Fort Sill Indian School was an American Indian boarding school near Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States.[1][2] The school opened in 1871, with 24 students in the first year, had 300 students in the 1970s, and closed in 1980 although "Native students and administrators, alumni, and Indian leaders fought tenaciously to keep the school alive when the BIA announced its imminent closure". It was founded by Quakers but became nonsectarian in 1891.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Oklahoma_-_Ft._Still_-_NARA_-_68147144_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Oklahoma_-_Ft._Still_-_NARA_-_68147144_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Fort_Sill_Indian_School_Building_309.jpg/220px-Fort_Sill_Indian_School_Building_309.jpg)
Building 309 of the school is recorded on the National Register of Historic Places, #73001559.[4][5]
The British Museum holds a collection of 91 photographs taken in the 1990s identified as "Photographs taken for a news story for the Daily Oklahoman on the planned re-opening of the school as a Native American College".[6]
Notable alumni
edit- Doc Tate Nevaquaya (1932-1996), musician[7]
- Robert Redbird (1939-2016), artist
- Charles Chibitty (1921-2005), World War II code talker
References
edit- ^ "Fort Sill Indian School". Abandoned Oklahoma. October 13, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- ^ McIntyre, Cindy (October 28, 2016). "Long ago Indian school here still teaches lessons". www.army.mil. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- ^ Clough, Josh. "Fort Sill Indian School". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- ^ "NPGallery Asset Detail: Building 309, Fort Sill Indian School". npgallery.nps.gov. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- ^ "National Register of Historical Places - OKLAHOMA (OK), Comanche County". www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- ^ "Fort Sill Indian School". Collections Online. British Museum. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- ^ "Nevaquaya, Joyce Lee "Doc" Tate". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved June 9, 2021.