Louise Jones Gopher is the second Seminole (after Billy Cypress) and the first woman from the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

tribe of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to earn a bachelor's degree. Gopher, a former director of education for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, was the first female Seminole to earn a bachelor's degree when she graduated from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

in 1970. Born May 25, 1945, in a chickee at a tribal camp in

Fort Pierce Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...

, Jones spoke no

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

when she entered school at age 6. Because they were considered neither black nor white, none of the

segregated schools Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

of the day would willingly take her as a student, but at the pleading of her father (who neither spoke, read, or wrote any English), Lucie County Schools Superintendent Ben L. Bryan chose to allow her to enroll in the Fairlawn School. In 2014, she was granted an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Florida State University. She is the third Seminole to receive an honorary degree from FSU, after

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, also known as ''Potackee'' (April 27, 1923 – January 14, 2011) (Seminole) was the first and so far the only female chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. A nurse, she co-founded the tribe's first newspaper in 1956, the ...

(Doctorate of Humane Letters) and Jim Shore (Doctor of Laws). The ''

Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' we ...

'' named her one of the most 100 influential people in Florida in the 20th century. As Director of Education, Gopher was behind the development of the tribe's first charter school, "Pemayetv Emahakv" or "Our Way", which opened in 2007. Gopher has put great effort into preserving Seminole culture. The Seminoles’ native languages, Creek or

Mikasuki The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving f ...

, are spoken only by older tribe members, so she transcribes Mikasuki teachings for posterity. In 2014 governor Rick Scott appointed her to the

Florida Women's Hall of Fame The Florida Women's Hall of Fame is an honor roll of women who have contributed to life for citizens of the US state of Florida. An awards ceremony for the hall of fame was first held in 1982 and recipient names are displayed in the Florida State ...

. Gopher encouraged young Seminoles to attend college, and her daughter, Carla Gopher, became the first Seminole to graduate from Florida State University, in 1996. Louise's grandfather was Desoto Tiger, the son of Cow Creek chief Tom Tiger, who was murdered by John Ashley, also known as ''The King of the Everglades'' in 1910. In 2007, Jones received the exceedingly rare Westcott Award from Florida State University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopher, Louise 1945 births Living people People from Okeechobee County, Florida People from Fort Pierce, Florida Florida Atlantic University alumni Seminole Tribe of Florida people 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans Florida Women's Hall of Fame Inductees