Smith orders Sequoyah High School to retain Indians nickname

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Principal Chief Chad Smith issued an executive order in October stating that Sequoyah High School would retain the Indians nickname until changed by consent of the school board.


Smith issued the order following September's Tribal Council Rules Committee when concerned parents, staff and community members voiced their opinions in favor of the school's nickname after hearing rumors that the school was changing from the Indians to the Eagles.

"To correct misinformation and to assure the staff and students at the school, it is ordered that the references to Sequoyah Indians shall not be changed unless by consent of the school board," Smith's order states.

The Oct. 10 executive order was effectively immediately.

SHS, an Indian boarding school, originated in 1871 when the Cherokee National Council passed an act setting up an orphan asylum to care for the many Native American children orphaned by the Civil War.

In 1925, the name of the institution was changed to Sequoyah Orphan Training School in honor of Sequoyah, a Cherokee who developed the Cherokee syllabary. After being known as Sequoyah Vocational School for a time, it was named Sequoyah High School. From a school with one building and 40 acres of land, SHS has grown into a modern institution covering more than 90 acres with a dozen major buildings. In November 1985, the tribe contracted the operation of SHS from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and it is now operated by the CN.