Sequoyah High School (also known as Sequoyah-Tahlequah) is a Native American boarding school serving students in grades 9â€"12, who are members of a federally recognized Native American tribe. The school is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and is a Bureau of Indian Education grant school operated by the Cherokee Nation. Sequoyah Schools also has an elementary school grades pre-school through 8. Students in pre-school through grade 6 are taught through Cherokee language immersion and begin to transition to instruction in English in grade 5.
History
The school was founded in 1871 by the Cherokee National Council as the Cherokee Orphan Asylum to care for the numerous orphans who came out of the Civil War. The first building on the current site of the school was erected in 1875
The Cherokee National Council gave permission for acting Chief William Charles Rogers to sell the property (which included 40 acres (160,000Â m2) plus the buildings) to the United States Department of the Interior for a sum of $5,000 in 1914. In 1925, the name of the school was changed to Sequoyah Orphan Training School to memorialize Sequoyah, a noted Cherokee who invented the Cherokee syllabary.
For a short time, the school was also known as Sequoyah Vocational School. During much of its early years, the school boasted an active dairy and various other farming and agricultural facilities. It was operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a boarding school until 1985.
In November 1985 the Cherokee Nation resumed operations at Sequoyah High School from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and now operates under a grant. The school now maintains 90 acres (360,000Â m2) of land and more than a dozen major buildings five miles (8Â km) southwest of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
Demographics
School enrollment is approximately 430 students, with 47% male and 53% female students. The teacher-student ratio is 1:15. 100% of the student population is American Indian, compared to Oklahoma's state average of 18% American Indian students.
State Championships
Sequoyah High School has won 16 state championships in five sports:
Boys Basketball â€" 2003
Girls Basketball â€" 2005, 2006, 2007, 2015
Boys Cross Country â€" 1964, 1965, 1969, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Girls Cross Country â€" 1992, 2005
Slow Pitch Softball â€" 2012
Notable alumni
- Angel Goodrich, WNBA basketball player
- Jackson Narcomey, painter and printmaker
- Nathan Stanley, American football player
References
External links
- Sequoyah High School, official site
- Sequoyah Schools, Cherokee Nation