Catharine Brown (Cherokee teacher)

Catharine Brown (c. 1800 – July 18, 1823) was a Cherokee woman and missionary teacher at Brainerd Mission School.

She was the mission's first Cherokee convert to Christianity and the first Native American woman to see many of her writings extensively published in her lifetime.

Cyrus Kingsbury, a missionary, appeared before the general Council of the Cherokees and requested permission to build schools for them.

Still others embraced the change and took steps towards “civilization.” Catharine's family was one of those and for her the mission and school was a hope for the future of Cherokee society.

In February 1820, a request from Catharine's father to start a mission for boys at Creek Path was heard and provisions to open the school were made.

She reluctantly accepted the charge with mixed emotions about leaving the friends she had met at Brainerd but also felt a strong sense of importance for the work ahead of her.

Though she felt a strong tug at rejoining her friends and returning to her work, her Cherokee duty compelled upon her the need to help care for her brother.

At the time, the Cherokee believed physical illness was the result of a spiritual ailment that could only be cured by performing sacred rituals.

However, the journey was long and John's health continued to deteriorate so they decided to stop at another spring and made camp.

In a letter to her other brother, David, she expressed a hope to possibly emigrate west and viewed the opportunity to spread her values with a sense of excitement and enthusiasm.

She sought the help of Dr. Alexander Campbell, a white physician who lived near Limestone, Alabama, but as her condition grew worse her parents became desperate.

However, so much material was uncovered that the American Board had a book length work published called Memoir of Catharine Brown, A Christian Indian of the Cherokee Nation.

In the following years, Catharine's writings were used in political debates about removing the Cherokees and other tribes to Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma.

[6] She was once viewed by literary critics as a victim of early Christian missionaries who, by conversion, became a tragedy because of the loss of her identity.

However, as time passed she began to be viewed as a woman representing the lasting revitalization, survival, adaptability and leadership of the Cherokee culture as a whole.