Chilocco was an Indian boarding school established in 1884 by the U.S. government to educate children of the nomadic tribes of western Oklahoma. The original school was built on 8,320 acres purchased from the Cherokees, in modern-day Kay County, near the Kansas border.
———At its opening, the school offered education through the eighth grade. The school was based on the "industrial" plan, which offered a half day of instruction in academic subjects and a half day of vocational instruction and work. Boys primarily studied agricultural pursuits, and girls learned domestic arts. Under this plan, the school produced most of its food and many other items it needed.
———The school soon expanded to include all Indian children in Indian Territory except those of the Five Civilized Tribes, and grew from one building in 1884 to thirty-five buildings in 1907. After 1910, Chilocco also admitted children from the Five Civilized Tribes. By 1916, the school offered education through the tenth grade. In the late 1930s the lower elementary grades had been eliminated, though junior and senior high school education continued. Instruction was cut back to high school classes only after World War II. Between 1930 and 1959, the school's annual enrollment averaged between eight hundred and twelve hundred students, Chilocco closed in June 1980, amid considerable opposition from Indian parents.
———Ironically, although it was intended to transform nomadic Indians into "civilized" American farmers and citizens, Chilocco actually reinforced Indian and tribal identity among its students. It trained leaders of the western Oklahoma tribes for almost a century and created bonds of friendship between children of different tribes. Chilocco helped create a Pan-Indian identity among the India people in Oklahoma.

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