Just a few years after its founding in 1636, Harvard University established the Indian College in the 1640s to educate Native Americans as well as English colonists. It did not attract a sufficient number of students for continued operation and funding from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England. The college closed by 1693 and the building was torn down. Its bricks were re-used for another building. In 1997, the college installed a historic plaque in Harvard Yard to commemorate the Indian College.
History
In the 1640s, Harvard faced a financial crisis, which it attempted to resolve by obtaining funds to educate and convert local Native Americans. As a result, Harvard's charter of 1650 called for "the Education of the English and Indian Youth of the Country." Harvard obtained funds from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England which agreed to build a two-story brick building in Harvard Yard. This building, the Indian College, was completed in 1656. But, no Native American students attended it at that time, and the building was used for colonial English students instead.
The building was also used to house a printing press. Under the missionary John Eliot's direction, in 1663 the college completed printing a translation of the Bible into Massachusett language, which was the first Bible in any language printed in British North America. James Printer, an Algonquian-speaking Nipmuc who converted to Christianity, did much of the translation and typesetting. The press issued 15 books in the Algonquian language and 85 in English. At least four Native American students attended the college:
Because of the illnesses which many Native American students encountered when entering the college (and the English community), the building was little used for its intended purpose. When Harvard Hall was completed in 1677, the English colonial students moved out of Indian College.
By 1680, the press was not used at all. Harvard officially closed the press in 1692. In 1693 the college, intending to reuse the bricks to construct a new building, asked the SPGNE for permission to tear down the Indian College building. Their condition for approval was that Native American students "should enjoy their Studies rent free in said [new] building." In 1693 the old building had been torn down. In 1997, in a ceremony attended by 300 people, a historic plaque was placed in Harvard Yard to commemorate the Indian College.