duke's earliest native american students
By Mumbi Kanyogo
In 1880, twelve children from Eastern band of the Cherokee nation enrolled within Trinity College’s special “Cherokee Industrial School.” At a time when the college needed funds, the federal government paid the college to clothe, board, and instruct the students, some as young as eight. Students also worked. Some didn’t speak English, struggled to wear different clothing and refused to eat college food. At least one student escaped, traveling over a hundred miles back to his home. Joseph Maytubby, an Oklahoma-born member of the Chickasaw nation, enrolled much later, the first Native American to graduate from Trinity College, in 1896.[1] Maytubby later practiced law in Oklahoma and was elected the first mayor of Tishomingo, Oklahoma.[2] Despite the fact that North Carolina has the highest Native American population east of the Mississippi River, the university has never had many Native American students.[3]
[1]. Francis, Kyle, “Native Americans at Duke: The First Native American Students in Duke’s History,” Duke University, https://sites.duke.edu/nativeamericansatduke/.
[2]. Gillispie, Valerie, “Retro: When Native Americans Began Excelling on Campus,” Duke Magazine, February 7, 2018, http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/retro-when-native-americans-began-excelling-on-campus.
[3]. Birrell, Abby, “The Importance of a Story,” November 25, 2014, https://sites.duke.edu/whatisnativeamerican/author/amb149duke-edu/
[2]. Gillispie, Valerie, “Retro: When Native Americans Began Excelling on Campus,” Duke Magazine, February 7, 2018, http://dukemagazine.duke.edu/article/retro-when-native-americans-began-excelling-on-campus.
[3]. Birrell, Abby, “The Importance of a Story,” November 25, 2014, https://sites.duke.edu/whatisnativeamerican/author/amb149duke-edu/
