Choctaw Nation Colored Schools,
of Skullyville County, Indian Territory 1895-1899
by
Angela Y. Walton —Raji
After the adoption of the Choctaw Freedmen in 1885, there was a small effort put forth for the establishment of schools for the Freedmen of the tribe. What follows are names from what remains of the few rosters from the neighborhood schools in Skullyville County.
Noted historian Angie Debo briefly mentioned the establishment of the Freedmen Schools, and only referred to one school by name,
Tushka Lusa. This was probably the largest of the schools in the Choctaw nation and the headmaster was the noted Freedman leader, Henry Nail. Less is known about the neighborhood schools in the smaller rural communities where most of the Freedmen lived. These names of students of the “colored neighborhood schools were mostly from the 1 890s. They represent only a few select months when the schools were in session.