Sequoyah High School (Cherokee County, Oklahoma) facts for kids

Sequoyah High School (also called Sequoyah-Tahlequah) is a special school for Native American students. It is a boarding school, meaning students can live there, and it teaches grades 7 through 12. To attend, students must be part of a Native American tribe that the government officially recognizes.

The school is in Park Hill, Oklahoma, but it uses a Tahlequah mailing address. The Cherokee Nation runs the school with money from the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Sequoyah is one of only two boarding high schools for Native Americans in Oklahoma. It is part of a larger group called Sequoyah Schools (Cherokee: ᏏᏉᏯ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ, romanized: Siquoya Dideloquasdi).

About Sequoyah Schools

Sequoyah Schools also includes an elementary school. This elementary school teaches students from pre-school up to 8th grade. Younger students, from pre-school to 6th grade, at the Cherokee Immersion School learn mostly in the Cherokee language. They start learning more in English around 5th grade.

In 2007, a reporter named Jeff Raymond said that many Cherokee people across the United States knew about this school.

School History

The school started in 1871. The Cherokee National Council created it as the Cherokee Orphan Asylum. It was built to help the many children who lost their parents during the American Civil War. The first building on the school's current land was built in 1875.

In 1914, the Cherokee National Council allowed Chief William Charles Rogers to sell the school's land and buildings. The United States Department of the Interior bought the property, which included 40 acres (about 160,000 square meters) and the buildings, for $5,000.

In 1925, the school's name changed to Sequoyah Orphan Training School. This new name honored Sequoyah, a famous Cherokee who created the Cherokee syllabary. This was a writing system for the Cherokee language.

For a short time, the school was also known as Sequoyah Vocational School. In its early years, the school had a working dairy farm and other farming areas. The Bureau of Indian Affairs ran it as a boarding school until 1985.

In November 1985, the Cherokee Nation took over running Sequoyah High School from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Now, the school operates with a special grant. Today, the school has 90 acres (about 360,000 square meters) of land. It has more than a dozen main buildings. The campus is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) southwest of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Jolyn Choate became the principal around 2012. In 2020, the school needed more teachers for math and science. Patrick Moore was the superintendent until he left in 2020.

School Campus

The school is located on 90 acres (about 36 hectares) of land. This land is in an unincorporated part of Cherokee County. It is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) southwest of Tahlequah. The school uses a Tahlequah postal address.

In 2003, the school's cafeteria could hold 280 people. The whole campus was built to serve about 300 students. The dormitories, where students live, are only for high school students.

How to Get Admitted

To be accepted into Sequoyah High School, a student must have a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood. This paper proves they are a member of a Federally Recognized Tribe. As of 2007, there were no other strict rules for attending the school.

In 2007, Jeff Raymond said that many students wanted to attend Sequoyah. He mentioned that the school had a waiting list because so many students applied. The tribal government and the BIE pay for all of the school's costs. This means students do not have to pay tuition fees.

What Students Learn

The school offers special classes about the Cherokee people. These classes cover the tribe's history, arts, the Cherokee language, and other parts of their culture. As of 2007, Oklahoma requires high school students to earn 23 credits to graduate. However, Sequoyah High School requires its students to complete 28 credits.

Student Population

About 430 students attend Sequoyah High School. About 47% of the students are male, and 53% are female. There is one teacher for every 15 students. All of the students (100%) are American Indian. This is much higher than Oklahoma's state average, where about 18% of students are American Indian.

In 2007, there were 436 students, and over 100 of them lived on campus. In 2006, the school had 360 students. In 2003, there were 363 students, which was the highest number at that time. These students came from 16 different states and were members of 39 different tribes.

School Sports

The school's mascot is the Indian. Around September 2005, there were rumors that the school might change its mascot name to the eagle. However, Chad Smith, who was the Principal Chief of the tribe, issued an order. He said the mascot would stay the same if the school board agreed. In 2006, Gina Stanley, the superintendent of Cherokee Schools, said that students liked the mascot.

State Championships

Sequoyah High School has won 21 state championships in seven different sports:

• Powerlifting – 2016
• Boys Basketball – 2003
• Girls Basketball – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2015, 2017, 2018
• Boys Cross Country – 1964, 1965, 1969, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Girls Cross Country – 1992, 2005
• Slow Pitch Softball – 2012
• Fast Pitch Softball – 2018

Famous Alumni

• Angel Goodrich, a WNBA basketball player
• Jackson Narcomey, a painter and printmaker
• Nathan Stanley, an American football player
• Ryan Helsley, a pitcher for the New York Mets

See also

• Other boarding schools run by the BIE:
  • Chemawa Indian School
  • Flandreau Indian School
  • Riverside Indian School
  • Sherman Indian High School
• Boarding schools run by tribes:
  • Circle of Nations Wahpeton Indian School
  • Pierre Indian Learning Center