In 1880, the United States government created the five original Indian Boarding Schools across the country: Carlisle, Haskell, Fort Simcoe, Chemawa and Chilocco. This occurred at the end of the “Indian Wars” as a final action to deal with Indian Culture.

Of the five historic schools, Chilocco is the only one available today for development and the only one truly owned by American Indians.

The five tribes of North Central Oklahoma – Kaw, Otoe-Missouria, Pawnee, Ponca and Tonkawa – were given part of the Chilocco school grounds by act of Congress in 1986. As the Council of Confederated Chilocco Tribes, the five tribes jointly own Chilocco and each separately owns approximately 800 acres surrounding the campus. Chilocco’s 72 limestone buildings on the 165-acre main campus were recently placed on The National Register of Historic Places. The school has been closed since 1980 and needs much repair. The five tribes have come to the decision that Chilocco should symbolically belong to the collective body of American Indians, who all have a profound heritage to the Indian boarding school legacy.

During its one hundred years of activity, Chilocco saw thousands of students from hundreds of American Indian tribes and nations. It is located near the center of the nation and is the only remaining place in America where so many tribes shared a common ground to survive and to flourish in the face of great hardship. This was reinforced by a resolution of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in 2007. The Resolution states if there were ever to be a place in America where so many tribes and nations could call common ground, Chilocco would be that place.

The Chilocco Capital Campaign kicks off in the summer of 2009. Please help us preserve this common ground for future generations. For more information or how to contribute, contact us at (580) 762-4748 or contact us via our website at www.Chilocco-Benefit.org.