Race & Culture

Indigenous Affairs

KOSU is committed to being more reflective of the audiences we serve. In Oklahoma, having stories reported by Indigenous reporters for Native communities is imperative.

91-year-old Fort Sill Indian School relic recovered from creek near Lawton

KOSU | By Sarah Liese

Published August 14, 2024 at 6:00 AM CDT

Yolanda Ramos, Executive Director of the KCA Intertribal Land Use Committee, said chains were strapped to the sign to slowly pull it out of the creek.

More than 60 years after the Fort Sill Indian School’s sign disappeared, one organization is trying to restore it and return it back to the empty campus.

At the entrance of the Fort Sill Indian School stood a stone arch that read “U.S. Indian Service; Kiowa Indian Hospital Ft. Sill Indian School.”

The sign stood tall for more than twenty years but disappeared after a large truck hit it in 1958, according to an article shared by the KCA (Kiowa, Comanche and Apache) Interibal Land Use Committee.

Yolanda Ramos is the Executive Director of that committee. She said she found out about the sign from an employee when she started her new role a year ago and knew she had to take action.

After clearing out a path, a bulldozer retrieved the sign from the creek inch-by-inch— a risky maneuver that many told Ramos could break the sign. But she went forward anyway, hoping to regain a memorable part of her community's history.

“It’s been a huge significance in their lives,” Ramos said about Fort Sill Indian School. “Some of it good, some of it bad. But it is still all a part of our history and the history of our relatives and ancestors.”

The boarding school opened in 1871 and aimed to “Americanize” Indigenous students in southwest Oklahoma. Later, it expanded its reach, welcoming students from out-of-state.

The school’s curriculum originally varied depending on the student’s gender. Young boys received agricultural and vocational training, while young girls were taught homemaking skills.

As Ramos noted, former students have expressed differing opinions about their memories of Fort Sill Indian School. But Ramos said preserving the sign is a way of honoring those students, their families and their experiences.

The sign is currently being cleaned and will be returned to the abandoned school site in the coming weeks. Ramos said she hopes to continue restoring the campus.