Indians of North America -- Oklahoma

Scope and Contents FULL FINDING AID (PDF)Official correspondence, letterpress copybooks, reports, chiefs' mesages, speeches of delegates, proceedings, laws, court decisions, acts, leases, election returns, registers of removal claims, and clippings relating to the affairs of the Cherokee Nation. Specifically included are groups of papers and records on the following subjects: the official Cherokee newspaper, the CHEROKEE ADVOCATE (1869-1906); the Cherokee Boundary Survey (1871-1873); Cherokee Nation censuses (1868-1901); the Cherokee Outlet (1871-1896); Citizenship (1856-1904); the Creek War or the William Cobb murder case (1880-1885); the Dawes Commission (1894-1907); Delegations, agents and attorneys (1816-1910); the Eastern (North Carolina) Cherokee (1871-1906); Education (1856-1906); Elections (1856-1901); the Cherokee Insane Asylum (1874-1907); Intruders (1868-1902);...

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Oral history collection. Typescripts of interviews conducted with hundreds of American Indians in Oklahoma regarding the histories and cultures of their respective tribes. Included are accounts of Indian ceremonies, customs, social conditions, philosophies, and standards of living. Members of every tribe resident in Oklahoma were interviewed.

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Collector. A bibliography (1876-1914) compiled by Woods on the Indians of Oklahoma, U.S. agencies responsible for their welfare, costumes of whites and Indians in the western U.S., and Oklahoma Territory cattle brands. The information on cattle brands includes a drawing of the brand, the name and proprietor of the ranch and its location.

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Minister. A typescript of the Rev. Smith's autobiography (1946) which includes accounts of his experiences in Oklahoma Territory and the origins of Oklahoma place names, as well as stories concerning religion, settlers, cowboys, marshals, the weather, and public opinion regarding the Spanish-American War and the Crazy Snake Rebellion in Indian Territory. The collection also includes a typescript of Smith's biography of James Patrick Major, C.S.A., who held important commands in the Southwest during the Civil War.

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Soldier. Correspondence (1866-1868) to and from Reagle regarding personal matters as well as his assignments at Fort Arbuckle, Indian Territory, with descriptions of the Indians of various tribes with whom he came into contact; and Reagles's diary (1864-1867), in which he recorded his experiences as a Union soldier in Virginia during the Civil War and his post-war service with the U.S. 10th Cavalry at Fort Arbuckle. In the diary Reagle recorded prominent Comanche, Choctaw and Chickasaw words and their English translations, a Caddo drinking song, and recipes for "elixirs of life." Of special note are his impressions of the Indians, his history of the Comanches through 1867, and drawing of a Caddo village he visited in 1867. James Reagle Jr. Photograph Collection also in repository.

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An unpublished manuscript (ca. 1990) by Jimmie Hicks entitled"A Critique of the PBS Television Program'Indians, Outlaws and Angie Debo' The American Experience# 103." In this 18 page paper, Hicks introduces the principals, presents a point-by-point criticism of the program and discusses Debo's book And Still The Waters Run, the controversy over its publication, and defends Edward E. Dale's role in the controversy.

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Historian. Manuscripts by Conlan reflecting the histories and cultures of numerous Indian tribes, the Choctaw Indians in particular, from 1756 to 1932; and a textbook, published in Great Britain (1950).

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Radio program. The Oklahoma School of the Air radio program aired on WNAD at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. The collection consists of 137 audiotape reels (circa 1953-1957) of educational programs that were broadcast as a service to Oklahoma schools. Most of the programs in this collection focus on Oklahoma history and feature lectures, stories that illustrate civic responsibility, and dramatic performances about Oklahoma history figures and events. Topics covered include various Oklahoma "firsts" such as the first coal mine, oil well, and airplane flight; and historic people and places such as Stand Watie, the 101 Ranch, and Choctaw Nation ghost towns. The collection also contains several programs on music from the Minnesota School of the Air radio program, and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1952 inaugural address.

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Organization. Records and printed materials (1970-2003) of the Native American charitable and educational nonprofit organization, Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity.

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Pamphlets (1820-1978) containing information on U.S. government / Indian tribal relations, and U.S. government Indian policy. Materials include memorials from Indian delegations concerning allotment, land transfer, and per capita payments; tribal agreements with the Dawes Commission; annual messages of Indian nations; legal cases argued before the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court; and annual reports of the Board of Indian Commissioners. Other pamphlets concern Oklahoma statehood, mining and oil and gas rights on Indian lands, railroads in Indian Territory; and claims of Old Settler Cherokees.

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Typescripts of interviews and news articles with pioneers and army officers from the area around present-day Tonkawa, Oklahoma, regarding U.S. Army operations, Indians, and the settlement of the region. Tonkawa Public Library Photograph Collection also in repository.