Help us transcribe "Interviews about Jim Thorpe with Gail and Grace, 1967-1968" (Box 2, Folder 14) from the Grace F. Thorpe collection! These are in Series 5 of the collection which contains materials on Jim Thorpe and his legacy.
Grace Thorpe (1921-2008), Sac and Fox, was a WWII veteran and Native Rights activist. The daughter of famed athlete Jim Thorpe, Grace served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) from 1943-1945. She served as a recruiter for the WAC before being sent overseas to New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan. Grace was later awarded the Bronze star for her service in the Battle of New Guinea. Following the end of the war, Grace remained in Japan with her husband Lieutenant Fred W. Seely and worked at General MacArthur Headquarters as Chief of the Recruitment Section, Department of Army Civilians.
Help us transcribe "Interviews about Jim Thorpe with Gail and Grace, 1967-1968" (Box 2, Folder 14) from the Grace F. Thorpe collection! These are in Series 5 of the collection which contains materials on Jim Thorpe and his legacy.
Grace Thorpe (1921-2008), Sac and Fox, was a WWII veteran and Native Rights activist. The daughter of famed athlete Jim Thorpe, Grace served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) from 1943-1945. She served as a recruiter for the WAC before being sent overseas to New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan. Grace was later awarded the Bronze star for her service in the Battle of New Guinea. Following the end of the war, Grace remained in Japan with her husband Lieutenant Fred W. Seely and worked at General MacArthur Headquarters as Chief of the Recruitment Section, Department of Army Civilians.
Later in life Grace moved to Arizona where she became involved with American Indian tribes. Grace was appointed Economic Development Conference Coordinator for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)'s 1968 and 1969 conferences. In 1969-1970, Grace joined Native American Activists at the occupation of Alcatraz Island for three months and managed their publicity. She then served as a Congressional Intern from 1974-1975 for Senator James Abourezk and was later appointed Legislative Assistant with the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs and as a Task Force Program and Planning Analyst for the American Indian Policy Review Commission.
During this time she also began working on the restoration of her father's 1912 Olympic titles as well as other projects to recognize and honor her father. After returning to her tribal homeland in Oklahoma she became active in tribal affairs and in 1983 successfully restored her father's Olympic record. In later years, Grace served her tribe as a tribal judge, health commissioner, and became an environmental activist opposing nuclear waste on tribal lands.
