Bacone College, formerly Bacone Indian University, is a

private college Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by missionary Almon C. Bacone, it was originally affiliated with the mission arm of what is now

American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

. Renamed as Bacone College in the early 20th century, it is the oldest continuously operated institution of higher education in Oklahoma. The liberal arts college has had strong historic ties to several tribal nations, including the

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

and

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 ...

. The Bacone College Historic District has been on the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Muskogee County, Oklahoma __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Muskogee County, ...

since 2014. In 2018, the college was struggling financially. Several tribal nations agreed that year to a consortium and chartered it as a tribal college to secure federal funding under the government's treaty obligations to support Native American education. However, 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 ...

did not approve conversion, leaving the college with financial issues. The college subsequently suspended operations for the spring semester of 2024 and filed for bankruptcy.

History

Some accounts credit Almon C. Bacone, a missionary teacher in

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

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, ...

, with asking the

American Baptist Home Mission Society The American Baptist Home Mission Society is a Christian missionary society. Its main predecessor the Home Mission Society was established in New York City in 1832 to operate in the American frontier, with the stated mission "to preach the Gospe ...

for support to start a school in the Cherokee Baptist Mission at their capital,

Tahlequah Tahlequah ( ; , ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century Cherokee Nation in 1839, as par ...

in 1867. Bacone had previously taught at the

Cherokee Male Seminary The Cherokee Male Seminary was a tribal college established in 1846 by the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. Opening in 1851, it was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the United States to be founded west of the Mississippi Rive ...

established in Indian Territory. According to historian John Bartlett Meserve, Bacone College can be traced to a Baptist mission school at Valley Town in western North Carolina, which was part of Cherokee homelands. Evan Jones, one of the earliest

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

to the Cherokee, led the school. After most of the Cherokee were removed to Indian Territory in the late 1830s, the Valley Town school moved to a site near what developed as present-day

Westville, Oklahoma Westville is a town in Adair County, Oklahoma, located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Westville lies at the junction of U.S. Highways 59 and 62, and approximately 13 miles north of Stilwell, the county seat. History Before statehood, ...

. In 1867, Evan Jones' son, John B. Jones, moved the school to Tahlequah in the Cherokee Nation. In 1885, the mission school moved to Muskogee, Creek Nation, and changed its name to Bacone, after its first teacher. Volume 16, Number 3. September 1938.">Meserve, John Bartlett. "Chief Lewis Downing and Chief Charles Thompson (Oochalata). In: ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''> Volume 16, Number 3. September 1938.
Retrieved July 19, 2013. When Bacone College was founded (at the time more of a seminary or academy in curriculum level) in 1867, Almon C Bacone was the sole faculty and three students were enrolled. By the end of the first semester, students had increased to 12. By the end of the first year, the student population was 56 and the faculty numbered three. Bacone appealed to the

Muscogee Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the Southe ...

's Tribal Council to donate (a quarter section) of land for the college in nearby Muskogee. It was the capital of the Creek Nation, and informally known as the "Indian Capital of the World". The Nation granted the land to Bacone and the Baptists. In 1885, Indian University was moved to a new building at its present site in Muskogee. It continued to develop here. In 1910, it was renamed Bacone College, after its founder and first president. Almon C

Conversion to tribal college

In the spring of 2018, the college struggled with severe financial difficulties. It began to lay off most employees following commencement and reported that it needed an immediate infusion of $2 million in order to continue to operate: to complete the 2018–2019 academic year and to open in the fall of 2019. The school reopened after cutting programs, reducing the number of faculty, and selling property. Among the properties sold was Bacone Commons, for $2.85 million as part of the college's 2018-2019 financial restructuring. The tribal nations in Oklahoma collaborated to take over control of the college as a consortium to revive its history as a

tribal college Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a category of higher education, minority-serving institutions in the United States defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Univ ...

established for Indian education. The tribes hoped that they would be able to control education of their students, and that the arrangement would enable them to secure federal funding from the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs that directs and manages education functions. Formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs ...

(in the BIA) as part of the government's treaty responsibilities to educate American Indian students. The

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma ( or , abbreviated United Keetoowah Band or UKB) is a federally recognized tribe of Cherokee Native Americans headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. According to the UKB website, its memb ...

approved a charter agreement in April 2019. In July 2019, the

Osage Nation The Osage Nation ( ) () is a Midwestern Native American nation of the Great Plains. The tribe began in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 1620 A.D along with other groups of its language family, then migrated west in the 17th cen ...

announced that it would charter the school as a tribal college. In August 2019, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians also agreed to charter the college. The

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne (Ts ...

approved a charter in September, and the

Kiowa Tribe Kiowa ( ) or Cáuigú () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colora ...

in February 2020. (The

Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

had previously chartered its own

College of the Muscogee Nation A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

.) However, Bacone did not officially become a tribal college because the BIA declined to approve the conversion, although it recategorized the college as an Indigenous-serving institution. This left each student to individually apply for a Pell Grant, tribal scholarship, or other financial aid.

Closure

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC ) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...

firm called MHEC LLC (Midgley-Huber Energy Concepts) obtained a judgment of approximately $1 million against the school on November 13, 2022, for installation of materials and energy conservation services. College administrators said they were unable to pay due to debt accumulated under previous administrations so Muskogee County District Judge Timothy King authorized having the campus auctioned to satisfy the judgment in April of 2023. MHEC rescinded its request to auction the college at that point but, after declining an offer to be paid over time, pursued foreclosure again in November of 2023, getting an auction date set for December 14, 2023. One day before the auction, it was called off; however, the school had already laid off the bulk of its teachers in anticipation and was trying to get its students enrolled in other colleges for the next semester. Classes were also suspended for the spring 2024 semester. The administration hoped the shutdown was temporary but had to raise significant funds to avoid permanent closure. Following a leadership change in April 2024, college leaders announced that nine students would be graduating on May 11 and that a "detailed revitalization plan" allowed the college to continue operating. Two months later, however, college leaders filed for bankruptcy and announced plans for the college to remain closed for the 2024-2025 academic year to reorganize. They hoped to merge with or be acquired by another institution. Regardless, the attempted Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy was converted by the court to a Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy, and all keys and control of the school was turned over to the bankruptcy trustee for that purpose on May 22, 2025.

Campus

One of the first buildings to be erected was Rockefeller Hall, a three-story building made possible by a $10,000 contribution from philanthropist

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

. "Old Rock," as it came to be called, served as

classroom A classroom, schoolroom or lecture room is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other place ...

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

dining hall A cafeteria, called canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether in a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a schoo ...

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, teacher quarters and administration building. It was razed in 1938 and a Memorial Chapel was built in its place. That was destroyed by fire but was reconstructed in the 1990s. The historic buildings of the campus contribute to the Bacone College Historic District, which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2014. The campus contains many other reminders of Bacone's history, tradition, and goals. One of these is a small

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

, the final resting place of Bacone presidents Almon C. Bacone (1880–1896) and Benjamin D. Weeks (1918–1941), as well as others associated with the school. A "stone bible" sculpture marks the spot on which President Bacone and Joseph Samuel Murrow and Daniel Rogers, two

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 and trustees, knelt in prayer to dedicate the college. The names of all the college's presidents are inscribed on its surface. Other structures on campus include The Indian Room at the Bacone College Library, which holds many of the papers of Almon C. Bacone; and, the McCombs Gallery, which features a large cross-section of Native American art. This includes artwork by Richard "Dick" West (

Southern Cheyenne The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne (Ts ...

), an alumnus, former director of the art department and professor emeritus. This artist is best known for his traditional Plains-style artwork. The gallery also holds work by

Woody Crumbo Woodrow Wilson Crumbo (1912—1989) was a Native American artist and educator from Oklahoma. He was a citizen of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Traveling and performing extensively, he danced and played Native American flute. Crumbo was also an i ...

(

Citizen Potawatomi Citizen Potawatomi Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people located in Oklahoma. The Potawatomi are traditionally an Algonquian-speaking Eastern Woodlands tribe. They have 29,155 enrolled tribal members, of whom 10,312 live in ...

), the only American Indian to receive a

Julius Rosenwald Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund, which donated millions i ...

Fellowship. Collectively, the modernist Flatstyle painting movement developed by Blue Eagle, Crumbo, West, and others is known as the

Bacone school The Bacone school or Bacone style of painting, drawing, and printmaking is a Native American intertribal "Flatstyle" art movement, primarily from the mid-20th century in Eastern Oklahoma and named for Bacone College. This art movement bridges hist ...

. In 2011 Bacone College acquired the Northpointe Shopping Center, which it renamed the Bacone Commons. The college moved the campus library and important offices there. Bacone sold Northpointe in the Summer of 2018.

Centers

Bacone College has three centers to help fulfill its historic mission of American Indian and Christian education. Center for American Indians: * Preservation of the American Indian Collections at Bacone College. * Coordination of American Indian degrees and cultural programs. * Research related to the future of American Indian education and collections in higher education. Center for Christian Ministry: *The broad umbrella for spiritual life on campus that helps the college to fulfill its mission as a four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the American Baptist Churches. Center for Church Relations: *As Baptist churches support the college with students and scholarships, this center develops leaders for evangelization. It also provides training to non-traditional learners through online and off-campus education, assisting churches in their growth, providing music and preaching/teaching ministry to churches for special events, and continuing education for church leaders.

Indian Art Program

Initiated by Mary “Ataloa” Stone McLendon after her arrival at Bacone in 1927, the Bacone Indian Art Program became nationally known for its association with respected Native American artists such as W. “Dick” West, Acee Blue Eagle and

. It fostered that school of Native American art that came to be known as the ‘’

Bacone style The Bacone school or Bacone style of painting, drawing, and printmaking is a Native American intertribal "Flatstyle" art movement, primarily from the mid-20th century in Eastern Oklahoma and named for Bacone College. This art movement bridges hist ...

”. The college possesses the Ataloa Lodge Museum, built in 1932 and housing more than 20,000 pieces of traditional and contemporary Native American art, including the largest collection of

Kachina dolls Hopi kachina figures or Hopi kachina dolls (also spelled katsina (plural: katsinam); Hopi: or ) are figures carved, typically from cottonwood root, by Hopi people to instruct young girls and new brides about kachinas or ''katsinam'', the immorta ...

in the country. The fireplace of the lodge is constructed of stones sent to the college from various indigenous communities, and includes rocks from the grave of

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

, and from the field where

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

made his

last stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

. In January, 2022, the college officially opened the VanBuren Sunshine Gallery, being exhibition space in McCombs Hall used to display new student art.

Athletics

The Bacone athletic teams are called the Warriors. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing as an NAIA Independent within the Continental Athletic Conference since the 2019–20 academic year. The Warriors previously competed in the

Sooner Athletic Conference The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 13 ...

(SAC) from 2015–16 to 2018–19; and in the

Red River Athletic Conference The Red River Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference's 14 member institutions are located in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. History ...

(RRAC) from 1998–99 to 2014–15. The Bacone football team competed in the

Central States Football League The Central States Football League (CSFL) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. Member institutions were located in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Arizona and competed only in football. The conference was established in 200 ...

(CSFL) until the sport was discontinued after the 2018 fall season (2018–19 academic year). Bacone competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball and volleyball. Former sports included football, wrestling, and rodeo.

Baseball

The Bacone baseball team won the Junior College World Series in 1967; a school with total enrollment of 250 competed with schools that had over 20,000. They were led by coach Enos Semore, who went on to coach at Oklahoma for 23 years.

Decline

Because of financial difficulties, in 2018 Bacone dropped its football, volleyball, golf, wrestling and rodeo teams. After several tribes agreed to charter the college in 2019 and ensure its survival, the college reopened.

Return

As of February 2020, the college has the following sponsored sports returned: men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's cross country teams.

Notable people

Administration and staff

* Dean Chavers (

Lumbee The Lumbee, also known as People of the Dark Water, are a mixed-race community primarily located in Robeson County, North Carolina, which claims to be descended from myriad Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands who once inhabited th ...

), President 1978–81

Alumni

* Jimmy Anderson (

), artist, musician, and preacher *

Thomas Banyacya Thomas Banyacya, Sr. (June 2, 1909 – February 6, 1999) was a Hopi Native American traditionalist leader.Voice of Indigenous People, Clearlight Publishers, 1994, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Biography Thomas Banyacya was born on June 2, 1909, an ...

(

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

), traditionalist and activist *

Don Chandler Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

, class of 1954, professional football player *

Eddie Chuculate Eddie Chuculate (born 1978) is an American fiction writer who is enrolled in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and of Cherokee descent. He earned a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University. His first book is ''Cheyenne Mad ...

(

), author *

Adee Dodge Adee Dodge (1912–1992) or Hashke-yil-e-dale, was a Navajo artist, linguist, and Navajo code talker. He was best known for his paintings of horses, and documenting other aspects of Navajo culture in his paintings. Dodge served in the United Stat ...

(

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

), linguist, painter, Navajo code-talker *

Franklin Gritts Franklin Gritts, also known as Oau Nah Jusah, or "They Have Returned", (1914 – 1996) was a Keetoowah Cherokee artist best known for his contributions to the "Golden Era" of Native American art, both as a teacher and an artist. During World W ...

( UKB Cherokee), artist and art director of the ''Sporting News'' *

Enoch Kelly Haney Enoch Kelly Haney (November 12, 1940 – April 23, 2022) was an American politician and internationally recognized Seminole/Muscogee artist from Oklahoma, He served as principal chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma from 2005 until 2009 and p ...

(

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, ...

), Class of 1962. Politician, artist, and sculptor *

Sharron Ahtone Harjo Marcelle Sharron Ahtone Harjo (born 1945) is a Kiowa painter from Oklahoma. Her Kiowa name, Sain-Tah-Oodie, translates to "Killed With a Blunted Arrow." In the 1960s and 1970s, she and sister Virginia Stroud were instrumental in the revival of ...

(

Kiowa Kiowa ( ) or Cáuigú () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colora ...

), artist and educator * Timothy Hill, professional baseball pitcher *

Patrick J. Hurley Patrick Jay Hurley (January 8, 1883July 30, 1963) was an American attorney, Republican Party politician, military officer, and diplomat. He was the 51st United States Secretary of War from 1929 to 1933 in the cabinet of Herbert Hoover and a ke ...

, soldier, statesman, and diplomat * Ruthe Blalock Jones (

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

/ Peoria) painter, printmaker and artist. * Edward E. McClish, soldier and guerrilla leader in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. * Joseph Medicine Crow (High Bird) (

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

), tribal historian, author, and war chief *

Jack C. Montgomery Jack Cleveland Montgomery (July 23, 1917 – June 11, 2002) was a United States Army officer, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War ...

(

), World War II

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient *

Alexander Posey Alexander Lawrence Posey (August 3, 1873 – May 27, 1908) was a Native American poet, humorist, journalist, and politician in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.Schneider 190 He founded the ''Eufaula Indian Journal'' in 1901, the first Native American ...

(

), writer and humorist * Daniel Roberts, NAIA All-American wrestler; professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

* Willard Stone, sculptor, attended Bacone, later received honorary degree * Tyler Thomas, Canadian Football League player *

David E. Williams David Emmett Williams (Tonkawa name: Tosque; August 20, 1933 – November 8, 1985) was a Native American painter, who was Kiowa/Tonkawa/ Kiowa-Apache from Oklahoma. He studied with Dick West (Southern Cheyenne) at Bacone College and won numero ...

(

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...

Kiowa Apache The Plains Apache are a small Southern Athabaskan tribe who live on the Southern Plains of North America, in close association with the linguistically unrelated Kiowa Tribe. Today, they are headquartered in Southwestern Oklahoma and are federally ...

) artist

Faculty

* Acee Blue Eagle (

Muscogee Creek The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands *

(

), artist, Art Department Director, 1938–1941 and 1943–1945Hunt, David C
Crumbo, Woodrow Wilson (1912-1989)
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' (retrieved 30 August 2009) * Ruthe Blalock Jones (

/ Peoria), painter and printmaker, Art Department Director * Mary Stone McLendon (

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

) educator, storyteller, and musician, founder of the Art Department and first director, 1932–1935 * Enos Semore, baseball, basketball, track, PE and intramural coach; head baseball coach Oklahoma 1968–89 *

W. Richard West Sr. Walter Richard West Sr. (1912–1996, Southern Cheyenne), was a painter, sculptor, and educator. He led the Art Department at Bacone College from 1947 to 1970. He later taught at Haskell Institute for several years. Jones, Ruthe BlalockWest, Wal ...

(

), painter and sculptor, Art Department Director, 1947–1970

Gallery

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 35, 46, 37, N, 95, 20, 05, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-OK Universities and colleges established in 1880 Private universities and colleges in Oklahoma OK Cooperative Alliance Sooner Athletic Conference Universities and colleges affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 Education in Muskogee County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Muskogee, Oklahoma Native American boarding schools in Oklahoma Native American schools in Oklahoma 1880 establishments in Indian Territory Tourist attractions in Muskogee, Oklahoma