MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – JULY 31, 2020
The Bacone College School of Indian Art has received a legacy donation of $75,000 from the estate of a long-time Muskogee woman, Doris Chancellor Rader.
The estate of Mrs. Rader designated that a college or university receive proceeds from the estate, and the family selected Bacone College.
“We are honored by the Chancellor family’s choice to bless Bacone College,” said President Dr. Ferlin Clark. “Nizhoni.”
Mrs. Rader was Cherokee, and her brother, Hubert Clyde Chancellor, took art lessons at Bacone College in the 1970s from one of the program’s renowned art directors, Walter Richard “Dick” West.
The Bacone College Art Department was founded in 1935 and was led by such prestigious directors as Acee Blue Eagle; Woody Crumbo; Terry Saul; Ruthe Blalock Jones and Tony Tiger, in addition to West.
The Chancellor family cherishes its Cherokee roots and noted the importance of keeping the estate dollars in Muskogee and connected with an Indian arts curriculum – in particular equipment to help the art program and its students grow and prosper.
“As we rebuild the program and honor the legacy of artists gone before, this support is an incredible blessing,” said Gerald Cournoyer, art program director. “We are in need of equipment to move the program and our students forward in their learning experience as we provide a well-rounded curriculum for our students. Thank you Andrea Chancellor and the Doris Rader Estate.”
The check was recently presented to Bacone officials by Andrea Chancellor, niece of Doris Chancellor Rader and daughter of Hubert Clyde Chancellor.