Remembering: William & Mary's Brafferton Indian School 1723-2023
Summary
February 10, 2023 to April 16, 2023, Swem Lobby Exhibit Case and Special Collections Lobby
Full Description
The 1693 Royal Charter establishing the College of William & Mary in Virginia includes a mandate to educate “the Western Indians.” After securing funding from the estate of the scientist Sir Robert Boyle, a magnificent Georgian structure was completed in 1723 to educate and house the “Indian boys” on the school’s campus. Named for the Brafferton lands in Yorkshire, England, the building served as a classroom and living space for more than 125 Native students from at least 26 different tribes between 1723 and 1776, making the Brafferton Indian School the most important Native school in the American colonies.
Recent scholarship offers new insights and interpretations about the Brafferton Indian School’s history and legacy. Interrogating the extant documents from the era demonstrates the role of both the College and its Indian school in a wider narrative about the trans-Atlantic colonial encounter. Remembering includes responses from several Native artists from tribes that sent students to the Brafferton Indian School in the eighteenth century.
Visit https://libraries.wm.edu/exhibits/remembering-william-marys-brafferton-indian-school-1723-2023 for additonal information.
