Every day, we take the written word for granted. It conveys thoughts and emotions. It details complex designs and abstract thoughts. If it weren’t for the written word, civilization as we know it wouldn’t exist. For a moment, imagine what life would be like without the written word. Would we still be roaming about in […]
Tag: Native American
Prehistoric Oklahoma: The Tale of An Discovery In Burnham, Oklahoma
Clovis and Pre-Clovis sites have been found all across the United States. One such site, discovered in Burnham, Oklahoma, provides many clues that help scientists learn more about how these ancient Clovis peoples lived, and how their migrations across the US and into Oklahoma affected later generations. Through careful study, scientists now understand more fully […]
Visiting the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
The building trembled as the massive Pentaceratops shook its bony head, nearly knocking the three-thousand-year-old chalice to the floor. Across the hall, deer scurried back into the woods as a great multitude of birds took flight. A youthful-looking woman of the pre-Clovis culture was thrown to the floor; her face wore the masked image of […]
Peter Conser: Tragedy and Triumph — A Tale of the Indian Territories
Indian Territories In the years following the terrible “Trail of Tears,” and before Oklahoma gained statehood, the Indian Territories remained wild and rugged. In southeastern Oklahoma, in what was once the Choctaw Nation, there lived a man who would come to define what it meant to be victorious over an unforgiving frontier. Early Life of […]
Oklahoma Treasure: The Miners Loot at Black Dog Trail Crossing
“Boys I believe I have found a gold mine!” All it took was these simple words to set in motion a global cascade of events that forever changed the American West. It was in 1848 when an obscure New Jersey carpenter and mechanic named James W. Marshall uttered these words. By 1849, gold passion was […]
Judge Isaac Parker: The Hanging Judge of Indian Territory
Post-Civil War Lawlessness He was only one man, but this one man wielded his power like a razor-sharp sword. It had been ten years since the end of the American Civil War. Ten years for lawlessness to spread across Indian Territory like an inferno. The territory had been set aside in 1834 as a refuge […]
Native America and a Civil War Tale: The Fascinating Story of Indian City in Anadarko, Oklahoma
Indian City, USA was founded on the very site of the massacre of the Tonkawa Indians by the Shawnees and other mercenaries during the Civil War. Due to their loyalty to the Confederacy, the tribe was nearly exterminated by pro-Union Indians. In October of 1862, warriors from the Delaware, Shawnee, and Caddo tribes united to […]
The Ghosts of Ft. Washita, Oklahoma: A Civil War Haunting Ground
Tonight would change her life – for eternity. The azure moon hung low over Ft. Washita, its crescent shape casting faded shadows that snaked across the lawn like a wraith. Crouching in the shadows, she scanned the Fort for Confederate soldiers. Besides a couple guards posted at the guardhouse, the grounds were empty. The officers’ […]
Spiro Mounds: Spanish Gold, Empires, and Southeast Oklahoma
What Is Spiro Mounds? Spiro Mounds is part of an ancient American Indian empire located in Spiro, Oklahoma. This is the story of that empire. Spiro Mounds: In Search of a Legend It was in 1541 when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto ventured through Southeastern Oklahoma. With a little less than 300 men, de […]
Oklahoma Attractions: Fun Things to Do in Oklmulgee
Okmulgee, Oklahoma: A Historical Treasure Situated only 40 minutes south of Tulsa, Okmulgee is a small town rich with history and teeming with wildlife. The history of Okmulgee begins in 1868. After the Civil War, the Creek Nation began restoring order to their devastated homeland and came together in a great council to establish a […]