To Make Us Independent': The education of young men at the Cherokee National Male Seminary, 1851-1910.

Abstract

In the years following forced removal, Cherokee leaders considered how to prevent future assaults on tribal sovereignty. Their answer was education. In 1846, the Cherokee National Council established two high schools, one for boys and one for girls. Modeled after northeastern high schools (such as Boston Latin School), the Cherokee Male Seminary featured instructional methods, curriculum, and disciplinarian measures similar to those found in institutions for white children. As a tool for cultural change, the seminary educational model resembled late nineteenth-century government Indian boarding schools. During its operation, the Male Seminary achieved dual goals: first, it provided some Cherokee youth with the same advanced education offered at top-tier academies in the Northeast; second, by adding the indigent program and Primary Department in the 1870s, the school made an elementary education more accessible to Cherokee children of all backgrounds and classes. By exploring the creation and goals of the Male Seminary, this work spotlights a crucial stage in the development of Cherokee education, the mid-nineteenth century in which tribal leaders decided to allocate a substantial portion of the tribal budget to post-Primary schools. Furthermore, by examining the political changes which swept the Cherokee Nation in the 1860s and 70s, this work demonstrates the consequences that shifting political power had for the seminary. Finally, the careers seminary students chose after graduation underscore the impact the school had on Cherokee society. Whether viewed as a paragon of higher learning or a tool for cultural destruction, the Cherokee Male Seminary educated several generations of young men and had an influence on tribal identity and culture.