Page 397 A Brief History of Elementary Secondary Education in North Dakota

• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Canada; Indian; Giddings; Dumoulin; Metis
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndbb/id/8651

Education A Brief History Of Elementary/Secondary Education In North Dakota by Curt Eriksmoen, Department of Public Instruction Education in what is now North Dakota began with the pioneering spirit that was typical of the early history of this area. In 1801 the first permanent white settlement in present day North Dakota was established when Alexander Henry Jr. built his fur trading post at Pembina. In 1818 Catholic missionaries, Fathers Dumoulin and Provencher, established a mission school at the settlement and William Edge was hired as the teacher. The first classes, reading and writing, were held in the church rectory and most of the first class of sixty children were Metis. In 1819, when the Metis went out on the buffalo hunt, the teacher went with the hunters and taught the students on the open prairie. In 1821 the mission school added Latin and French to its curriculum. The boundary line between the United States and Canada changed in 1823. The school closed down when the inhabitants at Pembina discovered that they were now U.S. subjects and no longer under the jurisdiction of the French. In 1848 Father Belcourt came into the territory and reestablished the mission school. Classes were conducted in the largest house on the mission. This house also served as the chapel and the residence for those involved in the rninistry. In 1853 the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs began to provide financial assistance for the school. When Dakota Territory was established in 1861 most of northern Dakota was uninhabited by white settlers. The few schools that did exist were mission schools and were attended primarily by Meus and other native Americans. The first legislative assembly for the Dakota Territory met in 1862 and drew up a complete set of school laws and made provisions for establishing a school system. They declared that schools should "at all times be equally free and accessible to all white children over five and under twenty-one years." (In 1868 the word "white" was deleted). In 1864 the territorial legislature set up a board of education for the Territory. This board was comprised of the Governor, Secretary, and Treasurer of Dakota Territory. The first delegated duty of the board was to appoint a Superintendent of Public Instruction who would be the secretary of the board. It was the board's function to have charge of public school education in the Dakota Territory. In 1874 the first teacher was certified in what is now North Dakota. Miss A.M. Giddings of Fargo was licensed to teach for $45 a month. In that year, Fargo was organized as School District No. 1 1995 North Dakota Blue Book 397