Chilocco Indian School A Generational Story

Julie Pearson-Little Thunder, author of Chilocco Indian School A Generational Story, talks about the Native boarding school and the creation of the graphic novel. Chilocco Indian School A Generational Story: Jaya, ​a Native teen temporarily separated from her mom, accompanies her Grandmother and Aunt to a family reunion. Between chores and activities, the older women lead her through a story about Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, combining history and their own memories of attending the boarding school in northern Oklahoma. Their account arouses a range of emotions in the teen, from tears, to laughter, to anger, to compassion. The result: a new respect for her family and the resilience of Native peoples, along with insights into how Jaya might handle the changes in her own life. This story, set in present-day Oklahoma, was compiled from the experiences of real students who attended Chilocco, and their recollections were shared through oral history interviews, photographs, letters, and other archival sources. It engages students and adults in an often overlooked part of U.S. history and pushes back against stereotypes of Native identity. Learn more about the Chilocco History Project at https://chilocco.library.okstate.edu/about and download a FREE copy of the graphic novel at https://chilocco.library.okstate.edu/graphic-novel