Henry Roe Cloud
Encyclopedia
Henry Roe was a Native American who distinguished himself as an educator, college administrator, U.S. Federal Government official (in the precursor to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
), Presbyterian minister, and reformer.
Henry Roe Cloud was born December 28, 1884, a member of the powerful Bird Clan, on the Winnebago Reservation
in northeastern Nebraska
and was orphaned when his parents died in 1896 and 1897. After being taught in a series of government schools, his intellectual ambition, academic performance and personal qualities brought him in 1901 to the private Mount Hermon Preparatory School (now Northfield Mount Hermon School) in Massachusetts, which had a work-study program he drew on to finance his education, and which brought him into the social circles of America's ruling elite. He graduated a salutatorian
in 1906 and the school served as his conduit into the Ivy League.
Cloud was the first full-blood Native American to attend Yale College
, graduating in 1910, and earning a Master's Degree there in 1912. He was a campus celebrity, not just because of his background but also due to the force of his personality and speaking skill and, in an era when rhetoric was an art, he was especially accomplished, attracting large audiences on campus and in national venues. One measure of his prestige as an undergraduate was being tapped for the Yale senior society, Elihu
.
While an undergraduate, Cloud attended a lecture by the missionary, Mary Wickham Roe, a member of a prominent New England
family involved in evangelical Christian mission work, and established a close relationship with her and her husband, Reverend Dr. Walter C. Roe. The couple adopted him and he took their surname as his middle name. His later career included efforts towards establishing modern schools for Native American youth, and he also became superintendent of the Haskell Institute, now known as Haskell Indian Nations University
, in Lawrence, Kansas. As well as the Superintendent of the Umitilla Indian Reservation.
In a dissertation by a Purdue University
scholar, Cloud's significance is described in this way: "Cloud's education, elite by any standard, allowed him throughout his public life to assume a variety of important roles. In his more than forty years of public life, Cloud acted as a reformer, an educator, and Indian Service official. As arguably the most prominent Indian figure of the 1920s and 1930s, Cloud's life demonstrates how and to what extent Indians were able to influence federal Indian policy. His life also provides a window into the close ties between progressive ideas and the evangelical Protestant Christianity that prompted and guided many of the reform efforts in the first decades of the twentieth century. Cloud's work also shows him to be capable of moving beyond this Progressive Era paradigm of assimilation and embracing new currents of reform such as the push for cultural pluralism."
Henry Roe Cloud died of a heart attack in Siletz, Oregon
, on February 9, 1950. He was buried in Beaverton, Oregon
. An entry on Cloud is included in the American National Biography, Vol 5 (1999) and his personal papers are housed as a distinct series in the "Roe Family Papers" in Sterling Memorial Library
's Manuscripts and Archives collection at Yale University
.
However, the majority of Henry's papers, personal photographs and documents relating to his time at Yale, the Mount Hermon school, and including theological society parchments as well as all of his papers from his work until his death in 1950 is in the care of Henry's Great Grandson, Shahn Roe Cloud Hughes in Portland, Oregon
.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
), Presbyterian minister, and reformer.
Henry Roe Cloud was born December 28, 1884, a member of the powerful Bird Clan, on the Winnebago Reservation
Winnebago Reservation
The Winnebago Reservation of the Ho-Chunk tribe in Nebraska is located in Thurston County, Nebraska. The tribal council offices are located in the town of Winnebago. The cities of Emerson, south of First Street, as well as Thurston, are located on the reservation...
in northeastern Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and was orphaned when his parents died in 1896 and 1897. After being taught in a series of government schools, his intellectual ambition, academic performance and personal qualities brought him in 1901 to the private Mount Hermon Preparatory School (now Northfield Mount Hermon School) in Massachusetts, which had a work-study program he drew on to finance his education, and which brought him into the social circles of America's ruling elite. He graduated a salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...
in 1906 and the school served as his conduit into the Ivy League.
Cloud was the first full-blood Native American to attend Yale College
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, graduating in 1910, and earning a Master's Degree there in 1912. He was a campus celebrity, not just because of his background but also due to the force of his personality and speaking skill and, in an era when rhetoric was an art, he was especially accomplished, attracting large audiences on campus and in national venues. One measure of his prestige as an undergraduate was being tapped for the Yale senior society, Elihu
Elihu (secret society)
Elihu, founded in 1903, is the sixth oldest secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT. While similar to Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head societies in charter and function, Elihu favors privacy over overt secrecy...
.
While an undergraduate, Cloud attended a lecture by the missionary, Mary Wickham Roe, a member of a prominent New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
family involved in evangelical Christian mission work, and established a close relationship with her and her husband, Reverend Dr. Walter C. Roe. The couple adopted him and he took their surname as his middle name. His later career included efforts towards establishing modern schools for Native American youth, and he also became superintendent of the Haskell Institute, now known as Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
, in Lawrence, Kansas. As well as the Superintendent of the Umitilla Indian Reservation.
In a dissertation by a Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
scholar, Cloud's significance is described in this way: "Cloud's education, elite by any standard, allowed him throughout his public life to assume a variety of important roles. In his more than forty years of public life, Cloud acted as a reformer, an educator, and Indian Service official. As arguably the most prominent Indian figure of the 1920s and 1930s, Cloud's life demonstrates how and to what extent Indians were able to influence federal Indian policy. His life also provides a window into the close ties between progressive ideas and the evangelical Protestant Christianity that prompted and guided many of the reform efforts in the first decades of the twentieth century. Cloud's work also shows him to be capable of moving beyond this Progressive Era paradigm of assimilation and embracing new currents of reform such as the push for cultural pluralism."
Henry Roe Cloud died of a heart attack in Siletz, Oregon
Siletz, Oregon
Siletz is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2000 census. The city is located next to the Siletz Reservation and is the site of the annual Nesika Illahee Pow Wow in August.-Geography:...
, on February 9, 1950. He was buried in Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
. An entry on Cloud is included in the American National Biography, Vol 5 (1999) and his personal papers are housed as a distinct series in the "Roe Family Papers" in Sterling Memorial Library
Sterling Memorial Library
Sterling Memorial Library is the largest library at Yale University, containing over 4 million volumes. It is an example of Gothic revival architecture, designed by James Gamble Rogers, adorned with thousands of panes of stained glass created by G. Owen Bonawit.The Library has 15 levels, each with...
's Manuscripts and Archives collection at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
However, the majority of Henry's papers, personal photographs and documents relating to his time at Yale, the Mount Hermon school, and including theological society parchments as well as all of his papers from his work until his death in 1950 is in the care of Henry's Great Grandson, Shahn Roe Cloud Hughes in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
Further reading
- The Yale Indian: The Education of Henry Roe Cloud, Joel Pfister, Duke University PressDuke University PressDuke University Press is an academic publisher of books and journals, and a unit of Duke University. It publishes approximately 120 books annually and more than 40 journals, as well as offering five electronic collections...
, Durham, North CarolinaDurham, North CarolinaDurham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, 2009
External links
- Biography, Nebraska State Education Association http://www.nsea.org/news/RoeCloudProfile.htm
- Finding Aid for Roe Family Papers at Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University http://mssa.library.yale.edu/findaids/stream.php?xmlfile=mssa.ms.0774.xml
- A Celebration of Henry Roe Cloud and Yale's Native American Community, 2005 conference program: http://www.aya.yale.edu/henryroecloud/program.htm
- The Henry Roe Cloud Medal, awarded by Yale http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411962http://www2.aya.yale.edu/aya/blueprint/article.php?id=92
- Doctoral Dissertation of Jason Tetzloff, Purdue University http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/dissertations/AAI9725640/ pdf http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/gateway?return=http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/9725640
- Burns, Kathleen. "Henry Roe Cloud, Yale's First Native American Graduate." Red Ink 1 no. 1 (2006): p. 13 Ink Spring 2006
- 'Yale Celebrates First Native American Graduate: Henry Roe Cloud', Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Office of Public Affairs & Communications, 29 October 2010