Thamar Richey (August 8, 1858- October 20, 1937) was an educator, known for her work with the Yaqui community in Arizona.

Biography

Thamar Richey was born on August 8, 1858, in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. As a child, she moved to Illinois and Missouri, where she graduated from Maryvale High School at sixteen. In 1874, she obtained a teaching job in Ottawa County. She went on to teach in other schools. In 1879, she moved to Kansas with her family, where she continued to teach.^[1]

In 1892, Richey took a teaching position with the Federal Indian Service. She was assigned to a school on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation and then became the head matron at the Haskell Institute, later moving to be the principal at Indian schools in Nebraska and Minnesota.^[1] In 1901, Richey returned to Holton, Kansas, to be with her ill parents. She served on the faculty of the Emporia Normal School teachers' college and at a small local college.^[1]

In 1919, Richey took a job teaching near Greaterville, Arizona to be near her brother.^[1][2] In 1923, she moved to Tucson, but there were no open teaching positions. Richey asked school superintendent C.E. Rose if he would approve a job if she could find a school. Richey created a school for Pascua Yaqui Tribe students, using a small ceremonial site as a makeshift school, where she initially taught kindergarten and 1-C (pre-first grade).^[2][3] The school taught students to speak English, and they then went elsewhere for elementary and grammar school education.^[3] Richey successfully advocated for the Tuscan School Board to build a schoolroom, even though the children lived outside the district.^[2] Initially, Richey, unable to speak Yaqui, required two interpreters, one to translate her English into Spanish, and the other to translate Spanish into Yaqui.^[1][4]

Richey acted as a patroness for the Yaqui community.^[5] She worked with local nonprofits to distribute clothing, food, and other items at Pascua.^[3] From the winter of 1924 to 1925, Richey prepared lunch for her students in a sort of early-day free school lunch program.^[1] During the Great Depression, Richey begged for food and clothing for her students, whose families were greatly struggling.^[2] Richey worked directly with families, rather than going through community or missionary leadership, which was common.^[3]

Death and legacy

Richey retired in 1937. She died on October 14, 1937, in her home in Tucson, Arizona.^[1] The Yaqui elders held a candlelight vigil for her, and the village attended her funeral.^[2]

In 1955, the Tucson Board of Education built the Richey Elementary School, named in honor of Richey.^[1]

In 1988, Richey was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.^[1]