This week I toured the beautiful and historic campus of Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Established in 1880, it is the nation’s oldest continually operating private Tribal Liberal Arts College, and it is undergoing a renaissance. Native Americans from more than 30 tribes are currently represented in the student body, and it is supported by five Oklahoma Tribes: the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma, Osage Nation, Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes and Kiowa Tribe.

A full century ago, in 1921, Daughters added the American Indian Institute in Wichita, Kansas, to the list of DAR authorized schools and colleges – the first time our Society had officially provided support to a Native American institution. The American Indians Committee was established as a subcommittee of the DAR School Committee in 1936, and it became an independent National Committee in 1940. Bacone was approved as a sponsored school in 1946 – so this year marks the 75^th anniversary of DAR support. Imagine the lives that we have together improved during three quarters of a century!

Support for the American Indians Committee in general, and Bacone in specific, has been a high priority of the VanBuren Administration. Funds donated to Bacone include five scholarships of $5,000 for students to attend its Native American Art program; and $70,000 for repair of the HVAC system in the men’s dormitory, as well as repair/painting/maintenance of both the men’s and women’s dormitories. Thanks to your generous support to the American Indian Fund, it was my honor to provide additional checks this week to bolster Bacone’s important mission: $5,000 for the purchase of goods in the students’ Warrior Pantry; $10,000 for track lighting in the new student Art Gallery in the William McCombs Building; and $7,500 toward a new roof at the Kiva Building. That brings total donations to date during the VanBuren administration to $117,500 – all made possible by our Daughters’ heartfelt support of our native people.   

Following the tour, Oklahoma Daughters spoiled your President General with a delightful and delicious dinner at the Oaktree Country Club in Edmond. It was a joy, after many months of isolation, to gather with these women to recommit to our mission of service. Masks and social distancing could not keep us from reconnecting! On Wednesday, these gracious Daughters arranged for me to tour the Oklahoma History Center with former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating as my guide. It was fascinating to learn more about this state’s history, and the DAR’s long support of the facility. For example, during our tour of its archives, we saw the original Oklahoma State Flag, designed by Daughter Louise Fluke as part of a DAR contest. After researching Native American symbols and choosing the design, Louise hand painted the flag on silk – after selling small silk hand painted flags to raise the money necessary to purchase the material for the larger flag. I am so proud of the work that our members have done for more than a century to support their communities in ways like this.