On November 26, 1846, the Council passed a bill stating that, "Whereas, the improvement of the moral and intellectual condition of our people is contemplated by the Constitution, and whereas, we are now in possession of means sufficient to carry out, to a further degree of maturity, the National system of education already commenced.
[2] Before the school opened, representatives from the Cherokee Nation visited New England seeking teachers and recruited faculty from Yale University, Mount Holyoke College, and Newton Theological Seminary.
[4] The boarding school occupied a three-story red brick building on a campus located southwest of Tahlequah, Indian Territory.
Curriculum included English grammar, composition, arithmetic, algebra, elocution,[4] astronomy, botany, economics, geology, geography, history, philosophy, zoology, and language classes in Greek, Latin, French, and German.
Students had to pay for their room and board, and the Cherokee Nation opened enrollment to men from other Native American tribes.