Alice Brown Davis (September 10, 1852 – June 21, 1935) was the first female Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and served from 1922 to 1935, appointed by President Warren G. Harding. She was of Seminole (Tiger Clan) and Scots descent. Her older brother John Frippo Brown had served as chief of the tribe and their brother Andrew Jackson Brown as treasurer.
Early life and education
Alice Brown was born on September 10, 1852, in the Cherokee town of Park Hill, Indian Territory and grew up near Fort Gibson. Her father, Dr. John Frippo Brown, was from Scotland and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He accompanied the Seminole as a military surgeon during their forced removal from Florida. During this journey, he married Lucy Red Bird, a Seminole from Katcvlke or the Tiger Clan. As the Seminole have a matrilineal system, the children of a marriage belonged to the mother's clan. Her parents had a total of seven children.
Her older brothers John F. and Andrew Jackson Brown each started to serve the tribe by the time of the American Civil War. Four members of her mother's family developed as significant Seminole leaders from 1832 to 1935. After completing her studies, Brown taught, most likely at Mesukey Academy for Boys in Sasakwa. Both there and likely at the girls' school Emakwha Academy, Brown Davis likely taught children of freedmen along with the Seminole, for the missionaries integrated the schools in 1874.
Marriage and family
In 1874 at the age of 22, Brown married George Rollin Davis, a European-American merchant from Kansas. They moved to Arbeka, Indian Territory on Seminole Nation lands. They operated a trading post, post office, general store and the Bar X Bar ranch together until George's death. They were entrusted with the duties of disbursing the local Indians' headright money and the Civil War pensions for veterans and widows. Together the couple had eleven children. She gained a broad knowledge of tribal issues.
In her 40s after her husband's death, Brown Davis became the postmistress of Arbeka, while running the ranch and trading post. She became the superintendent of the Seminole Nation's girls' school, Emahaka. Built in 1892, Emahaka was a highly modern institution teaching grades one through ten.
In order to enable Oklahoma to become a state, the federal government had required the end of tribal governments in Indian Territory. The tribes were supposed to turn over all functions to officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Protective of her school and believing that Indians should be in charge of teaching their children, Brown Davis initially refused to yield authority over the school. Her brother John F. Brown was still Chief of the Seminole and finally persuaded her she had to yield under the law.