Museum Moments (July 2022)

(Sanborn Map of Euchee Mission Boarding School, 1920. Shown are the marked building labels. 1. Woodlawn Public School; 2. Boys' Dormitory (with toilet / bathroom building unattached, just north); 3. Manual Training Bldg; 4. Three-Room Schoolhouse; 5. Administration Bldg; 6. Domestic Science Bldg; 7. Superintendent Bldg and Auto (Garage); 9. Storage and Laundry Bldg; 10. Poultry. *Sapulpa High School was located on Linden and Dewey Ave; by the 1960s, the SHS would be moved to the EMBS location. **Other buildings on school ground were not identified.)

What Have We Been Up This Month?
We are working on updating our Euchee Mission School exhibition. Be sure to check in and see how the student life at the Euchee influenced the alumni students.

Tourism:
Furthest Visitor Outside Of Sapulpa:

• In Oklahoma: Enid, Oklahoma (approx. 120 miles away)
• In the Country: Donalsonville, Georgia (approx. 900 miles away)
• In the World: London, England (approx. 4,500 miles away)

A Word From Our Intern:
This summer, I had the privilege of working as an intern at the Sapulpa Historical Museum as part of my pursuit of a Master of Arts in American Studies from Northeastern State University. American Studies is an interdisciplinary study of the American experience and culture. The Sapulpa Historical Museum proved to be the ideal place for me to explore the themes of American Studies because of Sapulpa’s rich history and significant role in the U.S. economy and its population of minority groups. Initially, I chose the Sapulpa Historical Museum to complete my internship because of its friendly, small-town American atmosphere. One feels a little nostalgia when walking through the museum as visitors learn of Sapulpa’s beginnings as a frontier town in Indian Territory. To name just a few topics, the Sapulpa Historical Museum tells of Sapulpa’s oil boom, its establishment of the railroad, successful entrepreneurs, and the Muscogee (Creek) and Yuchi (Euchee) people.

During my time at the museum, my goal was to research the history of the Euchee Mission, sometimes referred to as Euchee Indian Boarding School, once located where the Sapulpa Junior High and High School now stand. The research was no easy task! Very little published information exists about the school, and what does exist only touches the surface of the school’s history. Therefore, I had to primarily rely on archived newspapers and Euchee Mission reunion booklets containing the alumni's oral histories. Although the research was difficult and the process slow, I welcomed the challenge. This project made me a better researcher. It required much inquiry and “digging,” but ultimately, I accomplished my goal.

It would not have been possible without the help of the museum’s curator, Rachel Whitney, and the museum’s volunteers, who helped and encouraged me along the way. I am incredibly grateful to Rachel Whitney for her generosity and willingness to share her knowledge (and office!) with me. With her help, I completed the research paper and developed a panel for the museum’s exhibit on the Euchee Mission.

My experience at the Sapulpa Historical Museum has helped me grow as a researcher and teacher. Much of my research focused on Euchee Mission’s former students, as told through their own stories, and their stories were not what I expected. I expected Euchee Mission, like many Indian boarding schools across the United States and Canada, to have been a place of oppression and abuse. Instead, Euchee Mission was a place of refuge where many Native American children received a happy upbringing and a quality education. I hope my research provides a more accurate picture of the Euchee Mission and that visitors to the Sapulpa Historical Museum will learn about its unique history. 

Amy Rogers
American Studies Graduate Student at Northeastern State University