The Thomasites were sent to the Philippines to educate but their labors did not focus on that singular purpose. Carmina and Patch discuss how their work served America’s imperial vision of benevolent assimilation, the possible personal motivations of leaving the comforts of home for an unknown land, and their innermost thoughts about the Filipino students under their tutelage and the communities in which they lived. Learn about “Philippinitis,” how one Filipino spent (and thrived) for years at a Native American industrial school and the fascinating synopsis of a historical fiction novel, “The Thomasite.”

Learn more: A Brief History of The Thomasites, Frederick G. Behner's "Thomasite Adventure," The Thomasite, Educating the Empire: American Teachers and Contested Colonization in the Philippines, Playing Indian, Playing Filipino: Native American and Filipino Interactions at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Victoria Grageda-Smith, The Thomasite, and EMPIRE and EDUCATION.

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