Career
After 1885, she often worked with her brother, Chief John F. Brown, as an interpreter, liaison and assistant for the Seminole Tribe. She gained a broad knowledge of tribal issues.
In her 40s after her husband's death, Brown Davis became the postmistress of Arbeka, while running the ranch and trading post. She became the superintendent of the Seminole Nation's girls' school, Emakaha. Built in 1892, Emakaha was a highly modern institution teaching grades one through ten.
In order to enable Oklahoma to become a state, the federal government had required the end of tribal governments in Indian Territory. The tribes were supposed to turn over all functions to officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Protective of her school and believing that Indians should be in charge of teaching their children, Brown Davis initially refused to yield authority over the school. Her brother John F. Brown was still Chief of the Seminole and finally persuaded her she had to yield under the law.
Brown Davis belonged to the congregation of the Spring Baptist Church at Sasakwa, Oklahoma, where her brother John became the pastor. She performed missionary work in Florida and was active in Muscogee Creek, Seminole, and Wichita Baptist Associations.
Read more about this topic: Alice Brown Davis
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