Lecture to tell plans for Carson City’s Stewart Indian School

When Stewart Indian School was established in 1890 on the outskirts of Carson City, it was one of the first 25 of hundreds of boarding schools set up around the nation with a mission to assimilate American Indian children into mainstream culture.

The school was open for 90 years and saw more than 30,000 American Indian students educated in the stone buildings on the 110-acre campus. It closed in 1980 and many of the more than 60 buildings that remain have been boarded up.

But change is underway — change Sherry Rupert, executive director of the Nevada Indian Commission, will share in the November Frances Humphrey Lecture Series at the Nevada State Museum.

The lecture is Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6) in the museum’s South Gallery.

Rupert will give a brief history of the school’s past, but her lecture will focus on the bright future ahead for the historic facility.

During the recently completed 2017 session, the Nevada Legislature approved Gov. Brian Sandoval’s request for $4.6 million in capital improvement funds to begin renovations of several of the school’s historic stone structures.

In his State of the State Address before the start of the session, Sandoval called the school, “An important piece of Nevada that holds a special place in our state’s and nation’s history.”

Immediate plans include converting the former Administration Building into a Welcome and Cultural Center, which will include a museum dedicated to sharing the story of the school. Its historic gymnasium and theater are also scheduled for renovation.

Rupert, a University of Nevada, Reno graduate, is the first American Indian woman to be appointed a member of Sandoval’s cabinet. She’s a past president of the Native American Chapter of the University of Nevada Alumni Association.

She’s the chairwoman of Nevada’s Indian Territory, a volunteer marketing arm of the Nevada Division of Tourism, and was awarded the 2007 and 2008 Excellence in Tourism Award as well as the 2011 Statewide Excellence in Tourism Award from the Nevada Division of Tourism for her success in promoting and advancing tourism in Indian Country.

Rupert was also awarded the 2009 Human and Civil Rights Award from the Nevada State Education Association for her work in the advancement of Indian education in the state. She was elected president of the board of directors for the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association in January 2014, and has been named to the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

The cost of the lecture is $8 for adults; free for museum members and children 17 and younger. Seating is limited and reservations can be made by contacting Mary Covington at mcovingt@nevadaculture.org or 775-687-4810, ext. 224.

For details about the lecture, contact Bob Nylen, curator of history, at rnylen@nevadaculture.org or 775-687-4810, ext. 245.