Anderson High School is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

located in

Anderson, Indiana Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 54,788 at the 2020 census. It is named after Chief William Anderson. The city is the headquarters of the Church of God and its Anderson ...

. The school's students are known as "The Anderson Indians." Both the school and the city of

are named after

Chief William Anderson Kikthawenund ( or 1750 – 1831), also known as William Anderson, was a leader of the Unalatchgo Lenape people. His Lenape name is said to mean "creaking boughs." The city of Anderson in Indiana is named after him. Early life Kikthawenund wa ...

, the leader of the Unalatchgo

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

people from 1806 to 1831. It is a part of the

Anderson Community School Corporation Anderson Community School Corporation, is a school district located in Anderson, Indiana. The majority of Anderson is in this school district. The district also includes Country Club Heights, Edgewood, River Forest, Woodlawn Heights, and t ...

. The majority of Anderson is in the school district. The district also includes Country Club Heights, Edgewood, River Forest, Woodlawn Heights, and the majority of Chesterfield.

Athletics

Anderson currently competes in and was a founding member of the

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

. From 1961 until 2011 the basketball teams played in Anderson's historic

Wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

which had a seating capacity of 8,996.

Notable alumni

* Melvin E. Biddle, United States Army

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Joe Campbell, professional golfer *

Harvey Weir Cook Harvey Weir Cook (June 30, 1892 – March 24, 1943) was an American fighter ace in World War I and Distinguished Service Cross recipient. He was also a pioneer in civilian commercial aviation and a leading figure in the development of aviation ...

, American

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Michael Earley Michael Earley (born March 15, 1988) is an American college baseball coach who is currently the head baseball coach at Texas A&M University. Education and playing career Earley attended Indiana University and played for their baseball team fo ...

, head baseball coach at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

Marion Durbin Ellis Marion Durbin Ellis (October 25, 1887December 16, 1972) was an American ichthyologist and entomologist. She is credited with conducting the most comprehensive study to date of the '' Hemigrammus'' genus of fish of which she named nineteen taxa. ...

, American ichthyologist and entomologist *

Carl Erskine Carl Daniel Erskine (December 13, 1926 – April 16, 2024), nicknamed "Oisk", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959. He was a pitching m ...

professional baseball player *

Jumping Johnny Wilson John E. Wilson (1927 – January 11, 2019), popularly known as Jumpin' Johnny Wilson, was an American basketball and baseball player. He gained his nickname for being the only player on his high school team able to dunk the basketball.Dick Denny ...

, former

Harlem Globetrotter The Harlem Globetrotters is an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and ter ...

* Ken Johnson, former NFL player * Terry Johnson, American basketball coach * Robert Kessler, former NBL player *

Troy Lewis Troy Lewis (born March 15, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He is the sixth all-time leading scorer in Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball history with 2,038 points. He played guard for Purdue from 1985 to 1988. Lewis ...

, basketball player for

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

* Josh Pitcock,

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

to the

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

Amber Portwood Amber Leann Portwood (born 1990) is an American reality television personality and convicted criminal. From Anderson, Indiana, she is known for being cast in the reality television series ''16 and Pregnant'' in 2009, which documented the pregnan ...

, reality TV personality and criminal

Mascot controversy

The school has been accused of "racism and cultural appropriation" for its portrayals of the school's mascots, "The Indian" and "The Maiden" during sports events, but defenders of the portrayals point to the history of the school's name and traditions.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Schools in Madison County, Indiana Public high schools in Indiana 1873 establishments in Indiana Anderson, Indiana

Athletics

Notable alumni

Mascot controversy

See also

References

External links