Henry Roe Cloud
Henry Roe Cloud was a pioneering Native American educator and leader, notable for being the first Indigenous person to graduate from Yale University in 1910. Born to Native American parents, he later adopted the name "Roe" in honor of his adoptive missionary parents. He received a Bachelor of Divinity degree and became a Presbyterian minister, advocating for the advancement of Native education. In 1915, he founded the Roe Indian Institute in Wichita, Kansas, which focused on an academic curriculum designed to cultivate Indigenous leaders, contrasting with contemporary vocational training approaches. Cloud's efforts continued at Haskell Institute, where he served as superintendent, promoting similar educational goals.
Throughout his career, he held various influential positions, including assistant supervisor of Indian education for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and superintendent of the Umatilla Indian Agency until his death. His involvement in Indian affairs included leadership roles in organizations advocating for Native rights and contributions to significant reports on Indian education. While he championed Indigenous leadership, Cloud also supported aspects of cultural assimilation, reflecting the complex dynamics of his time. His legacy endures in the ongoing pursuit of equitable education for Native American communities.
Henry Roe Cloud
Educator
- Born: December 28, 1884
- Birthplace: Thurston County, Nebraska
- Died: February 9, 1950
- Place of death: Siletz, Oregon
Category: Educator, Bureau of Indian Affairs official
Tribal affiliation: Winnebago
Significance: Henry Roe Cloud was instrumental in expanding Indian educational opportunities
Henry Cloud’s parents were Nah’ilayhunkay and Hard to See. He later added “Roe” to his English name in honor of his adoptive parents, missionaries Dr. and Mrs. Walter C. Roe. He was educated at the Indian school in Genoa, Nebraska, the Santee Mission School in Nebraska, and Dwight Moody’s Academy at Mt. Hermon, Massachusetts. He was the first Indian to graduate from Yale, in 1910. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Auburn Theological Seminary in 1913, and was ordained a Presbyterian minister the same year. He received an M.A. from Yale in 1914 and a Doctor of Divinity degree from the College of Emporia. In 1915, he married Elizabeth A. Bender (a Chippewa), a graduate of the Hampton Normal Training School. They had four daughters and a son who died in infancy.
In 1915, Henry Roe Cloud founded the Roe Indian Institute in Wichita, Kansas. He remained the Institute’s superintendent until 1931, when he became a special representative of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Roe Institute, which became the American Indian Institute in 1920, was unique for the time in that it promoted an academic rather than a vocational curriculum, with the aim of developing Indian leaders.
From 1933 to 1936, Henry Roe Cloud was superintendent of Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas. Appointed Haskell’s superintendent under the administration of John Collier to help change the direction of Indian education, he was unhappy with Haskell’s vocational emphasis and wanted American Indian education to help develop Indian leaders. His pioneering work in that direction helped lead to Haskell eventually becoming a junior college in 1970 and Haskell Indian Nations University in 1993. Henry Roe Cloud was appointed assistant supervisor of Indian education at-large for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1936. In 1947, he became superintendent of the Umatilla Indian Agency, where he served until his death.
Throughout his life, Henry Roe Cloud was active in Indian affairs. In his twenties he was a leader in the Society of American Indians, which preceded the National Council of American Indians. He served as chairman of the Winnebago delegation to the President in 1912, was a member of the Commission of Federal Survey of Indian Schools in 1914, was a member of the Standing Committee of One Hundred on Indian Affairs in 1920, and was a co-author of the Meriam Report of 1928. While he called for Indian leadership, he also promoted cultural assimilation both as a Presbyterian minister and as a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee.