The Front View of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, Canton, South Dakota, U.S.

In 2015 I finished writing a book, VANISHED IN HIAWATHA: The Story of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, about a federal asylum established only for Indians. The asylum, which operated from 1902 – 1934 in Canton, South Dakota, was one of only two federal insane asylums. The other asylum was the Government Hospital for the Insane, later called St. Elizabeths, which was designated for the insane of the Army, Navy, and indigent citizens of the District of Columbia. My book about the Canton Asylum was published June 1, 2016 by the University of Nebraska Press under its Bison Books imprint.

While writing this book, I found so much more information about other insane asylums and treatment in American history that I couldn’t include in my book.  So I began a blog Insanity and American History.  I hope you’ll visit and would love to hear your comments.