Fort Sill Indian School

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History of Native American Boarding Schools

Many are unaware of the true horrors that occurred at the more than 526 Native boarding schools across the United States. Organizations like the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) and Tribal communities near and far are aiming to shed light on the terrors and the intergenerational trauma that has followed.

Beginning with the Indian Civilization Act Fund of March 3, 1819 and the Peace Policy of 1869 the United States, in concert with and at the urging of several denominations of the Christian Church, adopted an Indian Boarding School Policy expressly intended to implement cultural genocide through the removal and reprogramming of American Indian and Alaska Native children to accomplish the systematic destruction of Native cultures and communities. The stated purpose of this policy was to “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.”

While the Federal Government established these boarding schools, they enlisted religious organizations like the Catholic, Methodist, Quaker, Episcopal and Presbyterian churches to run them. The institutions had Native children voluntarily or forcibly removed from their homes, families, and communities. Many were taken to schools states away without being able to contact their family.

The boarding schools were used to assimilate rather than “educate” hundreds of thousands of Native children. They were punished for speaking their Native language, banned from practicing their tradition or culture, stripped of traditional clothing, hair and personal belongings. They often suffered physical, sexual, cultural and spiritual abuse and neglect. In many cases and in the present defined law, many of the actions taken against these children would constitute torture. By 1926, more than 80% of Indigenous school-age children were attending boarding schools.

A Federal report released in 2024 discovered that at least 973 Indigenous children died in schools operated or supported by the federal government. But in a separate investigation and report released by the Washington Post in December 2024, they revealed at least 3,104 students had died in boarding schools across the U.S. A number three times that reported by the Federal government.

While the history of Native American boarding schools is overwhelmingly marked by trauma and cultural destruction, it’s important to acknowledge that some students did find positive aspects within their experiences. Many were able to learn vocational training in fields like carpentry, farming, and domestic skills. Students formed strong bonds with each other, creating lifelong friendships and their own communities, which is apparent in the annual reunions for many of these schools.

Native communities continue to face challenges stemming from the intergenerational trauma caused by the boarding school and systemic neglect. The lasting scar that the schools have left on individuals, families, communities, and tribal nations shows. The fight to save Tribal identity, language, traditions, and governance structures is an everlasting mission. These schools disrupted healthy development, fractured family systems, and weakened the cultural fabric of Tribal Nations.

Today, Native youth still experience severe disparities in health, education, and mental well-being. Suicide rates are alarmingly high, poverty is widespread, and graduation rates remain the lowest among all demographic groups—especially in Bureau of Indian Education schools. Despite legislative progress toward tribal self-determination, significant opportunity gaps persist. Without major increases in investment and support, these long-standing inequities will continue to threaten the future of Native youth and their communities.

“Sugarcane” is a 2024 documentary film that explores the history and impact of Canadian Indian residential schools, specifically focusing on the Sugarcane Reserve. The film follows a First Nations investigation into the abuse and deaths that occurred at a residential school, igniting a reckoning among survivors and their descendants. It highlights the resilience of Native communities and their struggle to break cycles of intergenerational trauma while bearing witness to painful truths. Watching this film was life-changing; it is one thing to read about these tragedies, another to watch them firsthand. 

History of Fort Sill Boarding School 1871-1980

The history of this school begins with Lawrie Tatum, a Quaker farmer who was appointed agent for the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Tribes. He assumed the position in May of 1869 but officially took over on July 1, 1869. His first order of business was the relocation of the agency to higher ground as it had in the past been flooded by the nearby Cache Creek.

With the new location about a mile west, he began constructing the agency buildings, a schoolhouse, staff housing and brought back equipment for the campus from Chicago. Fort Sill Agency School was officially opened on February 20, 1871.

Josiah and Elizabeth Butler, members of the Quaker Church of Ohio, had been tasked with teaching at the school. On the first day, there were seven children enrolled. Conflicts arose with the Comanches and Kiowas, who rejected the government’s plan to build a boarding school and rip their children away. The government continued the pressure and soon some Comanche children from “Asa Havey’s band” (also known as Asa Havie or Milky Way). Asa led the Penateka Comanches.

Butler’s journal from the first day of school says the following: “We got breakfast, rang the bell for the Indian children as previously arranged, and they came and ate, awkwardly enough. Later, I got the children seated and took their names in Comanche. One experienced a strange feeling to be thus placed before them and not be able to talk to them but I am much favored in having Mrs. Chandler to interpret – She is a Mexican, raised by the Comanches and has married a white man.” 

Tomasa Chandler aided in communication between the fort and the Comanche children and was known for her compassion and humanitarian efforts. The story of Mrs. Tomasa Chandler Conover is one of a different era.

Josiah Butler’s journal and many other outlets tell her story something like this: “Tomasa was born c. 1840 into a well-off family in the Republic of Mexico. As a young child, she and her older cousin, along with other Mexicans, were taken into captivity by a raiding band of Comanche warriors.

She was kindly treated by her captors and was adopted as a foster child by a Comanche family. She spent around a decade with the Comanche and became fully integrated into their society. But she and the older boy, believed to be her cousin, were then ransomed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and returned to Mexico. No one came to claim them, so they were taken in by a wealthy Mexican family who treated them as servants.

They together planned to return to the Comanches and escape their mistreatment. For weeks they stashed away food and finally made their escape while a party was being had. They took a horse or two and set out, using the North Star as their guide. When their food ran out, they were said to have killed the horse and dried out the meat and used the hide to make moccasins. When the last of their meat was eaten and they were nearly famished, they stumbled into the Comanche camp from which they had previously lived.

Tomasa later in life helping establish the Fort Sill Agency School. In 1871, she began working at the school as an translator. Fluent in Spanish, English, Comanche, and Caddo, she played a crucial role in assisting the fort’s officials and maintaining communication with the Comanche, which helped keep relations peaceful.

In 1891, a few decades after Josiah Butler’s exit, the school became nonsectarian. A transition further south was made from 1898-1900. Due to space limitations, the first students were girls, 23 Comanches and 19 Kiowas. Making the move with the original campus was its Superintendent, Julian W. Haddon.

At this new location, it became known as the  Fort Sill Indian School and/or Fort Sill Boarding School. In the early years of the school, strict militaristic-type discipline was a part of daily life. It was not uncommon to observe students participating in precision marching as they were moved from one part of the campus to the other. Former students state that corporal punishment was often administered harshly for infractions of the rules. A majority of the students at this time were of the elementary level.

Over the years, the Tribal makeup of the campus changed drastically. Beginning with a majority of Comanche, Apache, Caddo, Kiowa, Delaware, and Wichita students, it then shifted post World War. Navajo students began being admitted, and within a few years, they comprised 80 percent of the student population.

During the 1940s and ’50s, the Fort Sill Indian School emphasized vocational training and homemaking at the high school level. Homemaking courses included clothing selection, clothing construction, child care, child development, family relations, food and nutrition, home management, and consumer education.

Whereas the agricultural program is spread out over six years. The first three years take on everyday problems while the last three years focus on animal husbandry, dairying, poultry, swine, soil erosion, and conservation.

In 1960, the agriculture program was dropped from the curriculum of the school in favor of a more academically oriented program. That same year, first through sixth grades were dropped from the program as well. In 1963, grades seven and eight were dropped, thus making Fort Sill Indian School strictly a high school.

Gina Quoetone Pauahty, an alumnus, recalled that the students were punished for speaking their Native languages but often found creative ways to get around this restriction, with varying degrees of success: “I’m Kiowa, and so to keep from getting into trouble, I talk[ed] Comanche. Then I got punished anyway, but I didn’t know the difference of why I got punished. I got punished for talking Indian, and I’d talk Comanche before I’d talk Kiowa. All the time I thought if I talk Comanche I’d stay out of trouble.”

Hume Fuller, who attended Fort Sill before World War I, found enjoyment on the gridiron despite the brutality of the sport of football: “Your helmet was . . . thin,” he explained, “just a little old leather deal over our ears so they wouldn’t peel your ears off, was all it was.”

With determination, strength of character, and often with humor, students made Fort Sill an indigenous institution all their own. This was made clear in the late 1970s when Native students and administrators, alumni, and Indian leaders fought tenaciously to keep the school alive when the BIA announced its imminent closure. Although the coalition kept the school open for several years beyond its originally planned closing date, it could not save it from shutting down permanently in 1980.

Girls’ Dormitory – Building 309

Built: 1904/1920/1930 Abandoned: 1964

The new Girls’ Dormitory featured some of the most modern amenities on campus, including indoor plumbing, steam heat, and electric lighting. The basement housed bathing facilities, a playroom, and a boiler room. On the first floor, there were two large dormitory rooms, a sitting room, and living quarters for the live-in matron. The second floor accommodated older girls in two spacious dormitory rooms, overseen by an assistant matron. As expected, the attic was used for storage.

On January 5, 1907, Building 309 was reportedly severely damaged by fire. In March, the Indian Bureau allocated $4,000 for its reconstruction. James H. Dunlop, the agency’s carpenter, was tasked with rebuilding the roof and second floor, both of which had been destroyed in the fire. However, delays caused by the late arrival of building materials extended his work into the summer.

Entryway Sign

Built: 1933 Abandoned: 1958

Gymnasium

Built: 1936 Abandoned: 1980

News of funding for a new gymnasium and auditorium at Fort Sill Indian School arrived via telegram in 1935. Approximately $40,000 was allocated for the gymnasium, with an additional $15,000 set aside for the construction of a dairy barn on campus. The gym’s design was intended to resemble that of Riverside Indian School.

Excavation work began in early 1936, with plans to complete the building by the end of the year. Unlike most government-funded projects of the era, this structure was built under direct government supervision rather than through an external contract. Much of the labor was carried out by older Native students attending the school.

After nearly a year of construction, the gymnasium was officially dedicated on November 7, 1936. The ceremony drew a large crowd, including several high-ranking officials from the U.S. Indian Service and Senator Elmer Thomas, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. However, the most significant attendees were the hundreds of Comanche, Apache, and Kiowa community members who gathered alongside their “white friends” to celebrate the occasion. The event featured a barbecue, a football game, and a dance.

Among the guests were G.C. Dickes, Director of Indian Exhibits in the Department of the Interior, who served as the principal speaker, along with A.C. Monahan, George C. Wells, Supervisor of Indian Education in Oklahoma, and Charles A. Leech, Superintendent of Construction for the Indian Service of Oklahoma.

Over the decades, the gymnasium became a central hub for sporting events and tournaments. One of the most highly anticipated sports at Fort Sill Indian School was boxing. The school quickly gained a reputation for producing some of the finest boxers in the state. A 1930s article highlighted one of these matchups: “Fort Sill Indian School and Oklahoma City will fight it out tonight for the team championship of the second annual Lawton novice boxing tournament.” The tournament, hosted at the FSIS gym, saw the home team enter the ring with nine fighters, while Oklahoma City brought six. One of the night’s most anticipated fights was the 175-pound class showdown between FSIS’s John Draughon and Oklahoma City’s Jerry Smith.

Saving the Fort Sill Murals

But one of the greatest facets of this historic gymnasium/auditorium is the murals hidden on its walls. One of the artists, Cecil Murdock, stated that he wished to portray his heart, the things his race has lost, and of the beautiful ceremonials and customs of his people. The building at the time was said to be the only building in the world to depict Native designs in fresco.

Indian Art is Preserved in Ft. Sill Auditorium November 17, 1938 – Indian art is being preserved for posterity in mural and fresco secco painting on the interior of the Fort Sill Indian School’s combination gymnasium-auditorium here.

Life-sized Indian sports, bea work, shields of famed chiefs, and a local Wichita Mountain scene have been reproduced on the walls and curtains of the structure. A four month project, conducted by six young Indian artists from four tribes, is nearing completion. Their work was performed under the tutorship of Olle Nordmark of New York. Mostly earth colors are used.

The back curtain of the stage pictures a landscape scene with Mount Sheridan and other Wichita peaks in the background. Herds of buffalo and horses are grazing in the foreground. An Indian teepee on the bank of the stream is depicted on one side. Beadwork designs encircle the exterior of the front of the stage. Elk heads have been painted on the outside wall to the right and left of the stage.

Along the side walls are dozens of tribal designs of shields, rainclouds, and beadwork. Each of the shields represents a tribal leader. Among these are designs of shields of Quanah Parker and Heart Eater, Comanche leaders. Kiowa and Navajo leaders are also depicted.

On the wall at the south end of the auditorium are the life-sized paintings, all done in secco or dry fresco. To design in fresco is the art of painting on a surface of plaster. Dry fresco painting is on hardened plaster. The body colors are mixed with albumin, the surface smoother and dampened for secco painting.

Designs in fresco include a horse race, a snake race, and a brave catching a foul from the back of his racing horse. The auditorium in addition to being a gymnasium, is also a music hall. Indian flute players are represented. Other designs include archery and a marathon race. A rain cloud design is above the water fountain.

Performing the work were Spencer Asah a Kiowa of Apache, Steve Murdock a Kiowa of Fort Cobb, Cecil Murdock a Kickapoo of McLoud, James Auchiah a Kiowa of Saddle Mountain community in Comanche County, Leonard Riddles a Comanche of Walters, and Archie Blackowl a Cheyenne of Weatherford. Their names with Nordmark are printed near the entrance door, a tribute to their accomplishments.

Ida Luria Asah Jones, daughter of one of the artists Spencer Asah, remembers when the murals were done. As a child, she accompanied her father when he painted these murals in the Fort Sill Indian School gym in 1937. “I thought, one of these days I’m going to do that.” Jones went on to become an artist herself and helped her father work on a few murals.

In April 2023 Executive Director Yolonda Ramos began a project to uncover the murals around the campus with a special focus on the gymnasium. The work is meticulous and requires patience and precision so as not to damage the works of art underneath. Yolonda personally took on the task and has made progress having uncovered one of the shields painted to honor Comanche, Kiowa and Navajo chiefs.

But unfortunately, Ramos took a fall off a ladder one day while uncovering the art. She thankfully was not permanently injured but the incident, understandably, was a setback on the work. Since then she has tried to brainstorm ways to bring life back to the campus hosting numerous 5k runs, constructing a brand new trail around the campus and more. The mission of preserving the art, locating and restoring the cemetery and hopefully restoring some of the buildings is still ongoing. Make sure to follow the KCA Intertribal Land Use on Facebook to stay updated with the events.

School Building

Built: 1939 Abandoned: 1980

Over the decades, the mission of Fort Sill Indian School evolved multiple times. Originally established as an assimilation school for elementary school students, a vocational and agricultural school, and, in its final years, a coeducational high school.

As their mission changed, the school worked to get away from being viewed as a “farm and vocational school,”  striving instead to align with state-accredited educational standards. This shift brought changes to the campus, which was transformed into a recreational area featuring tennis and basketball courts, riding stables, a small golf course, baseball and football fields, and expansive picnic areas.

Many students arrived at the school speaking little to no English, fluent instead in their Native languages. However, upon arrival, they were quickly forbidden from speaking their mother tongues. English reading, writing, and speech were strictly enforced, further reflecting the school’s early assimilationist policies.

Like much of the campus, this building was abandoned when the school officially closed in 1980. Based on its current state, its structural integrity appears to be beyond salvaging. While the outer shell might be repurposed, the collapsed interior floors would require a complete rebuild.

Missing Murals from Fort Sill Indian School

Upon my research of the school building, I came across a mystery of missing murals.

The walls in question are believed to have been part of the original school building on the Fort Sill Indian School campus. According to Harold Redding, who provided some historical insight, “The wall was originally part of the old Fort Sill Indian School building. It was painted on wet plaster by Cecil Murdock and Archie Blackowl. When I was supervising a WPA crew in 1939, we moved it when the old school building was torn down to make way for the new high school.”

Just a short time later, utilizing the mural walls and other salvaged materials, construction began on what would become known as the  Indian Arts and Trade Center (IATC). Students contributed much of the labor to build the center, which was part of a $19,000 construction project. It was surrounded by a shop, storerooms, and several other brick buildings.

The IATC gave Native students at Fort Sill Indian School not only the opportunity to hone their craft by making different jewelry, paintings, and other forms of art but also allowed them to learn trades like electric work, contracting, etc. Students were able to put their crafts on display at the Indian Arts and Trade Center for sale.

This building was very short-lived being abandoned in 1948 and then turned into an apartment for staff. The IATC succumbed to the threat of urban development when Highway crews wanted to build a new road, one that would go right through the location of the IATC.

Crews began tearing down the center in 1954 but before turning the whole building into rubble, they left two walls with murals done by Cecil Murdock standing. A story about the demolition was put in the October 31, 1954 newspaper of the Lawton Constitution with the above picture.

M-Sgt Oliver T. Gross, presumed to have been stationed at Fort Sill at the time, and his wife were avid collectors of Native art. They had first seen the murals in a pile of debris in May and had since been seeking a way to save them. When the October 31 newspaper story came out they were able to be connected with the proper authorities of the building where they received permission to remove the walls.

Then started the difficult part of finding the funding to do it. Mr. Gross’s original plan was to disassemble the walls brick by brick, number them, and then reassemble them at his residence. Being as the murals were fresca this would have ruined them, and he decided that fully moving the wall was the best option for preservation. Since the artwork had been exposed to the elements for quite some time,e he was already in touch and making arrangements for a student of Cecil Murdock to assist in restoring them.

Originally, the walls were offered to the Comanche County Historical Society, but they had no place to move them to. So M-Sgt. Gross created the plan to set them in concrete facing the main road to Lake Lawtonka on his property and even agreed to deed that part of the land to the Historical Society if they desired.

Instead of taking the walls themselves, the CCHS began a campaign to raise $1,000 to finance the moving of the walls. C.E. Putney, who owned a house moving company, agreed to move the walls, fitting a portion of the bill but not all of it. This is where the additional money was to be raised.

Work on moving the walls began in December on moving the fresca works of art. Unfortunately, the walls are lost today. We have been unable to locate the location of M-Sgt Oliver Twist Gross’ house in Medicine Park to see if that history still lies or was demolished years after he and his family moved away.

Triplet Dormitory Buildings

Built: 1940, 1941, 1950 Abandoned: 1980

The first dormitory at Fort Sill, along with the two that followed, served not only as living quarters but also as classrooms. The building was completed and opened just in time for the 1940 school year. Three Native painters from Phoenix, under the guidance of Mr. Nordmark, were commissioned to paint murals in the lounge of the new dormitory.

Before the first dormitory was even completed, plans for a second dormitory were already in the works. In July 1940, it was announced that the Kingery Construction Co. had won the bid for $64,000. Congress quickly approved the necessary funding.

By August 1940, preliminary work on the second dormitory had begun. The architecture was designed to match the layout, style, and materials of the first dorm. The second dormitory was completed and opened in 1941.

Efforts to secure funding for a third dormitory began almost immediately after the second one was started. In 1941, Congress approved $85,000 for the new building as the second dormitory neared completion. However, work on the third dormitory was halted “indefinitely” due to the ongoing World War II. The specific reason for the delay was the need for construction materials to support national defense efforts.

In 1949, conversations regarding the third dormitory resumed, and an additional $45,000 was approved, bringing the total appropriation to $130,000. Bids were sought in May, and Dittmars, Dickmann, and Pickens Construction won the contract. Work began in December of that year, with the dormitory scheduled to open by September 1950.

However, nationwide strikes delayed the delivery of some building materials, causing delays that prevented the dormitory from being ready for the 1950-51 school year. The dorms became a memorable part of the campus. Students referred to them as Attocknie Lodge, Geronimo Lodge, and Hunting Horse Lodge.

The evolving mission of the school over the years led to some challenges. One issue was that the Triplet Dormitories, constructed in the 1940s, were originally designed for younger, elementary-age children. As the campus transitioned to a coeducational high school for students aged 14 to 18, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate the older students within these buildings.

Later Dormitories

Built: 1967  Abandoned: 1980

Construction work on the new dormitories and staff residences began in 1966, with about 20 workers employed full-time on the project. The contract was awarded to V and N Construction Co., and the new dorms were designed to increase the school’s capacity to approximately 400 students.

However, when the school closed in 1980, these two dormitories and the Triplet Dorms were left abandoned. In recent years, the Tribes have shown renewed interest in restoring these two buildings and transforming the campus into a functional space once again. However, this time it would be one that celebrates and encourages our heritage, not one that strips it away.

To date, these two buildings have already undergone asbestos abatement, which is often one of the most challenging aspects of the restoration process. The biggest obstacle now is securing the necessary funding to not only rehabilitate the buildings for regular use but also to ensure they can be maintained for the future.

Dining Hall

Built: 1962 Abandoned: 1980

In 1962, President Kennedy initiated efforts to secure funds for a new dining hall and kitchen at Fort Sill Indian School. By September of that year, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the start of construction for the new facility.

The dining hall officially opened on October 26, 1963, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an open house. The new facility was designed to seat 168 students. Mrs. Winona Quenton was appointed to oversee the planning and supervision of meals. At the time, Talmage Heard served as the school superintendent, and the student body had grown to about 270 students, with roughly 60 percent of them being Navajo.

Gallery Below of Fort Sill Indian School

Ft. Sill Indian School (Click Thumbnails to See Each Gallery)

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