Our Search to Name the Girls of the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls

The Presbyterian School for Indian Girls (PSIG) operated as a small boarding school in Muskogee, Indian Territory, between 1882 and 1894. Founded by missionaries and members of the First Presbyterian Church of Muskogee, this school provided settler education to Indigenous girls and young women residing within Indian Territory. The school transitioned three times, first into Henry Kendall College, located in Muskogee (1894-1907), then Henry Kendall College in Tulsa (1907-1921), and in 1921, the school was rechartered into the University of Tulsa. Written by a collaborative team of researchers from the University of Tulsa and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Historic and Cultural Preservation Department, this article shares the history of the school and research insights from those working to give the Indigenous students of PSIG the acknowledgment and honor deserved as Tulsa University's founding students.