The Heathen School: A Story of Hope and Betrayal in the Age of the Early Republic

by John Demos,
Tulsa World, May 4, 2014

In 1816, Ward Safford, a philanthropist, urged Jeremiah Evarts, the corresponding secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, to take decisive action to secure a permanent residence and a permanent instructor for "our Owhyhean (Hawaiian) & other Heathen youths." The new enterprise, Safford predicted, might grow into a "great institution" dedicated to education and spiritual training, "at which should be assembled heathen from any part of the world."