Alice Brown Davis (September 10, 1852 – June 21, 1935) was the first female Principal Chief of the

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized b ...

, and served from 1922 to 1935, appointed by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

.Waldowski, Paula
"Alice Brown Davis: A Leader Of Her People."
''Seminole Nation, Indian Territory History and Genealogy.'' 4 Aug 2009 (retrieved 25 Nov 2009) She was of Seminole (Tiger Clan) and Scots descent. Her older brother John Frippo Brown had served as chief of the tribe and their brother Andrew Jackson Brown as treasurer.

Early life and education

Alice Brown was born on September 10, 1852, in the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

town of Park Hill,

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

and grew up near Fort Gibson. Her father, Dr. John Frippo Brown, was from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and a graduate of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He accompanied the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

as a military surgeon during their forced removal from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. During this journey, he married Lucy Red Bird, a Seminole from ''Katcvlke'' or the Tiger Clan."Memorial Tribute Page for Alice Brown Davis."
''A Breath Away''. (retrieved 25 Nov 2009) As the Seminole have a

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

system, the children of a marriage belonged to the mother's clan. Her parents had a total of seven children. She is listed as 1/2nd Seminole by Blood on the

Dawes Rolls The Dawes Rolls (or Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, or Dawes Commission of Final Rolls) were created by the United States Dawes Commission. The commission was authorized by United States Congress in 1893 to exe ...

. Her older brothers John F. and Andrew Jackson Brown each started to serve the tribe by the time of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Four members of her mother's family developed as significant Seminole leaders from 1832 to 1935. Like her brothers, Alice Brown was well educated. One of her influential teachers was Caroline Bushyhead, a Cherokee. She learned both English and

Mikasuki The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians ( /ˌmɪkəˈsuki/, MIH-kə-SOO-kee) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, it is one of ...

as first languages, and also attended the Ramsay Mission School, started by the Episcopal Church and then operated by

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

missionaries. During 1867, when Alice was 15 years old, a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic broke out among the Seminole tribe, and she assisted her father in caring for the sick. After the epidemic, both her parents died, and she went to live with her oldest brother John at his ranch at Wewoka, the capital of the Seminole Nation.May, Jon D
"Brown, John Frippo"
, ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture,'' Accessed 25 Sept 2009. After completing her studies, Brown taught, most likely at Mesukey Academy for Boys in Sasakwa. Both there and likely at the girls' school Emakwha Academy, Brown Davis likely taught children of

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

along with the Seminole, for the missionaries integrated the schools in 1874.Kevin Mulroy, ''The Seminole Freedmen: A History,'' University of Oklahoma Press, 2007, p. 288
/ref>

Marriage and family

In 1874 at the age of 22, Brown married George Rollin Davis, a European-American merchant from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. They moved to Arbeka,

on Seminole Nation lands. They operated a trading post, post office, general store and the Bar X Bar ranch together until George's death. They were entrusted with the duties of disbursing the local Indians' headright money and the Civil War pensions for veterans and widows. Together the couple had eleven children. George Davis died when Brown Davis' youngest child was still a toddler.

Career

After 1885, she often worked with her brother, Chief John F. Brown, as an interpreter, liaison and assistant for the Seminole Tribe.Rechenda Davis Bates, "Alice Brown Davis"
, ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. (accessed November 22, 2011) She gained a broad knowledge of tribal issues. In her 40s after her husband's death, Brown Davis became the postmistress of Arbeka, while running the ranch and trading post. She became the superintendent of the Seminole Nation's girls' school, Emahaka. Built in 1892, Emahaka was a highly modern institution teaching grades one through ten. In order to enable Oklahoma to become a state, the federal government had required the end of tribal governments in Indian Territory. The tribes were supposed to turn over all functions to officials of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

. Protective of her school and believing that Indians should be in charge of teaching their children, Brown Davis initially refused to yield authority over the school. Her brother John F. Brown was still Chief of the Seminole and finally persuaded her she had to yield under the law. Brown Davis belonged to the congregation of the Spring Baptist Church at Sasakwa, Oklahoma, where her brother John became the pastor. She performed missionary work in Florida and was active in Muscogee Creek, Seminole, and Wichita Baptist Associations.

Tribal governance

The Curtis Act dismantled tribal governmental and civic institutions. The

Dawes Act The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the P ...

broke up tribal landholdings, distributing allotments to individual households of registered tribal members. Land in excess of that was declared "surplus" by the federal government and sold to non-Indians. The 1906

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...

Act finalized US federal government's dismemberment of tribal governments to make way for

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

statehood in 1907. During this tumultuous time, Brown Davis acted as an interpreter in court cases, as she was bilingual in English and

. In 1903, she traveled to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with a Seminole delegation to pursue possible land grant claims there. She returned in 1905 and 1910, but the outbreak of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

destroyed Seminole hopes of settlement in Mexico. In 1922, at the age of 70, Davis was appointed Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation by President

. She was the first female chief of the Seminole tribe, and initially her appointment was controversial, despite her maternal clan's prominence. Eventually she won the support of her people and served until her death. A key issue of her term was tribal land affairs. Based on a new survey of Seminole land in 1910, the US federal government reassigned some lands to the Muscogee Creek Nation, including the grounds of the Emakaha School and several Seminole churches. Brown Davis refused to sign the deeds over to the Creek and said, "If this be the cause of my resignation I will feel that I have done that which is right and just to myself and my people." Because of the long period of indecision about the land, the Emakaha School had to be emptied. It burned down and was not rebuilt.

Death and legacy

Alice Brown Davis served as chief until her death on June 21, 1935, in Wewoka, Oklahoma. In 1961, she was inducted into the recently founded National Hall of Fame for Famous Native Americans in

Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in and the county seat of Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is 50 miles (80.5 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. History Anadarko got its name when its post offic ...

, and also the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. The

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

named Davis Hall in her honor. At the 1964 World's Fair on Oklahoma Day, a bronze bust of her, sculpted by Willard Stone, was unveiled in Queens, New York.

Notes

External links

Rechenda Davis Bates, "Alice Brown Davis"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''