Indian advocate pressed for education

Dec. 14—From its inception the United States grappled with the best way to handle its interaction with the native people. Commissions were appointed and committees were organized to discuss the issues and develop government policy.

In the early 1830s the first Indian Commission traveled to Indian Territory and spent some time at Fort Gibson assessing the conditions met by the southeastern tribes being removed to the west. Montfort Stokes, Henry Ellsworth and John Schermerhorn came from political and ministerial backgrounds but were committed to the removal policy that would influence U.S. relations with all the Indian tribes for many decades.

In the 1890s, an annual Symposium on the American Indian was held at Mohonk Lake, New York. Alice Robertson was often the only women to speak at this conference as leading politicians and educators discussed Indian relations. Alice's years of work in education in Indian Territory combined with her work at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington had made her an expert.

In the 1920s another gathering of experts was led by Secretary of the Interior Herbert Hoover. This group of scholars, educators and policy advisors was dubbed the Committee of One Hundred. Another woman from Oklahoma was a part of this committee discussing the issues facing Native Americans and proposing reforms in Indian policy.

Ruth Muskrat had been born in the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory in 1897. She took high school courses at the University Preparatory School at Tonkawa and Henry Kendall College. Her focus of study was literature, and she developed her gift as a poet and writer, having some of her poems published at a young age.

In 1922 Muskrat was invited to the World's Student Christian Federation conference that was held in Beijing. She was the first Native American student to attend this conference and garnered a great deal of international attention. It was that attention that would earn Muskrat an invitation to be part of the Committee of One Hundred the following year.

At the Washington meeting Ruth spoke about the need for better educational opportunities for American Indians. Then on December 13, she presented a gift to President Calvin Coolidge while dressed in Indian regalia. The gift was a book by Gustavus Linquist called The Red Man in the United States. The beaded cover on the book had been created by women in Oklahoma for this occasion.

After her involvement with the Committee, Ruth completed her college education. Then she worked as an educator, for a time serving as dean at Northeastern State College in Tahlequah. She married John Bronson, an engineer, in 1928 and they adopted an American Indian girl.

In 1930, Ruth Bronson was appointed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a guidance and placement officer, aiding Native Americans in education and employment. She also continued her writing having several more poems published during her lifetime. Always an Indian advocate, Ruth Muskrat Bronson passed away in 1982.

Reach Jonita Mullins at jonita.mullins@gmail.com.