junior champion milk and butterfat producer. The school could not sell any government stock, so surplus offspring were transferred to other Indian schools, from Alaska to Arizona.
The original herd sire came from the famous Femco Farm in Breckenridge, Minnesota, from which subsequent sires were also purchased. A succession of Indian School cows whose registered first names were Beauty continued to make local news.
In 1946, J. W. Wellington, supervisor of farms and dairies in the Washington office, visited Wahpeton to evaluate the desirability of farming and dairy activities in the school program. Wahpeton had the best dairy herd in the Indian Service. But school Superintendent Morrison and Wellington concluded that milk could be purchased more cheaply locally than produced at the school, and that students weren’t receiving enough academic training to justify the time spent on the dairy herd and other agricultural activities.
On January 2, 1947, in 26-below-zero weather, the herd was shipped to boarding schools in Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Equipment, buildings, and holdings connected with the Wahpeton Indian School were later put up for sale by bid. The following concerns received parcels of farmland: the Wahpeton Cemetery Association in 1956; the State School of Science in 1957—in return, the Science School would provide 10 tuition scholarships per year for 10 years to qualified Native American students; and the City of Wahpeton in 1959, which received by direct grant 14 acres to be used for local educational and recreational purposes.
No glass beads or public land acknowledgements sealed the deal. Wellington later became the school superintendent.
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- Indian School Cow Record for Indian School Here. Indian School Cow Enters in State Competition. Highest in Government Service and Now Seeks State Honors. The Richland County Farmer Globe, November 28, 1932, Page 1
- Indian School Herd Captures First for Record. Leads Among Cattle from United States Indian Service; 70 Heads Extend. The Richland County Farmer, March 16, 1934, Page 1
- Indian School's Herd Has Enviable Record. The Richland County Farmer Globe, November 22, 1935, Page 2
- Indian School Has Outstanding Production Record. Of First Six Cows in Indian Schools of Country, Wahpeton Has Five Leaders. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th PLACES HELD HERE. James Comerford Is In Charge of Dairy Herd at
- Indian School Has Record Holstein Herd on Farm. Many Records Made; One of Finest Holstein-Friesians in State. The Richland County Farmer, February 10, 1939, Page 1
- Institution. The Richland County Farmer Globe, March 11, 1938, Page 1
- Indian School Cow is Champion Milk and Butterfat Producer of No. Dak. The Richland County Farmer Globe, May 23, 1939, Page 1
- Indian School Cow Makes Record of 678 lbs. of Butter. Holstein Friesian Ass'n Supervises Test of "Beauty Inka of Wop." The Richland County Farmer Globe, February 14, 1941, Page 1
- Indian School Holstein National Records Breaker. The Richland County Farmer Globe, February 10, 1942, Page 1
- Indian School Cow is Nations Third Highest. The Richland County Farmer Globe, April 6, 1943, Page 2
- Indian School Has History Compiled. Seventh and Eighth Grades Have Project. The Richland County Farmer Globe, March 15, 1946, Page 15
