Oklahoma

About Oklahoma

History of Oklahoma

Pre-European Amerindian cultures

Oklahoma was inhabited by Native American tribes including the Kitikiti’sh (Wichita) Quapaw, Caddo and Osage. Descendants of these peoples still live in the state.

In the 16th century Spanish explorers became the first documented Europeans to visit the area (there is evidence to suggest that viking explorers passed through in the 6th century, but this has yet to be accepted widely by the scientific and historical community). Later, Oklahoma was part of the vast territorial swapping between European powers France and Spain.

Five Civilized Tribes

Oklahoma, as Indian Territory, served as the relocation area for the policy of Indian Removal started by Andrew Jackson in the 1830s; the end of the Cherokee Trail of Tears was Indian Territory. There were already many tribes living in the territory, along with whites and escaped slaves.

The Five Civilized Tribes, so named due to their early adaptations to Christianity and European clothing, technology, and trade, were not the only ones forced to Oklahoma. The Delaware, from the northeast U.S., Kiowa, Comanche, and other nations were forced to move to Oklahoma.

The name Oklahoma comes from the language of the Choctaw people, who were removed from Mississippi to Indian Territory by the United States Government in the early to mid-1800s. “Oklahoma” is a combination of two Choctaw words: okla, meaning ‘people’ (as in the term Miliki okla, which means ‘American people’), and homa (also spelled homma or humma) which means, among other things, ‘red.’ The name was suggested by Allen Wright, Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation from 1866 to 1870.

The Five Civilized Tribes set up towns such as Tulsa, Tahlequah, and Muskogee, which became some of the larger towns in the state. They also brought their African slaves to Oklahoma, which added to African-American population in the region.

During the Civil War many tribes were internally split between the Confederates and the Union. However, in 1861 the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Quapaws, Senecas, Caddos, Wichitas, Osage Nation, and Shawnees all signed treaties of alliance with the Confederacy. Stand Watie fought several battles in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma

Ada     Afton     Altus     Alva     Anadarko     Ardmore     Atoka     Bartlesville     Blackwell     Broken Arrow     Broken Bow     Catoosa     Chandler     Checotah     Chickasha     Claremore     Clinton     Del City     Duncan     Durant     Edmond     El Reno     Elk City     Enid     Erick     Frederick     Glenpool     Grove     Guthrie     Guymon     Henryetta     Hinton     Idabel     Lawton     Locust Grove     Lone Wolf     McAlester     Miami     Midwest City     Moore     Muskogee     Norman     Oklahoma City     Okmulgee     Owasso     Pauls Valley     Perry     Ponca City     Poteau     Pryor     Purcell     Roland     Sallisaw     Sand Springs     Savanna     Shawnee     Stillwater     Stilwell     Stroud     Sulphur     Tahlequah     Tulsa     Vinita     Wagoner     Weatherford     Woodward     Yukon