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Listening to Our Grandmothers' Stories: The Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw Females, 1852-1949
Bloomfield Academy was founded in 1852 by the Chickasaw Nation in conjunction with missionaries. It remained open for nearly a century, offering Chickasaw girls one of the finest educations in the West. After being forcibly relocated to Indian Territory, the Chickasaws viewed education as instrumental to their survival in a rapidly changing world. Bloomfield became their way to prepare emerging generations of Chickasaw girls for new challenges and opportunities. Amanda J. Cobb became interested in Bloomfield Academy because of her grandmother, Ida Mae Pratt Cobb, an alumna from the 1920s. Drawing on letters, reports, interviews with students, and school programs, Cobb recounts the academy’s success story. In stark contrast to the federally run off-reservation boarding schools in operation at the time, Bloomfield represents a rare instance of tribal control in education. For the Chickasaw Nation, Bloomfield—a tool of assimilation—became an important method of self-preservation.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
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October 23, 2024
This is a masterful work of local history. I randomly picked this one up from a used book sale when I noticed the copy was autographed. I've been wanting to learn more about the tribes in Oklahoma and this was a good chance.
The book itself is focused on the history of a Chickasaw women's school named Bloomfield, later renamed Carter Seminary. What is unique about this school is that for much of its history, the Chickasaw nation had control over the school. Even in the later years under Federal control, the Chickasaw people were proud of the school and highly valued education.
The book is personal to the author. Her grandmother attended Bloomfield and this personal connection led her to learn more. This helps give the book a personal touch but it never veers into a full-fledged personal memoir.
I appreciated how the author connected the story of this school to the larger narrative of the Chickasaw nation itself. The nation has always placed a high value on education and literacy. Even though they recognized schools as tools of colonization, they saw there could be value in them.
The story itself is messy, as all history is. The school was both a tool of colonization, that denied girls the ability to speak their native language and a tool of freedom, which inadvertently strengthened the women's native identity. Almost all of the women interviewed had fond memories of the school and spoke of it highly. The book also wrestles with how Christianity was used by the school. At times it was used to try and "civilize" the Chickasaw" and at others, the Chickasaw were converted and pushed Christianity themselves even without federal control. I appreciated how the author fairly navigated this tension.
This is not a popular-level history book. I can see some picking this up and being disappointed that it is more academic than they might have imagined. But it is by no means dry or boring. Overall, this is a wonderful book. The prose is masterful. I felt the school of Bloomfield and the women themselves come alive through their stories.
The book itself is focused on the history of a Chickasaw women's school named Bloomfield, later renamed Carter Seminary. What is unique about this school is that for much of its history, the Chickasaw nation had control over the school. Even in the later years under Federal control, the Chickasaw people were proud of the school and highly valued education.
The book is personal to the author. Her grandmother attended Bloomfield and this personal connection led her to learn more. This helps give the book a personal touch but it never veers into a full-fledged personal memoir.
I appreciated how the author connected the story of this school to the larger narrative of the Chickasaw nation itself. The nation has always placed a high value on education and literacy. Even though they recognized schools as tools of colonization, they saw there could be value in them.
The story itself is messy, as all history is. The school was both a tool of colonization, that denied girls the ability to speak their native language and a tool of freedom, which inadvertently strengthened the women's native identity. Almost all of the women interviewed had fond memories of the school and spoke of it highly. The book also wrestles with how Christianity was used by the school. At times it was used to try and "civilize" the Chickasaw" and at others, the Chickasaw were converted and pushed Christianity themselves even without federal control. I appreciated how the author fairly navigated this tension.
This is not a popular-level history book. I can see some picking this up and being disappointed that it is more academic than they might have imagined. But it is by no means dry or boring. Overall, this is a wonderful book. The prose is masterful. I felt the school of Bloomfield and the women themselves come alive through their stories.
Displaying 1 of 1 review