# Louise Gopher > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Louise_Gopher > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Louise_Gopher.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Gopher > Source revision: 1347133925 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Native American activist from Florida (1945–2016)}} {{Infobox person |birth_date={{Birth date|1945|5|25}} |birth_place=[Fort Pierce](/source/Fort_Pierce), Florida, U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|2016|11|16|1945|5|25}} |citizenship=[Seminole Tribe of Florida](/source/Seminole_Tribe_of_Florida) • American |alma_mater=[Florida Atlantic University](/source/Florida_Atlantic_University) |relatives=[Desoto Tiger](/source/Desoto_Tiger) (grandfather) }} '''Louise Jones Gopher''' (May 25, 1945 – November 16, 2016){{Cite web | title=Louise Gopher Obituary (2016) - Okeechobee, FL - Lake Okeechobee News and SouthCentralLife.com | url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newszapfl/name/louise-gopher-obituary?id=14665150 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506231339/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newszapfl/name/louise-gopher-obituary?id=14665150 | access-date=2026-03-29 | archive-date=2024-05-06}} was the second Seminole (after Billy Cypress) and the first woman from the [Seminole Tribe of Florida](/source/Seminole_Tribe_of_Florida) to earn a bachelor's degree. Gopher, a former director of education for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, was the first Seminole woman to earn a bachelor's degree when she graduated from [Florida Atlantic University](/source/Florida_Atlantic_University) in 1970. == Early life and education == Born May 25, 1945, in a [chickee](/source/chickee) at a tribal camp in [Fort Pierce](/source/Fort_Pierce), Jones spoke no English when she entered school at age 6. Because they were considered neither Black nor White, none of the [segregated schools](/source/Segregated_education) 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](/source/St._Lucie_County_Public_Schools) Superintendent Ben L. Bryan chose to allow her to enroll in the Fairlawn School. Louise's grandfather was [Desoto Tiger](/source/Desoto_Tiger), the son of Cow Creek chief Tom Tiger, who was murdered by [John Ashley](/source/John_Ashley_(bandit)), also known as ''The King of the Everglades'' in 1910. == Career == 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, [Mvskoke](/source/Mvskoke_language) or [Mikasuki](/source/Mikasuki_language), are spoken only by older tribe members, so she transcribes Mikasuki teachings for posterity.{{cite web |last1=Forzano |first1=Joe |title=Seminole Storyteller: Louise Jones Gopher, Born May 25, 1945 |url=http://historicpalmbeach.blog.palmbeachpost.com/1999/12/19/seminole-storyteller-louise-jones-gopher-born-may-25-1945/|publisher=Palm Beach Post|accessdate=23 May 2016|date=19 December 1999}} In 2014 governor Rick Scott appointed her to the [Florida Women's Hall of Fame](/source/Florida_Women's_Hall_of_Fame).{{cite web|title=Governor Scott and Lt. Governor Lopez-Cantera Honor 2014 Florida Women's Hall of Fame Inductees|url=http://www.flgov.com/gov-scott-and-lt-governor-lopez-cantera-honor-2014-florida-womens-hall-of-fame-inductees/|website=flgov.com|accessdate=23 May 2016}} Gopher encouraged young Seminoles to attend college, and her daughter, Carla Gopher, became the first Seminole to graduate from Florida State University, in 1996.{{cite news|last1=Bidney|first1=Beverly|title=Louise Gopher bestowed with FSU honorary degree|url=http://www.semtribe.com/SeminoleTribune/Archive/2014/SeminoleTribune_December%2031_2014v2.pdf|accessdate=23 May 2016|publisher=Seminole Tribune|date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317012934/http://www.semtribe.com/SeminoleTribune/Archive/2014/SeminoleTribune_December%2031_2014v2.pdf|archive-date=17 March 2015|url-status=dead}} == Recognition == In 2014, Gopher was granted an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from [Florida State University](/source/Florida_State_University).{{cite news|last1=Blackburn|first1=Doug|title=FSU honors Seminole legend Louise Gopher|url=http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2014/12/10/fsu-honors-seminole-legend-louise-gopher/20194769/|accessdate=23 May 2016|publisher=Tallahassee Democrat|date=11 December 2014}} She is the third Seminole to receive an honorary degree from FSU, after [Betty Mae Tiger Jumper](/source/Betty_Mae_Tiger_Jumper) (Doctorate of Humane Letters) and Jim Shore (Doctor of Laws).{{cite news|last1=Bidney|first1=Beverly|title=Louise Gopher bestowed with FSU honorary degree|url=http://www.semtribe.com/SeminoleTribune/Archive/2014/SeminoleTribune_December%2031_2014v2.pdf|accessdate=23 May 2016|publisher=Seminole Tribune|date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317012934/http://www.semtribe.com/SeminoleTribune/Archive/2014/SeminoleTribune_December%2031_2014v2.pdf|archive-date=17 March 2015|url-status=dead}} The ''[Palm Beach Post](/source/Palm_Beach_Post)'' named her one of the most 100 influential people in Florida in the 20th century. In 2007, Jones received the Westcott Award from Florida State University.{{cite web|title=Jones Gopher with rare Westcott Award|url=https://www.fsu.edu/news/2007/10/25/westcott.award/|accessdate=23 May 2016}} == Death == She died in 2016 in [Tampa](/source/Tampa). ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Florida Women's Hall of Fame}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gopher, Louise}} Category:1945 births Category:2016 deaths Category:People from Okeechobee County, Florida Category:People from Fort Pierce, Florida Category:Florida Atlantic University alumni Category:Seminole Tribe of Florida people Category:20th-century Native American people Category:21st-century Native American people Category:Florida Women's Hall of Fame Inductees Category:Seminole women Category:20th-century Native American women Category:21st-century Native American women Category:20th-century American people Category:21st-century American people Category:20th-century American women Category:21st-century American women Category:Native American people from Florida --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Louise Gopher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Gopher) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Gopher?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.