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Timeline / Citizenship, Services, and Sovereignty / 1934: South Dakota insane asylum closed and investigated

1934: South Dakota insane asylum closed and investigated

The Office of Indian Affairs insane asylum in Canton, South Dakota, is shut down because of terrible conditions and abuse of patients. The Office of Indian Affairs seeks other facilities to place the mentally ill near Indian communities, but the remaining patients are sent to an insane asylum in Washington, D.C.

Theme
Native Rights
Region
Great Plains

Office of Indian Affairs insane asylum in Canton, South Dakota, 1905

Courtesy Robert Bogdan Collection