Cultivating the Rosebuds: The Education of Women at the Cherokee Female Seminary, 1851-1909University of Illinois Press, 1993 - 212 pages Established by the Cherokee Nation in 1851 in present-day eastern Oklahoma, the nondenominational Cherokee Female Seminary was one of the most important schools in the history of American Indian education. Unusual among Indian schools because it was founded by neither the federal government nor by missionary agencies, the school offered a rigorous curriculum from elementary grades through high school that was patterned after that of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. It offered no instruction in the Cherokee language or culture, but it was open only to full- and mixed-blood Cherokee girls. Many of the seminarians were acculturated Cherokees who welcomed the opportunity to study in an environment where white ways were held up as the ideal. More traditional Cherokees found the atmosphere oppressive. Devon Mihesuah explores the school's history, examining curriculum, faculty, administration, and educational philosophy and showing how these elements affected the 2,300 women who were educated there. A number of the seminary's graduates went on to study at colleges and universities across the country, becoming teachers, physicians, businesswomen, and social workers. Even those former students who did not seek careers exerted considerable influence within their families and in civic life. Cultivating the Rosebuds is a study of acculturation, assimilation, and tribal identity, sensitively delving into the differences between progressive and traditional Cherokees and the interactions between them. It also offers insights into the school's role in the tribe's cultural transitions, the changing roles of Cherokee women, and the impact of the students' experiences upon their tribe. |
From inside the book
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Page 67
... Florence Wilson for her contribution to the seminary's success , and in " obedience to the confidence of the mothers who unhesitatingly commit their daughters to her care , " in 1900 the Cherokee National Council unanimously appointed ...
... Florence Wilson for her contribution to the seminary's success , and in " obedience to the confidence of the mothers who unhesitatingly commit their daughters to her care , " in 1900 the Cherokee National Council unanimously appointed ...
Page 151
... Florence Wilson's " Great Leather - Bound Record Book , " NSU . Chapter 4 : Teachers , Curriculum , and Administration 1. See the Female Seminary Grade Book - Ann Florence Wilson's " Great Leather - Bound Record Book , " NSU , and Mary ...
... Florence Wilson's " Great Leather - Bound Record Book , " NSU . Chapter 4 : Teachers , Curriculum , and Administration 1. See the Female Seminary Grade Book - Ann Florence Wilson's " Great Leather - Bound Record Book , " NSU , and Mary ...
Page 152
... Florence Wilson , Friend and Teacher . Since the book is not footnoted , I have opted to use the primary correspondence concerning A. Florence Wilson when possible . See also Ned Harland Dearborn , The Oswego Movement in American ...
... Florence Wilson , Friend and Teacher . Since the book is not footnoted , I have opted to use the primary correspondence concerning A. Florence Wilson when possible . See also Ned Harland Dearborn , The Oswego Movement in American ...
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Common terms and phrases
1st sess 2d sess acculturated Adair American Indian ARCIA Arkansas August Bushyhead Butler C. T. Foreman Cher Cherokee Advocate Cherokee blood Cherokee Female Seminary Cherokee Indians Cherokee Nation Cherokee Rose Buds Cherokee Schools Cherokee women Chief John Ross Chronicles of Oklahoma CLAIT Cong Coppock to Benedict Dawes Roll December Education Elias Boudinot Eliza enrolled Exec federal Five Civilized Tribes Florence Wilson fullbloods girls graduated high schools ibid Indian Territory interview John Vaughan Library June L. G. Bowers L. L. Coll LGB Coll Mary Mayes McLoughlin Medical Superintendent Mission missionaries mixed-bloods Mount Holyoke College National Council Norman Northeastern State Normal Northeastern State University November October okee Okla Oklahoma Press Park Hill Principal Chief seminarians seminary alumnae seminary students seminary's September serial Starr Tahlequah teachers traditional Cherokee treaty tribal University of Oklahoma University Press William Potter Ross Worcester Wreath of Cherokee York