Hayward Indian School
The Hayward Indian School opened September 1, 1901 “under very unfavorable circumstances. Clothing, subsistence, and equipment for the plant had not reached the school, and it took several months to restore order out of chaos.” The conditions were so chaotic, that the first superintendent of the school resigned within the first year. These problems foreshadowed the future of the Hayward Indian School plagued with under-funding, overcrowding, and an inadequate staff; which was detrimental to student’s education and well-being.
The school remained in operation for over three decades, until it closed its doors in 1934.
Thousands of Indian children from reservations around Wisconsin and Minnesota attended the school, but the vast majority of the students were from the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation in Sawyer County, Wisconsin. The Hayward Indian School was responsible for the education of the children living at Lac Courte Oreilles and other reservations in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
