Preliminary: The Native American Founded Boarding School
Author(s): Hannah Forker
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
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This poster describes preliminary historical research into the Roe Cloud Institute, a Native American boarding school located in Wichita, Kansas that operated from 1915 to 1935. Unlike other boarding schools at the time, this school was Native American founded and did not have the goal of stripping students of their native heritage. Rather than focusing on taking in young children like other boarding schools, the Roe Cloud Institute focused on admitting high school and college age students. The primary goals of the institute were the promotion of higher education among Native American youths and promoting young Christian leaders within the community. Located at 3500 E 21<sup>st</sup> ST, Wichita, KS the institute consisted of several dormitory buildings and other facilities for the students’ education and care, this eventually included classrooms and buildings related to work programs. However, the location and status of the original buildings are unknown, as the site has been repurposed as a church and cemetery. The historical research described here aims to connect written records of the institute’s operations with existing spatial and material remains at the site, in order to understand the extent to which archaeological investigations can be conducted collaboratively with stakeholders in the community.
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Cite this Record
Preliminary: The Native American Founded Boarding School. Hannah Forker. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 510887)
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Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 52940