Nanikhvna / Education

Formal education for the Choctaws began in the early 1800's with missionary support and the establishment of academies, seminaries, and a network of neighborhood and Sabbath schools. Missionaries Cyrus Byington and Loren S. Williams lived among the Choctaws and immersed themselves in the language to teach Choctaws to read and write in their own language and in English. Before Removal, male students attended academies to learn academics, agricultural practices, and useful skills, while female students in seminaries were taught academics, proper etiquette, cooking, sewing, and housekeeping, along with the fundamental practices of Christianity. Prior to Removal, Choctaws negotiated a treaty right for higher education for their youth, and many students attended colleges in the east. This action became a model for many Indian tribes securing educational rights with the federal government. The Choctaw government was the first government in the United States to fund education. After removal to Oklahoma, many neighborhood schools were established across the Choctaw Nation, and seventy five percent of the Choctaw Nation budget went to education in the 1800's. In 1852, Allen Wright became the first Indian in America to receive a Master's Degree, and Rev. Wright is credited with suggesting the name 'Oklahoma' for the state. Before statehood, Choctaw schools attained a high rate of success that neighboring states envied, and they taught students in both English and Choctaw. After statehood, the Choctaw language was no longer taught and was discouraged from being spoken in government boarding schools. Since the counting of Indian college graduates began in the U.S. Census, statistics have indicated that there are more Choctaw college graduates than any other Indian Tribe in the United States.

Tuskahoma, Oklahoma · United States