Article describes the establishment and history of Murray State College in the Chickasaw Nation, including its historical context, physical layout of buildings, and student population

Lokey, Margaret H.

Wyatt, Beverly J.

Gateway to Oklahoma History

CHICKASAW EDUCATION ANDMURRAY STATE COLLEGEBy Margaret H. Lokey and Beverly J. Wyatt*Located on the campus of Murray State College is the West dormitory,known as Bessie Poe Hall, standing in brooding silence overlooking theattractive school. The unusual exterior is reminiscent of some Europeamarchitecture with the combination of brick, mortar, and pebble and inlaidwooden design. The clear brightness in the building streams from a largefourth floor skylight flooding the stairwell, bringing cheerful warmth tothe interior. Wandering through the echoing lobby, hallways, and rooms,areas of crumbling plaster reveal detailed wire mesh and lath construction.In some of the students' rooms, there are a few dust-covered iron beds andchests-of-drawers that were part of the original furnishings. Golden hard-wood floors throughout most of the building are in fair to good condition.From the concrete porch and directly down a sidewalk leading throughan aisle of magnolia trees is a glimpse of a monument to William H.Murray, who played a major role in the erection of the dormitory, as wellas in the establishment of agriculture institutions throughout the state.There is a feeling of suspense, as if the old Chickasaw building has as-sumed a personality all its own and is waiting for a sentence of preserva-tion or demolition. It waits with hope.Today, in what once was the capital of the Chickasaw Nation, thismonument to the tribe's determination to educate its young people in thenew ways awaits its fate. It will either fall demolished into dust or be re-stored and preserved as a living monument to a proud people who turnedtheir backs on many of the old ways and set out to adapt to the whiteman's culture, while retaining and cherishing the ancient values of theirIndian heritage.It is difficult for those unfamiliar with Chickasaw history to understandthe important role education has played since the first Chickasaw boy,Pitman Colbert, attended a school in Maryland in 1803. He subsequentlybecame one of the leading men in his nation.The Chickasaws were not a nomadic tribe. Their early lands encom-passed sections of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, wherethey lived in permanent log houses clustered in towns, and had bothwinter and summer homes. They planted and tilled crops and were notedfor their outstanding skills in marathon running, and as both hunters and335THE CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMABloomfield Academy, one of the many schools built by the Chickasaws (CourtesyOklahoma Historical Society).warriors. Their first contact with white men as a tribe was in 1540 whenHernando de Soto and his army wintered in Chickasaw lands beforecontinuing their exploration of the West. When spring came, de Soto'sunreasonable demands on the chiefs and headmen were so extensive andunfair, that the Chickasaw warriors were ordered to descend on the Span-ish army which were sent running in terror completely demoralized by theIndians. Twelve Spaniards were killed. The Chickasaws were simply pro-tecting their people and their food stores. French explorers and tradersfrom Louisiana also incurred the wrath of the Chickasaws. The ChickasawNation was never conquered by invading tribes or foreign armies. Theywere much feared, attesting to the outstanding bravery of their warriorsand battle tactics.It is believed by many historians that the Battle of Akia in 1736, inwhich French armies moved down the Mississippi River from Canada andup the Mississippi from Louisiana, was an important turning point in thehistory of the United States. The Chickasaw warriors' bravery in ferociousbattles defeated both armies. This stopped the French from controllingthe Mississippi River, gateway to the West, and preserved the country fortheir English-speaking friends. The Chickasaws learned much from thewhite people, and due to their advanced culture and civilization, werenamed among the Five Civilized Tribes.336CHICKASAW EDUCATION AND MURRAY STATE COLLEGEBy 1820 missionaries began moving into the Chickasaw Nation and es-tablished schools for their children. The progressive Chickasaws easily andquickly adapted to the ways of the white people. Some became quitewealthy with extensive plantation land holdings and numerous slaves.Many adopted the dress and fashion of the time. The realization that edu-cation and knowledge was important for their very survival grew withinthe tribe. Prior to removal to the West (Indian Territory, now Oklahoma)in 1837, a number a Chickasaw boys were being educated at the ChoctawAcademy located at Blue Springs, Scott County, Kentucky.Following removal, the Chickasaws lived among the Choctaws for sev-eral years. The Chickasaws were greatly outnumbered in population,about five-to-one, and were generally unhappy with the situation. Theywere not willing to build homes, churches, and schools on the lands of an-other tribe; and it was not until December, 1844, that Congress passed abill to establish a Chickasaw Manual Training School. The school was tobe under the joint care of the tribe and the Methodist Episcopal ChurchSouth, and was to be located near the present town of Tishomingo. Due tomany setbacks, including illness and inclement weather, the school didnot open until 1851. Meanwhile, several Chickasaw boys were attendingDelaware College, Newark, Delaware (later the University of Delaware)while others attended Plainsfield Academy in Plainsfield, Connecticut.The Chickasaw Nation was officially established in the south centralsection of Indian Territory in 1855 with a governor and a bicameral legis-lature. They had their own courts, law enforcement officers, and other of-ficials including a tribal superintendent of schools. Tishomingo City be-came the capital of the nation.Twenty-six neighborhood schools were established throughout the na-tion. Faculty members were required to meet standards set by the tribalsuperintendent of schools. Not just anyone could open a school. Construc-tion of schools varied from crude one-room log school houses to modernbuildings of the period. English was the language of instruction gener-ally, although Chickasaw might be the prevailing language of the com-munity.Several academies were established and well attended. They includedthe Chickasaw Manual Training School for Boys, later Harley Institute;Wapanucka Academy; Bloomfield Seminary, a school for girls; ColbertInstitute, later Collins Institute; and Lebanon Academy, an orphans'home.Most of the academy buildings were elaborate in design and structure,three to four stories high, of wood frame, brick, granite, and/or limestoneconstruction. Originally they were staffed by missionaries from both the337THE CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMAMethodist and Presbyterian churches, later by educated members of thetribe.Very few white children living in the nation received any education atall. There were few subscription schools. In 1898 five-sixths (5/6) of theschool population, or 51,918 children, were white youngsters who werewithout organized school facilities. Two sisters presently living inTishomingo (1980) described their childhood at Pontotoc prior to state-hood. They said white children envied Indian children because they hadschools to attend, and they could hardly wait every year for the Indianchildren to be dismissed for vacation so the white children could use theschool house for what little education they received.The Chickasaws realized the only way to beat the white man's systemwas to be better educated than their white contemporaries. The more edu-cated and sophisticated Chickasaws were greatly interested in govern-ment, history, political science, and law, as well as other fields. Many be-came outstanding leaders in their chosen careers.From the educational system of the Chickasaw Nation emerged severalUnited States Congressmen, two Governors of the State of Oklahoma-William H. Murray, an intermarried Chickasaw, and Johnston Murray,his son and a Chickasaw by blood-state senators and representatives, dis-tinguished judges, and those honorable men and women who dedicatedtheir lives to the teaching profession from grade school through thecollege level.An outstanding Chickasaw, Charles Carter of Ardmore, was the firstcongressman elected to the United States House of Representatives fromhis district. In a speech at Bug Tussle School near McAlester, Congress-man Carter stated that if an Indian boy could grow up to be a congress-man, surely one of the children in the school could also be elected to Con-gress. One of the children in the audience at Bug Tussle was Carl Albert,who, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, attained the highest na-tional office ever held by an Oklahoman. To this day, Speaker Albertmaintains that the catalyst for his distinguished career was CongressmanCarter's speech in that small rural school so many years ago.The advent of statehood in 1907 sounded the death knell for the Chick-asaws as a sovereign nation and for the Indian schools as well. Certainmembers of the Chickasaw Nation, however, played important roles inthe Oklahoma Constitutional Convention, especially William H. Murrayof Tishomingo, who was elected chairman. It was mainly through his ef-forts that several agricultural schools were established throughout thestate. One of these was Murray State School of Agriculture (now MurrayState College) in Tishomingo.338CHICKASAW EDUCATION AND MURRAY STATE COLLEGE- .A,.Tishomingo, capital of the Chickasaw Nation and the future location of MurrayState College (Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society).Murray School first opened its doors in the fall of 1908 as a secondaryschool. The City of Tishomingo vacated one of two public school build-ings to accommodate the students. The school enrollment was composedprimarily of Chickasaw and Choctaw Indian boys, due mainly to an agree-ment with the Department of the Interior that tribal funds would be paidfor their support.Eighty acres of land for the site of the agriculture school was purchasedby Tishomingo businessmen for $2,000 and deeded to the State ofOklahoma. In 1909 the Administration and Classroom Building wascompleted. This building, still in use, has been remodeled twice.During the transition period, white students were integrated into theagriculture institution. Out-of-town students lived in boarding houses orprivate homes in Tishomingo. There was a great need for student hous-ing. In March, 1917, a bill was introduced into Congress by then Con-gressman William H. Murray whereby two Indian dormitories would beerected on the Murray State School campus.In his Memoirs of Governor Murray and a True History of Oklahoma,Volume 3, Murray states that Oklahoma Governor R. L. Williams "exer-cised too much personal hate against individuals that caused him to de-stroy the Haskell Agricultural School at Broken Arrow and the ConnellAgricultural School at Helena. He said he intended to destroy the Murray339THE CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMAIIBessie Poe Hall shortly after construction in 1920 (Courtesy of Margaret H.Lokey).State School at Tishomingo. Realizing that, I hurriedly put through Con-gress a bill to construct two dormitories at the Murray State School, whichproved embarrassing to the Governor and it was saved thereby."Congressional Records for the Sixty-fourth Congress, dated March 2,1917, Session II, Chapter 146, Section 18, Paragraph 2, under the head-ing FIVF. CIVILIZED TRIBES says:The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to withdraw from theTreasury of the United States, at his discretion, the sum of $50,000, or somuch thereof as may be necessary, of the funds on deposit to the credit of theChickasaw Tribe of Indians, and to use the same for constructing andequipping dormitories at the Murray State School of Agriculture atTishomingo, Oklahoma, at a cost not to exceed said sum, for the accommo-dation of Chickasaw children and, in the discretion of the Secretary of theInterior, of any other pupils attending said school: Provided, That this ap-propriation shall become available after the said city of Tishomingo shallhave donated and conveyed by fee simple title to said tribe suitable and nec-essary sites upon which same are to be constructed.Thus through a direct order of Congress to the Department of the Inte-rior, Office of Indian Affairs, and the influence of then Chicksaw Gov-ernor Douglas H. Johnston, tribal funds were made available and used tofinance construction and furnish the two dormitories at an eventual cost of$58,845.75.340CHICKASAW EDUCATION AND MURRAY STATE COLLEGE-4 WThs ie f hewst ido Bessi Po Hall ilusrae thondcn itnothstdnsadfaut eesrvdfml-tyemas n tw chmneyo-the est m ioe f ste eatingusystem the othe beieved toeThe bengs ene filities . The oit y onlyu oechim-For many years the buildings were occupied by male Chickasaw, Choc-taw, and white students and were known as the East and West Boys' Dor-mitories. In 1922-1923, the late Colonel Clive E. Murray and his wifewere houseparents and lived in the West dormitory. Mrs. Murray de-scribed the facilities as comfortable, and the family-style meals in the busydining room as "delicious." She said that "Boys will be boys" and therewas mischief from time to time that was treated with understanding disci-pline.Colonel Murray, a nephew of William H. Murray, was appointed presi-dent of the institution in 1931. His distinguished career with the UnitedStates Army was second only to that as school administrator. He servedbrilliantly during World War I in Europe where, among many otherhonors, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palms by France. He was341THE CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMAa graduate of Murray State School of Agriculture, and served as an in-structor following advanced university degrees prior to his appointment aspresident. Meanwhile, he continued in the army reserve and was namedState Director of Selective Service for Oklahoma during both World War IIand the Korean Conflict. He is only one of many distinguished formerstudents of Murray State School of Agriculture.Owing to increasing demands for higher standards and grade of work,the State Board of Agriculture by resolution in the spring of 1922 author-ized the school to add a year of college work during the 1922-1923 ses-sion and another year the session of 1923-1924, thus raising it to the rankof a junior college. The last high school class of two students graduated in1943.In 1930 the school annual identified the East dormitory as Douglas H.Johnston Hall, then honorary Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, and theWest dormitory as Chickasaw Hall. In 1937 a bill was introduced in theOklahoma House of Representatives whereby the state would purchase thetwo dormitories from the Chickasaw Nation. No official action was takenuntil 1939 when the sale was concluded and the tribe was paid$32,308.00 for the two buildings, contents, and the site on which theystood.After statehood the government usually discouraged Indian influenceswhenever possible. It was not popular to be an Indian, even a "civilized"one. After the state purchased the buildings, the names were changedagain through an election of the student body and alumni honoring twostudents, Bessie Poe and James Hicks, both of whom were deceased.James Hicks, known as "Chi-Chi," was a Chickasaw agricultural studentat the time of his death.Following World War II, James Hicks Hall was used principally as anathletic dormitory. In 1957 the building was destroyed by fire, the causebelieved to have been faulty electrical wiring. Thankfully, no one was in-jured. Bessie Poe Hall became a girls' dormitory, later a men's athleticdorm. Problems with deterioration of the interior, particularly the steamheating system, caused the building to be vacated by students in 1972. Ithas since been used for storage.This lovely old building, unusual in architectural design and long alocal historical landmark, deserves preservation, not to honor loyal facultyor houseparents, not to honor former students, but to honor the integrityand tenacity of members of the Chickasaw Indian Nation in their eagerand eternal quest for knowledge, for developing early culture of the tribeto include formal education as a means to a better future, and to guaranteethe Chickasaw Indian Nation forever will be remembered in the field ofeducation.342CHICKASAW EDUCATION AND MURRAY STATE COLLEGELooking south over the campus of Murray State College, Bessie Poe Hall can beseen in the lower right corner, just northwest of the main administration building(Courtesy Margaret Lokey).President James Monroe wrote to the Chickasaw chiefs and head menfrom Washington, May 24, 1824, in regard to their schools: "My Chil-dren. You have taken a wise step, you have done what all good men andwise men will approve of. You have agreed to apply your annuity . . . forthe improvement of your children.""This is wisdom. . . ."The fall semester of 1980 showed thiteen percent of the 1,449 studentsenrolled at Murray State College were of Indian descent, as well as severalfaculty and staff members. The students represent twenty-four tribes fromOklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Montana. A major inIndian Studies, an Indian Awareness Program, and an active Native Amer-ican Club are of particular interest.Overton James, Governor of the Chickasaw Indian Nation, says theChickasaws have supported educational advancement for nearly 200 years,and it remains a top priority. As James states, "A look at Murray StateCollege is just one example of emphasis on higher education among ourown tribe. There is an old Indian proverb that says 'An Indian without ed-ucation is like an eagle with a broken wing.' We take that proverb toheart, and we will always support educational programs, not only amongthe Chickasaws, but all Indian peoples."343z - T-ftwf *' . .+} f ''THE CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMAREFERENCES*Margaret Lokey is an instructor at Murray State College and Beverly J. Wyatt is a cu-rator at the Chickasaw Council House, a museum and historic site operated by theOklahoma Historical Society.Personal InterviewsCarl Albert, Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives, RetiredOverton James, Governor, the Chickasaw Indian NationMrs. Iantha Ferris TuckerMrs. Maude T. Ferris GrayEd Gill, former State RepresentativeMrs. Clive E. MurrayMrs. Douglas HarbachThomas TaylorAdditional AssistanceHonorable Wesley Watkins, Member of CongressDr. Clyde R. Kindell, President, Murray State CollegeDr. Harold Slack, Registrar, Murray State CollegeRoger Young, BIA Counselor, Murray State CollegeMrs. Deborah HicksMrs. Wanda CombesJ. R. TidwellBooks, Papers, Documents, etc.Foreman, Carolyn Thomas. "Education Among the Chickasaw Indians," The Chronicles ofOklahoma, Vol. XVI, No. 3 (June, 1937).Foreman, Grant. The Five Civilized Tribes. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,Oklahoma, 1932.Gibson, Arrell M. The Chickasaws. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma,1971.Historical Files, Chickasaw Council House Museum, Tishomingo, Oklahoma.Historical Files (microfilm), Johnston County Capital-Democrat.Historical Files, Murray State College, Tishomingo, Oklahoma.Johnston County Deed and Record Books, 1906-1912, County Courthouse, Tishomingo,Oklahoma.Murray, William H. Memoirs of Governor Murray and a True History of Oklahoma. Boston:Meador Publishing Company, 1945.Oklahoma House Journals, 1937 and 1939.Thoburn, Joseph B. History of Oklahoma. The American Historical Society, Chicago andNew York, 1916.U. S. House of Representatives House and Senate Records, 1917-1919.U. S. House of Representatives House and Senate Records, 1937.344

Chronicles of Oklahoma

https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2031408/m2/1/high_res_d/1981-v59-n03_a05.pdf

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Gateway to Oklahoma History