U of Illinois to Honor First American Indian Graduate

URBANA, Ill. (AP) — The University of Illinois will honor its first American Indian graduate by naming a dormitory after him.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Renee Romano says the new Urbana-Champaign campus dorm will be named Wassaja Hall when it opens in August 2016. The name is expected to be approved by the university’s board of trustees at their meeting Thursday.

According to The News-Gazette in Champaign, Wassaja is the birth name of Carlos Montezuma. He graduated from the university in 1884.

Montezuma was a Yavapai born in Arizona in 1866. He was stolen as a child and sold into servitude and for a time performed with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. He later wound up in Urbana.

He eventually graduated from medical school, practiced medicine and advocated for American Indian rights.

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