Against the backdrop of internal colonialism, this article examines the educational and social lives of Allen Wright and his children to better understand how this Choctaw family successfully navigated the pressures of dual cultures by: (1) providing the socio-political context of the indigenous culture prior to Wright's birth; (2) chronicling and…

Women pioneers and frontier teachers have been the subject of numerous books and articles. Generally, the portrait has been one of self-sacrifice, dedication to God, family and home, with little or no concern for personal needs or goals. Continuing with a premise that teachers in Indian Territory used religious sanctions and faced greater peril in…

Mary Coombs Greenleaf sought to take her place among the many frontier teachers who preceded her in 1800s. However, her destination--Indian Territory--was distinctive from previous American frontiers in that it was the geographical solution to a long record of Indian eradication policy. Mary Greenleaf was fifty-six years old, having just lost her…

Throughout the 20th Century, medicine and law set the professional standards by which all other professions came to be measured. Teaching fell short of the mark because teachers were not perceived as having much control over their professional lives. For example, the professions of medicine and law developed standards boards or associations to…

The Wright family, descended from the patriarch Allen Wright, who arrived in the new Choctaw Nation after surviving the "Trail of Tears," played an important role in Oklahoma politics and society. Following removal to Oklahoma, Allen went on to become Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation and gave the name, Oklahoma, to the southwest territory. He…