Sapulpa Showcase (November 2019)

Artifact(s) of the Month:

​Euchee Mission artifacts such as the 1917 pennant girls' basketball, 1916 superintendent's (W.E. Darner) school bell, and wooden board from the Euchee school building are just some of the Euchee or Yuchi artifacts we have on display, showcasing Sapulpa's diverse culture. *Bonus Artifact* Euchee Indian School Military Veterans 1894-1947 (in 2007, it was unveiled to the public by the Euchee Alumni and Creek Nation Casino Board of Directors)

Much credit for founding the school is due to Samuel Brown, Noah Gregory, Henry Land, and William Sapulpa, whose work influenced the Creek Council to make an appropriation for the school from Tribal Funds. Buildings were then erected and the school opened in the fall of 1894, enrolling about fifty students of all ages. In the beginning the school was co-educational and had only three buildings, including two dormitories and a three-room schoolhouse, all located on forty-acres of Tribal property.

The Council appointed Euchee and Methodist minister, Noah Gregory, as the school's first superintendent. Henry Land and William Sapulpa then followed as second & third superintendents, respectively.

The school was improved, enlarged, and maintained by appropriations from Creek funds until 1928 when it was taken over and supported entirely by federal appropriations under supervision of the U.S. Native American office.

In 1947, the school closed, when the land and buildings were sold to school district no. 33 for use by the public schools.