2011 Oklahoma's Most Endangered Historic Places

Another site of great significance, and great concern to the preservation community of Oklahoma, is Chilocco Indian School. The school was established in 1884 about fifteen miles north of modern day Ponca City.  Chilocco was one of the initial large, off-reservation boarding schools constructed by the federal government for the purpose of assimilating Native American youth by removing them from the influence of Indian culture.

From its opening until the 1930s, Chilocco operated under a military-style model devised by U.S. Army officer Richard Pratt at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Much of the early curriculum focused on vocational pursuits such as carpentry, printing, and stock raising. By 1927, Chilocco offered fully accredited classes through the twelfth grade, and even raised its own unit of the Oklahoma National Guard – Company C, 180th Infantry, 45th Infantry Division. Eventually, over 100 buildings were erected on the Chilocco campus, including dormitories, shops for vocational departments, and a hospital.

Enrollment at the school grew steadily until the 1950s when it reached roughly 1,300 students from over 120 tribal affiliations. During the 1960s, enrollment fell off sharply as cultural and policy shifts moved away from the notion of assimilation and toward self-determination for tribes. Chilocco ceased operations as an educational center in 1980 and was awarded to five tribes – the Kaw, Ponca, Otoe-Missouri, Pawnee, and Tonkawa. The facilities largely have been vacant since that time.

Chilocco was added to the National Register in 2006.  Efforts are underway to have Chilocco designated a National Historic Landmark, and the non-profit Chilocco Benefit Association seeks to raise the estimated 4.3 million dollars needed for rehabilitation of this large, challenging, but invaluable piece of Oklahoma’s history.