Oklahoma

Catholic Church historian looking for ‘honest assessment’ of Indigenous boarding schools in Oklahoma

Published

2 years ago

January 5, 2024

Press Room

Catholic Church historian looking for ‘honest assessment’ of Indigenous boarding schools in Oklahoma

Catholic Church is conducting oral history interviews of people who attended Oklahoma Catholic boarding schools for Native Americans

An oral historian has begun conducting interviews with people whose family histories are intertwined with Oklahoma Catholic boarding schools for Native Americans.

The interviews of former boarding school students and their descendants are being conducted to glean information for the Oklahoma Catholic Native Schools Project, an ambitious effort launched in 2021 by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, the Diocese of Tulsa and St. Gregory’s Abbey.

Through the project, Oklahoma Catholic leaders said they hoped to gain an honest assessment of the history and legacy of boarding schools for Native Americans that were operated by the church from 1880 to 1965.

According to the archdiocese, 14 Catholic boarding schools for Native Americans existed in Oklahoma between 1880 and 1965. The first one opened in Konawa in 1880 and closed in 1926. The last boarding school, St. Patrick’s in Anadarko, closed in 1965. They were all overseen by various Catholic religious orders.

George Rigazzi, the archdiocese’s archivist, said about seven people showed up in Anadarko to share their histories with an independent historian.

But the oral history initiative hit a snag when a planned second set of interviews in the Fairfax/Pawhuska area was not as fruitful. Because of this, a third interview time in Hominy has been postponed as church leaders regroup to determine how to encourage more people to share their stories.

“I understand the reticence, believe me, because it’s a matter of trust,” Rigazzi said. “We know not everything that happened in the Catholic Indian schools was bad, but we also know there were some things that were not right.”

The interviews in Hominy were initially planned for the first week of January. Rigazzi said church leaders are working with various groups to spread the word to Indigenous communities around the state and a meal designed to open up the lines of communication may be held in February. He said the church is primarily targeting Indigenous people for the interviews, but other people who attended the schools or their descendants are welcome to share their stories, as well.

The Native Schools Project came in the wake of a reckoning that began in Canada after the May 2021 discovery of 215 unmarked graves of Indigenous children by Canada’s Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc First Nation at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Shortly afterward, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland launched a comprehensive review of the federal government’s role with Indigenous boarding schools, aiming to discover and highlight the intergenerational effect of the schools and the trauma they created for hundreds of Indigenous children and families.

More: Deb Haaland visits Oklahoma ’12 years of hell’: Former students recount life at Native American boarding schools in OK

In May 2022, the Interior Department published a federal report based on its investigation, underscoring the wide-ranging forms of abuse that Native students were forced to endure at the boarding schools, all with the purported goal of helping them assimilate into white culture. In June 2022, Oklahoma — which had 76 of the schools, more than any other state ― was the first stop on Haaland’s “Road to Healing” listening tour to hear boarding school survivors talk about their experiences.

Oral histories versus ‘listening sessions’

Thus far, the project has included research being conducted in partnership with Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which holds the archives for the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions. Specific collaboration is with Marquette professor Bryan Rindfleisch, who specializes in Native American history and studies.

More: Boarding school research Days of Native Americans at boarding schools are being brought to light with professor’s work

Notably, the project also has included “listening sessions” which were designed to draw former Indigenous boarding school students or their descendants to local churches to talk about their experiences with Deacon Roy Callison, with the archdiocese’s American Indian Catholic Outreach.

Callison, who facilitated the sessions with his wife, Susan, has said the listening sessions were generally informative and positive. At least one, a listening session held in early 2022 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Konawa was not as positive, after it ended abruptly when several Native American women spoke about the troubled history of some of the boarding schools. The session ended on a sour note when a priest asked the Native American women to leave because church members became upset about the women’s negative portrayal of the boarding schools.

Rigazzi said the listening sessions were helpful by providing the Callisons with opportunities to talk about the Native Schools Project with local church members. They also gave Indigenous people and others in the community opportunities to share their stories about the boarding schools with those who gathered for the sessions.

He said the oral history interviews are different because they are being conducted in private and in non-church settings. Also, the archivist said church leaders have ensured that people may share their stories privately with oral history interviewer Lisa Lynn Brooks, an educator who is Choctaw. Rigazzi said Brooks is an Oklahoman who currently lives in New Jersey and she is not Catholic.

He said another individual helping with this latest part of the project is Dana Attocknie, managing editor of the Sooner Catholic, the Oklahoma City archdiocese’s official news outlet. Rigazzi and the archdiocese’s chancellor, Michael Scaperlanda, said Attocknie, who is Comanche and Pueblo, has been helping spread the word about the oral history effort. Scaperlanda said she recommended that the initiative be advertised in tribal newspapers and that has been done.

Scaperlanda said church leaders had hoped to begin the oral history interviews sooner but encountered a few roadblocks. He said they knew the interviews needed to be conducted by someone with no church ties but also a person who has been trained to conduct such interviews, particularly because of the sensitive and personal nature of the topic.

He said Brooks was added to the project once they determined she was the right person for the task but the logistics of where the interviews would take place also slowed the process down.

“We also knew that time was of the essence because the last school closed in 1965 and a lot of these folks are getting older,” Scaperlanda said.

He said it’s important to note that the church will not publicize oral histories if people don’t want to make them public. The idea behind the effort is to record the histories for the project, but only publicize them if the individual grants permission.

“We want to capture that history and preserve their privacy,” Scaperlanda said.

Like Rigazzi, he said he’s hoping that people will see the advertisements or hear about the oral history effort through word of mouth and decide to share their stories “because we really do want to understand what our boarding school history is.”

For more information about the oral history interviews, go to https://archokc.org/oknativeschoolsproject.

More: Catholic Indian boarding schools Catholic leaders exploring history, legacy of Oklahoma Catholic Indian boarding schools

Source link

Click to comment

Oklahoma

OSSAA unveils Class 6A-2A basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

Published

12 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

OSSAA unveils Class 6A-2A basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association has released the brackets for Classes 6A-2A state basketball tournaments which run March 10-14.

Games will be played at OG&E Coliseum, Lloyd Noble Center, Carl Albert and Yukon.

All championship game will be played at OG&E Coliseum with Class 6A, 4A boys and girls on Friday and the others on Saturday.

Action begins Tuesday with Class 4A quarterfinals at OG&E Coliseum.

Here is the full schedule.

Order book on Oklahoma HS basketball at ‘The Big House’

Class 6A Boys

Wednesday’s Games

At Lloyd Noble Center

Norman vs. Tulsa Union, 4:30 p.m.

Owasso vs. Southmoore, 6 p.m.

Putnam North vs. Piedmont, 7:30 p.m.

Mustang vs. Edmond Santa Fe, 9 p.m.

Thursday’s Games

At Carl Albert

Norman-Tulsa Union winner vs. Owasso-Southmoore winner, 5:30 p.m.

Mustang-Edmond Santa Fe winner vs. Putnam North-Piedmont winner, 7 p.m.

Friday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 6 p.m.

Class 6A Girls

Wednesday’s Games

At Lloyd Noble Center

Putnam North vs. Edmond North, 9 a.m.

Choctaw vs. Bixby, 10:30 a.m.

Mustang vs. Bartlesville, Noon

Muskogee vs. Westmoore, 1:30 p.m.

Thursday’s Games

At Carl Albert

Mustang-Bartlesville winner vs. Muskogee-Westmoore winner, 1 p.m.

Choctaw-Bixby winner vs. Putnam North-Edmond North, 2:30 p.m.

Friday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 1 p.m.

Class 5A Boys

Thursday’s Games

At Lloyd Noble Center

Tulsa Booker T. Washington vs. Carl Albert, 4:30 p.m.

Del City vs. Collinsville, 6 p.m.

Newcastle vs. Tulsa East Central, 7:30 p.m.

Tulsa Memorial vs. Midwest City, 9 p.m.

Friday’s Games

At Lloyd Noble Center

Del City-Collinsville winner vs. Tulsa Booker T. Washington-Carl Albert winner, 2 p.m.

Newcastle-Tulsa East Central winner vs. Tulsa Memorial-Midwest City winner, 5 p.m.

Saturday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 6:45 p.m.

Class 5A Girls

Thursday’s Games

At Lloyd Noble Center

Newcastle vs. Glenpool, 9 a.m.

Tulsa Booker T. Washington vs. Bishop McGuinness, 10:30 a.m.

Del City vs. Shawnee, Noon

Tulsa East Central vs. Carl Albert, 1:30 p.m.

Friday’s Games

At Lloyd Noble Center

Del City-Shawnee winner vs. Tulsa East Central-Carl Albert winner, 11 a.m.

Newcastle-Glenpool winner vs. Tulsa Booker T. Washington-Bishop McGuinness winner, 12:30 p.m.

Saturday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 1:30 p.m.

Class 4A Boys

Tuesday’s Games

At OG&E Coliseum

Blanchard vs. Cascia Hall, 4:30 p.m.

North Rock Creek vs. Fort Gibson, 6 p.m.

Catoosa vs. Mount St. Mary, 7:30 p.m.

Douglass vs. Bethany, 9 p.m.

Thursday’s Games

At Yukon High School

Douglass-Bethany winner vs. Catoosa-Mount St. Mary winner, 1 p.m.

North Rock Creek-Fort Gibson winner vs. Blanchard-Cascia Hall winner, 3 p.m.

Friday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 2:45 p.m.

Class 4A Girls

Tuesday’s Games

At OG&E Coliseum

McLoud vs. Harrah, 9 a.m.

Lincoln Christian vs. Kingfisher, 10:30 a.m.

Weatherford vs. Locust Grove, Noon

Douglass vs. Broken Bow, 1:30 p.m.

Thursday’s Games

At Yukon High School

Lincoln Christian-Kingfisher winner vs. McLoud-Harrah winner, 6 p.m.

Douglass-Broken Bow winner vs. Weatherford-Locust Grove, 8 p.m.

Friday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 7:45 p.m.

Class 3A Boys

Wednesday’s Games

At OG&E Coliseum

Kingston vs. Wyandotte, 4:30 p.m.

Millwood vs. Community Christian, 6 p.m.

Eufaula vs. Roland, 7:30 p.m.

Heritage Hall vs. Rejoice Christian, 9 p.m.

Friday’s Games

At Lloyd Noble Center

Millwood-Community winner vs. Kingston-Wyandotte winner, 6:30 p.m.

Heritage Hall-Rejoice Christian winner vs. Eufaula-Roland, 8 p.m.

Saturday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 5 p.m.

Class 3A Girls

Wednesday’s Games

At OG&E Coliseum

Washington vs. Metro Christian, 9 a.m.

Spiro vs. Alva/Freedom, 10:30 a.m.

Anadarko vs. Adair, Noon

Sequoyah Tahlequah vs. Millwood, 1:30 p.m.

Friday’s Games

At OG&E Coliseum

Washington-Metro Christian winner vs. Spiro-Alva winner, 10 a.m.

Sequoyah Tahlequah-Millwood winner vs. Anadarko-Adair winner, 11:30 a.m.

Saturday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 10 a.m.

Class 2A Boys

Thursday’s Games

At OG&E Coliseum

Dale vs. Vanoss, 4:30 p.m.

Oklahoma Christian Academy vs. Latta, 6 p.m.

Fairland vs. Riverside, 7:30 p.m.

Hartshorne vs. Wewoka, 9 p.m.

Friday’s Games

At Yukon High School

Dale-Vanoss winner vs. OCA-Latta winner, 3 p.m.

Hartshorne-Wewoka winner vs. Fairland-Riverside winner, 5 p.m.

Saturday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 8:30 p.m.

Class 2A Girls

Thursday’s Games

At OG&E Coliseum

Howe vs. Riverside, 9 a.m.

Hartshorne vs. Fairview, 10:30 a.m.

Vanoss vs. Dale, Noon

Latta vs. Merritt, 1:30 p.m.

Friday’s Games

At Yukon High School

Howe-Riverside winner vs. Hartshorne-Fairview winner, 10 a.m.

Vanoss-Dale winner vs. Latta-Merritt winner, Noon

Saturday’s Game

At OG&E Coliseum

Championship, 11:45 a.m.

Source link

Oklahoma

Nigel Pack, Xzayvier Brown combine for 44 points, lead Oklahoma past Texas in overtime

Published

24 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Nigel Pack, Xzayvier Brown combine for 44 points, lead Oklahoma past Texas in overtime

AUSTIN — Nijel Pack scored 23 points, Xzayvier Brown added 21 points, and Oklahoma beat Texas 88-85 in overtime in the final regular season game of the season for the two Southeastern Conference sides.

Pack was 7 of 14 from the field and 3 of 7 behind the arc. He scored nine points during a 14-2 second-half run that turned a tie game into a 12-point lead for the Sooners (17-14, 7-11) with fewer than seven minutes remaining. Brown was 8-of-18 shooting with four steals and led with 12 in the first half. Tae Davis added 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Longhorns (18-13, 9-9) held a 40-36 lead at halftime. They were led by Jordan Pope’s 30 points on an inefficient 8-of-25 shooting but was 7 of 18 from behind the arc. Dailyn Swain added 18 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Tramon Mark had 17 points. Matas Vokietaitis had 14 points and six rebounds.

The Sooners led by six with 36 seconds to go in regulation, but fouled Mark twice, including on a 3-point attempt that followed a turnover. Mark made all five free throws to make it a one-point game with 15 seconds left.

A pair of free throws from Davis put the Sooners up three. But Brown fouled Pope on a 3-point attempt, and Pope made all three free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Pope had five in overtime and Mark three for the Longhorns, but Derrion Reid’s five points for the Sooners, including a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, put the game out of reach.

Texas lost four of their final five games to finish as the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament.

Up next

Oklahoma will head to the SEC tournament as the 11 seed to face No. 14 seed South Carolina in the first round on Wednesday.

Texas faces No. 15 seed Mississippi on Wednesday.

Source link

Oklahoma

Authorities searching debris after suspected tornadoes kill 6 in Michigan, Oklahoma

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Authorities searching debris after suspected tornadoes kill 6 in Michigan, Oklahoma

A volunteer works to clear debris a day after a storm whipped up a tornado through the area, in Union City Mich. on Saturday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Nam Y. Huh/AP

Authorities in southern Michigan on Saturday were searching through rubble and debris after suspected tornadoes tore through the region and killed four people, including a 12-year-old boy, during powerful storms also blamed for two deaths in eastern Oklahoma.

First responders from multiple agencies were in the Union Lake area near Union City searching for more possible victims and clearing roads, authorities said. Photos and videos posted on social media showed flattened homes and knocked down trees in a lakeside neighborhood.

A person walks through a house in the community of Sunshine Hills outside of London, Kentucky. A tornado struck the neighborhood of Sunshine Hills just after midnight on May 17, 2025 in London, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Swensen/Getty Images)

Severe thunderstorms that began in northern Indiana appeared to spawn multiple tornadoes in southern Michigan on Friday, said Lonnie Fisher, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, which sent teams to the region Saturday to evaluate the damage and confirm tornadoes.

“Mostly likely there were three distinct tornadoes, but we won’t know 100 percent for sure until they finish the survey,” Fisher said Saturday, adding that the storms rapidly intensified in southern Michigan after hitting northern Indiana.

The threat of severe weather continued Saturday in the nation’s midsection, with strong thunderstorms possible stretching from Texas and to the northeast all the way to Ohio and western parts of Pennsylvania and New York.

Three people were killed and 12 were injured in the Union Lake area, according to the Branch County Sheriff’s Office.

Lisa Piper stood on her back deck and took video of a terrifying scene that played out on the other side of frozen Union Lake as a funnel cloud formed and then dropped toward the ground. Trees were torn from their roots and debris flew into the air.

“It’s lifting houses!” she said. As the devastation continued, she exclaimed: “Oh my heart is pounding. Oh, I hope they’re OK.”

Volunteers work to clear branches and tress felled by a storm that whipped up a tornado a day earlier, in Union City, Mich. on Saturday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Nam Y. Huh/AP

About 50 miles (81 kilometers) southwest of Union Lake, the Cass County Sherriff’s Office said a 12-year-old boy died and several other people were injured during a possible tornado. Sheriff Clint Roach said in a Facebook post that Silas Anderson’s parents found him injured and provided first aid, but he later died at a hospital.

Disaster relief workers were going door to door in the Union City and Three Rivers areas to offer meals and clean-up supplies, state officials said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she would be declaring a state of emergency in Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties.

In Oklahoma, just south of Tulsa, a tornado in Beggs was blamed for the deaths of two people in a house on Friday, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office said. Two other people were taken to a hospital.

The tornado cut around a 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) path of damage in Okmulgee County including Beggs, some 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Tulsa, said Jeff Moore, the county’s emergency manager. Large trees were toppled and power outages were reported.

Suspected tornadoes also were reported in northern parts of Tulsa, where a building at the Tulsa Tech Peoria campus was damaged.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said Saturday that he declared a state of emergency in several counties to free up support and resources for affected areas.

The Oklahoma deaths came a day after storms killed a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter in Fairview in the western part of the state. Authorities said they were found dead in a vehicle.

In an eerie scene captured on video Thursday, a first responder drove straight at a storm near Fairview, where flashes of lightning illuminated a giant funnel that appeared to reach the ground. That storm, among the first outbreaks of severe weather on the verge of the spring storm season, was filmed by a camera mounted on the deputy’s car.

The National Weather Service said strong storms and flash flood risks on Saturday stretched from the Great Lakes to Texas. A tornado watch that was issued for a large portion of Arkansas and parts of Texas and Louisiana expired in the morning.

Family friends of Kristie and James Sexton, help look through the debris of Sexton's home after a tornado passed through the area, Saturday, May 17, 2025, in London, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The spring storms come near the start of what many call tornado season, which generally begins at various times in different parts of the U.S. Experts recommend a few simple safety steps to take before tornadoes hit, including having a weather radio and a plan for where to take shelter.

In parts of the southern U.S., the weather pattern is also expected to usher in extremely warm temperatures for this time of year by the weekend.

Source link