Article by Dennis Miles featured in "Chronicles of Oklahoma"
Press Release Date: 2-8-2012
DURANT, Okla. – Dennis Miles, Technical Access and Public Services Librarian for the Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, is a featured author in the Fall 2011 edition of the “Chronicles of Oklahoma.” This is the official publication of the Oklahoma Historical Society, and it features several scholarly articles on Oklahoma history in each issue.
Miles’ article – “Educate or We Perish; The Armstrong Academy’s History as Part of the Choctaw Educational System,” is an in-depth look at the Armstrong Academy, one of eight boarding schools established by the Choctaw Nation in the 1840s. Armstrong Academy was built to educate Choctaw boys.
The Choctaws of Mississippi placed a heavy emphasis on education. Chief Isaac Garvin, one of the principal chiefs after removal (from Mississippi to Oklahoma) said, "I say educate! Educate! Or we perish!"
In 1863, Armstrong Academy was named the capitol building of the Choctaw Nation. All legislation and other important duties were conducted at the Academy for the next 20 years. In 1883, the Choctaw Council voted to turn it back into a school for boys of the Choctaw Nation.
Miles became involved in 2005-06 when the "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture" needed individuals to write articles on various aspects of Oklahoma history.
"I did some research on all of the Choctaw boarding schools for the Encyclopedia article," Miles said. "I soon realized that nobody had ever written the entire history of Armstrong Academy. Some had written about the early years. I decided to cover the entire history of the school.
“It was a fun project. I enjoy doing research. The hard part is putting it all together in form to write. I sent my article to the Chronicles in August of 2010. It was accepted a month later and I made the final corrections last fall. It was published in the Fall 2011 issue.”
Miles spent many hours, using vacation time and Christmas breaks. He traveled to the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma History Center several times before completing his article.
According to the article, the early Choctaws used missionaries as instructors in the schools to educate and convert the students to Christianity. Students were taught the English language and other subjects with the idea that boys should attend school. There were separate schools for girls and boys.
The boys wore military uniforms in the latter years of the Academy and worked on school farms to learn about agriculture. The schools provided shelter, food, clothing and an education.
Armstrong Academy served as a hospital for Confederate soldiers curing the Civil War. There are also Confederate soldiers buried close to the academy. The Academy was destroyed by fire in 1920.
Only two of the original eight schools survived the Civil War and those two were also gone by 1900. The Choctaw Nation created new schools, such as Jones Academy, which was a school for boys founded in 1891.
It is now the lone remaining Choctaw school. Wheelock Academy, a boarding school for girls, was closed in 1955 and the girls were transferred to Jones Academy, making it a co-educational school. Wheelock is now a historical site, but no classes are taught at the school.
Miles said life wasn’t easy in the schools. Boys were separated from family and friends. It was a lonely and dedicated life.
Copies of the Chronicles of Oklahoma may be found in the Southeastern library and most libraries in Oklahoma are subscribers.