Some of us are old enough to remember making little paper baskets, filling them with candy, placing them on doorsteps, ringing the doorbell, and running away to avoid being kissed on May 1. Another local tradition was the annual May Day festival at Wahpeton Indian School.
Schools and the public were invited to a demonstration of athletic games, precision rope jumping, tumbling, calisthenics, folk dances, tribal dances and singing, and a colorful Maypole dance. Also popular was the “Comic Square Dance, Indian Style.” Winners of the Student Government Citizenship Contest were crowned King and Queen of May. Their attendants were runners-up.
In May 1958, around 1,500 people attended the school’s 50th anniversary celebration. A play titled “Buckskin to Broadcloth” depicted the school’s history. Esther Horne, wearing a white buckskin beaded dress, narrated significant events in five scenes, including Native participation in World Wars I and II. Special tribute was paid to alumnus and employee Woody Keeble, North Dakota’s most decorated veteran at one time. He was awarded a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor in 2008.
Another highlight was the school’s state champion dairy herd and the “Old 21” milking song, followed by the Maypole dance and various musical, song, dance, and athletic performances. Student Marie Nanapush, president of the girls’ dormitory council, received a recognition gift from Mrs. Horne. Years later, Marie became the dorm manager.
Major Donald Carmichael, executive officer of the Grand Forks Air Base, dedicated the new dormitory named for World War II hero Major General Tinker of the Osage tribe.
The Flandreau Indian School choir and concert band provided music. Everyone was invited to the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse to participate in tribal dancing, which guests enjoyed. Hundreds of people crowded the Pemmican Lodge dining room for an elk and buffalo dinner.
A documentary film of the school’s 50th anniversary event was sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs area office in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and the Washington, D.C. headquarters office.
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- May Festival at Indian School. The Richland County Farmer Globe, April 27, 1954, Page 1A
- May Day Plans Announced at Indian School. The Richland County Farmer Globe, April 26,1956, Page 1954
- In Maypole Dance. The Richland County Farmer Globe, May 2, 1960, Page 3
- 1500 Attend Indian School Anniversary. The Richland County Farmer Globe, May 5, 1958, Page 3
