Big Knife, Allen

A full-blooded Indian, possibly the first Native American to be educated in a school for the deaf. Deafened as a baby by smallpox; entered the New York School for the Deaf (Fanwood) at age 13, 1860-1865. His education was interrupted, then he re-enrolled 1867-1872. Later briefly enrolled at the Central New York Institution for Deaf-Mutes (Rome, NY). One source garbles his name as Allen Bogknite. Passed away on the Onandaga reservation from a brief illness.