Bacone Documents

Bacone (Oklahoma)

Bacone College (Muskogee, Oklahoma), is the third oldest of the eight boarding schools studied for the purposes of this book. A mere year separates the founding of each of these three.

It was founded in 1880, in what is now Oklahoma, and has served various ages and levels of students during the course of its history.

Its high school division was shut down in the latter part of the 1950’s and it eventually grew from a junior college to a four-year degree granting institution by the year 2000.

While Bacone may not hold Haskell’s moniker as “the most recognizable name in Indian Country”, it would surely be in the top three names along with Carlisle. The school has held an historical relationship with the American Baptist denomination throughout its history. Like Haskell, it is difficult to find an Indian family who does not have a relative or know someone who attended the school.

Bacone is currently comprised of Indians from numerous tribes across the U.S. who account for 65% of the school’s enrollment. The remainder of the student body comes from divergent racial and ethnic backgrounds from both the U.S. and abroad.