Indian Prayer Ranch CCC Camp
These
photos are CCC camps in
The following
information about CCC is from Wikipedia. The
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program
for unemployed men, focused on natural resource conservation from 1933 to 1942.
As part of the New Deal legislation proposed by U.S. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt (FDR), the CCC was designed firstly, to aid relief of high
unemployment stemming from the Great Depression and secondly, carry out a broad
natural resource conservation program on national, state and municipal lands.
Legislation to create the program was introduced by FDR to the 73rd United
States Congress on March 21, 1933, and the Emergency Conservation Work Act, as
it was known, was signed into law on March 31, 1933. The CCC became one of the
most popular New Deal programs among the general public and operated in every
U.S. state and territories of Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands. The separate Indian Division was a major relief force for Native
Americans. Members lived in camps,
wore uniforms, and lived under quasi-military discipline. At the time of entry,
70% of enrollees were malnourished and poorly clothed. Very few had more than a
year of high school education; few had work experience beyond occasional odd
jobs. The peace was maintained by the threat of "dishonorable
discharge." There were no reported revolts or strikes. "This is a
training station we're going to leave morally and physically fit to lick 'Old
Man Depression,'" boasted the newsletter of a
The total of 200,000 black enrollees were entirely
segregated after 1935 but received equal pay and housing. Secretary of the
Interior Harold Ickes pressured Director Fechner to appoint blacks to
supervisory positions such as education directors in the 143 segregated camps.
Initially, the CCC was limited to young men age 18 to 25 whose fathers
were on relief. Average enrollees were ages 18-19. Two exceptions to the age
limits were veterans and Indians, who had a special CCC program and their own
camps. In 1937, Congress changed the age limits to 17 to 28 years old and
dropped the requirement that enrollees be on relief.
Entrance
to the Indian Prayer Ranch
One of the Camp’s storage buildings
A finely crafted icebox
The water tower which supplied the camp's water.
Outside view of a 12 man outhouse
An inside view showing 8 of the
12 places to sit.