A steam whistle found in the dump was an object that served to regulate behavior by signalling the arrival of various points of the day. Pupils knew when the heard the whistle blast at noon that they needed to be at the dining hall or they would not be allowed to eat lunch. This form of regulation made pupils conform to the school identity the government intended them to acquire. The freedom of unregulated time on the reservation contrasted with the order imposed by whistle blasts. At school, not only was free time virtually nonexistent, but the day was divided into activities whose occurrence was regulated by blasts of the steam whistle. Responding to the whistle blasts introduced the student to the need to be on time.