ECU’s Dr. Elisabeth Davis publishes new text exploring era of Native American Boarding Schools

ADA, Okla. - East Central University's Dr. Elisabeth Davis has announced the publication of her first book, published by Lexington Books.

"Catholic Sisters, Narratives of Authority, and the Native American Boarding Schools, 1847-1918," brings to light and explores a largely unknown history of the Catholic Native American Boarding Schools that were run by Catholic Sisters.

Davis joined the faculty at ECU for the Fall 2024 semester in the History Department. She holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Buffalo. She has published widely in the field of women's history, studying the intersections of gender, culture, and Catholicism; or as she puts it "Ok... I study nuns."

"We could not be more excited about Dr. Elisabeth Davis joining our department and proud of her accomplishment with her first book," said Dr. Christopher Bean, professor and chair for the Department of History. "I can speak for the Department of History when I say we look forward to witnessing her growth and applauding her accomplishments."

Davis' first book comes after a series of articles she published on the Native American Boarding Schools, both the Carlisle Indian Industrial School as well as schools run by Catholics.

"An astute study of how Catholic sisters worked to assimilate Indigenous children to white culture, Elisabeth C. Davis walks readers through the sisters' tactics for assimilation, their challenges, their reliance upon their religious authority, and how they measured successful assimilation," wrote Emily Suzanne Clark, Gonzaga University. "Her careful investigation of the sisters' archives at a handful of mission sites allows her to tell a story that is both compassionate and critical of these women's religions and the part they played in American imperialism."

Davis' book can be found for purchase through Lexington Books and Amazon.

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