Oklahoma

Oklahoma Land Run anniversary: What to know about rocky history, Bricktown sculpture updates

Published

9 months ago

April 22, 2024

Oklahoma Land Run anniversary: What to know about rocky history, Bricktown sculpture updates

Over 130 years ago this month, thousands of settlers rushed to stake their claim of 160 acres in the so-called “unassigned lands” of Oklahoma territory, marking the beginning of what would eventually become the state of Oklahoma.

That event, which started on April 22, 1889, is also a source of generational trauma for many Oklahoma tribal members, who are reminded by the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run of their ancestors’ forcible removal here. There are 39 federally recognized tribes based in Oklahoma today, many of whom were granted or sold land that was a fraction of the areas they previously occupied for centuries.

Since their removal, they have endured decades of hardship, from boarding schools where students were forced to cut their hair, only speak English and were often abused, to continued loss of land through government allotments and subsequent land runs, and suppression of tribal sovereignty.

Here’s what to know about the 1889 land run, how it originated, and the effects it still has today.

Oklahoma Land Rush: Where did ‘Unassigned Lands’ come from?

The land, nearly 1.9 million acres, was deemed open for settlement 23 years after the Five Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee/Creek, and Seminole) signed new treaties with the United States in 1866, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.

The tribes ceded portions of their land — along with agreeing to end slavery, allow railroads to enter the area and grant former slaves full tribal citizenship — after signing treaties with and fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Much of that land was used to remove other tribes to the area, the Oklahoma Historical Society said, including the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche and others.

But a large portion of land in the center of the state remained empty, and was eventually deemed “unassigned.” There were campaigns to open the land up for settlement, but because of stipulations in 1866 treaties with the Creek and Seminole, the land was supposed to be used only for re-settlement of other native tribes.

But in 1889, the Creek and Seminole tribes presented proposals to relinquish any claim they previously had on the land, placing the land in the public domain.

The legal basis for opening the Oklahoma District, now called the Unassigned Lands, came

So in 1889, in the U.S. Congress amended the Indian Appropriations Bill to authorize President Benjamin Harrison to proclaim the two-million-acre region open for settlement. That spring, would-be settlers flooded the area in preparation, and on April 22, 1889, guns and cannons went off at noon, marking the “opening” of Oklahoma for non-native settlement.

Changes coming near Oklahoma City land run monument

For decades, the land run has been celebrated and even re-enacted at elementary schools. But those events have drawn protest from groups like the Society to Protect Indigenous Rights and Indigenous Treaties (SPIRIT), and many schools have stopped the practice.

But a permanent, bronze, larger-than-life monument to the land run stands tall in Lower Bricktown. A set of 45 statues depicts the event, stretching 365 feet across the southern end of the Bricktown Canal.

The monument, created by Oklahoma artist and citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Paul Moore, has been the recipient of protest since 2007 when SPIRIT formed to oppose centennial statehood celebrations.

The group again protested the monument and its heroic depiction of land run participants during the summer of 2020 and the racial reckoning which was bringing down monuments across the nation that honored people like Christopher Columbus and Confederate Army generals.

The group met with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who rejected a proposal to tear down the monument completely but helped connect the group with the late city arts liaison Robbie Kienzle.

Since then, the group and the city have been working together to provide more context to the monument, specifically from the perspective of indigenous peoples. A report was presented in 2022 to the Oklahoma City Arts Commission — compiled by mother-and-son Anita Fields, who is Osage and Muscogee, and Yatika Fields, who is Osage, Muscogee and Cherokee — which determined the monument is one-sided and “hurtful” to Oklahoma’s Indigenous communities.

Randy Marks, Oklahoma City’s Arts Program Planner, said the city expects to announce within the next three months a Request for Proposals for a “cultural exhibit” that will be adjacent to the land run monument.

“The exhibit will convey an indigenous perspective on the indigenous cultural and historical context leading up to and including the land run event,” Marks said.

Source link

Click to comment

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Dept. Of Education Jan. 28 meeting

Published

9 hours ago

January 28, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma State Dept. Of Education Jan. 28 meeting

The Oklahoma State Department of Education is holding a board meeting Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, January 28th 2025, 8:43 am

By:

David Prock

OKLAHOMA CITY –

The Oklahoma State Department of Education is holding a board meeting Tuesday morning.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters will lead the meeting by discussing deregulation applications, civic engagement programs, and more.

Griffin Media is streaming the meeting at NewsOn6.com and on YouTube.

The full agenda for the meeting can be read below:

Source link

Oklahoma

Oklahoma legislation set to listen to some new education-based bills

Published

21 hours ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma legislation set to listen to some new education-based bills

OKLAHOMA CITY (KSWO) – The Oklahoma Legislature is set to hear a number of bills that could impact schools across the state.

One bill would adjust teacher pay in Oklahoma setting the starting salary at $50,000 and shifting other pay tiers to reflect that change.

Another bill would task school districts to adopt and enforce policies restricting cell phone use in the class with minimal exceptions.

The third education bill would prevent universities in Oklahoma from using state funds to support diversity-focused efforts and programs.

Source link

Oklahoma

These 10 sites are the strangest landmarks in Oklahoma, WorldAtlas says

Published

1 day ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

These 10 sites are the strangest landmarks in Oklahoma, WorldAtlas says

From a large blue whale in a landlocked state to a haunted mansion, Oklahoma is home to several odd landmarks that attract visitors from all over.

WorldAtlas recently named these weird sites the 10 strangest landmarks in Oklahoma.

Blue Whale of Catoosa

Location: 2600 N State Hwy 66, Catoosa

A local celebrity resides along Route 66 year-round in northeast Oklahoma, welcoming visitors into its aquatic belly.

The Blue Whale of Catoosa was built by zoologist Hugh S. David in 1972 so that his grandchildren could play in the nearby pond, according to Travel Oklahoma. David’s friend, Harold Thomas, assisted the zoologist in building the The 20-feet-tall and 80-feet-wide mammal over a span of two years.

While swimming is no longer available, visitors can still picnic and fish with the famous Blue Whale.

World’s largest peanut

Location: 300 W Evergreen St., Durant

A small city in southeast Oklahoma is home to the world’s largest peanut commemorated with a statue outside of Durant City Hall, according to Travel Oklahoma. The statue was dedicated in 1974.

“Dedicated to the Bryan County peanut growers and processors,” inscription reads.

Circus cemetery: Mount Olivet Cemetery

Location: Trice & S 8th St., Hugo

Hugo, another small city in southeast Oklahoma, has a cemetery for rodeo greats Freckles Brown, Lane Frost, Todd Watley and L. Hammock, according to Travel Oklahoma.

Mount Olivet Cemetery is also the final resting place for Ed Ansley, also known as Buster Brown, and William H. Darrough, the founder of Hugo.

Blanchard Cemetery

Location: 2318 North Council Ave., Blanchard

Another known cemetery in Oklahoma is the Blanchard Cemetery where visitors may see a dark figure in a trench coat waving at them, according to WorldAtlas.

If they keep walking, they may spot a little girl flitting between the gravestones, or hear a small child crying or see a blue light hovering over the graves in Section 2, the website says.

Overholser Mansion

Location: 405 NW 15th St, Oklahoma City

The Overholser Mansion, the former abode of Henry and Anna Ione Overholser, is a most famous haunt in Oklahoma City. The ghost-story-filled mansion has been a museum and public venue for decades.

Some claim the ghost of Anna Ione Overholser, once the queen of Oklahoma City society, still haunts the home. She wears a pearl-decked lacy white gown, her dark hair piled gracefully around her face.

Frog Rock

Location: Frog Rd., Terlton

A large amphibian sits in Terlton on Frog Road just outside of Mannford. The six-foot-tall rock formation is painted green and white to look like a frog, according to Travel Oklahoma.

To get to it, trek over a bridge and through backwoods, but don’t worry — it can’t hop away before you reach it.

Cimmy the Dinosaur

Location: 1300 N Cimarron, Boise City

Sitting outside of the Cimarron Heritage Center in Boise City is Cimmy the Dinosaur, a metal Apatosaurus, measuring 65 feet long, 35 feet high and weighs thousands of pounds, according to Travel Oklahoma.

The dinosaur was created as a real life representation of a dinosaur that was extracted from Cimarron County in the 1930s. It’s referred to as a “Cimarronasaurus,” according to the state’s travel website.

Center of the Universe

Location: 20 E Archer St., Tulsa

Located in downtown Tulsa, the Center of the Universe if an 8-feet concrete circle described as an “acoustic anomaly” by Travel Oklahoma.

Noises made inside the brick circle is loudly echoed, but only those inside the circle can hear it. Loud sounds heard inside the circle cannot be heard from outside the perimeter of the brick structure.

Lake Hefner Lighthouse

Location: Lake Hefner Pkwy., Oklahoma City

Lake Hefter Lighthouse, officially the Lighthouse at East Wharf, in Oklahoma City is one of the finest spots in Oklahoma City to watch the setting sun.

The 36-foot lighthouse, beige with burgundy trim and a locked green door, was built in 1999 as part of a development project led by Randy Hogan. The lighthouse is modeled after the Brant Point Light Station on the north side of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.

Gravity Hill

Location: Pioneer (Pitt) Rd., Springer

Gravity Hill, or Magnetic Hill, is another anomaly in Oklahoma near Springer. On the hill, drivers will sense that instead of their car rolling downhill with the motor turned off, it’ll actually roll uphill, according to Travel Oklahoma.

The website instructs visitors to drive to Pioneer Road, stop the car at the bottom of the hill and put it in neutral, then feel a force “pull” you and the car up the hill.

Source link