Faces and Voices 39 Tribes in Oklahoma Opening

Faces and Voices: 39 Tribes in Oklahoma Opening August 2017

Exhibit Overview • 39 tribes headquartered in Oklahoma • 38 are federally recognized • + 1 tribe that is recognized by the state • 2010 census – OK has 2 nd highest proportion of American Indians in population (12. 9%) and is 2 nd highest in raw population numbers • All the tribes were removed to or confined to Indian Territory starting in the 1830 s • Focus on ways in which tribal members maintained cultural identity over time, yet continued to adapt to a larger non-Indian culture • Cover time period from each tribe’s removal to approximately the mid-twentieth century

Exhibit Theme The Faces & Voices: Native Peoples of Oklahoma exhibition will feature information about the 39 Native American tribes that are headquartered in the state of Oklahoma. This exhibition will focus on ways in which tribal members maintained their cultural identity after being removed to Indian Territory during the nineteenth century, and continuing through statehood and on into the mid twentieth century. This time period is well represented in the Western History Collections, which has materials that show both the preservation of cultural practices and the adaptations of Oklahoma Indian peoples in the areas of the arts, literature, education, religion, the preservation of native languages, government, and advocating for increased recognition and civil rights.

Federally Recognized Tribes in Oklahoma (from Federal Register, 5/4/2016) • Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma • Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town • Apache Tribe of Oklahoma • Caddo Nation of Oklahoma • Cherokee Nation • Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma • Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma • Comanche Nation, Oklahoma • Delaware Tribe of Indians Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma Kaw Nation, Oklahoma Kialegee Tribal Town Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma • Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma • • •

Federally Recognized Tribes in Oklahoma (from Federal Register, 5/4/2016) • • • Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma Seneca-Cayuga Nation Shawnee Tribe The Chickasaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma The Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Osage Nation The Quapaw Tribe of Indians The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma Thlopthlocco Tribal Town Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma • Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie), Oklahoma • Wyandotte Nation • Plus, Euchee (Yuchi) Tribe of Indians not federally recognized • • •

Opportunities • Provide a more holistic view of Native American tribes’ resilience, adaptability, and contributions • Contribute to a community that values diversity; support some of the other campus initiatives to increase opportunities for Native Americans in the state (NAS Department, campus tribal liaison, Center for Native Nations) • Become active partners with other units on campus • Contribute course materials in general, but possibly inspire a Presidential Dream Course • Spark ideas for research (students, faculty, community members) • Strengthen relationships with tribes and tribal libraries and continue to inform them of the materials available here • Develop connections with organizations that serve multiple tribes • Possibly inspire individuals or organizations to donate collections, especially welcome if they fill some gaps (but only if donating to their own tribal library is not appropriate or feasible).

WHC and OU Libraries are uniquely positioned to do this exhibit • WHC has a wealth of materials to contribute as content • WHC has a breadth of collections on Native Americans in this state • Covering from mid-19 th century to mid-20 th century • WHC has a variety of formats, which will add dimension to the story • OHS also has a large scope, a variety of materials, and a lot of materials, but we have some that they don’t have. For example, WHC has • Cherokee Nation Papers • papers of individuals who were tribal members • papers of researchers who worked closely with particular tribes • Tribes ask us for information; it will certainly be relevant for them to see more examples of what the WHC has • We can tap into the expertise of faculty, staff, and students, as well as other museums and collections on campus

Ideas for Organizing Content (to be refined based upon input from collaborators) Display for each tribe • Include items from the collections that illustrate major episodes or significant time frames for each tribe (This will require consultation. ) • Or, organize items by decade since their move to Indian Territory • Want to demonstrate how each tribe preserved their cultural identity over time, yet also adapted to the larger mainstream American culture.

Ideas for Organizing Content (to be refined based upon input from collaborators) Displays on common themes • • • Christianity, churches Native American Church Education, including, but not limited to, boarding schools; higher education Military service during wars, veteran organizations Athletics, including famous athletes, and local baseball leagues Pow-wows Arts and literature Entertainers, including Wild West shows, musicians Community centers, fairs and expositions Advocacy, civil rights, and Indian Claims Commissions work; steps toward selfgovernance

Formats • Photographs • Manuscripts • Maps • Sound recordings • Books • Art works • Artifacts

Photo examples • Photo from Phillips Collection – Annette Ross Hume photographer, Lillie, 1900 • Photo from Nesbitt-Lenders Collection – performers at Wild West Show • Photo from Jerry Whistler Snow Collection – OU Sequoyah Club, 1930 s • Photo at community center on Moccasin Trail, 1940 s • Photo of WWI veteran • Photo from Wilma Mankiller Collection

Some manuscript examples • American Indian Institute Collection • Materials related to the Indian Pageant at O. U. Entitled "Arrows to Atoms" Including Performer Lists, Contracts, and Articles, 1956 • Cherokee Cultural Center: Correspondence, budgets, reports, etc. relative to the development of the Cherokee cultural center; Trail of Tears Drama, TSA‑LA‑GI Village, and Cherokee Nation Museum. • Walter Stanley Campbell Collection • Excerpt from a manuscript by Carl Sweezy, regarding the Cheyenne and Arapaho as freighters at an Indian agency, n. d. • Research materials regarding Arapaho Indians, 1925 -1951. • correspondence to and from L. S. Bonnin, U. S. Department of Interior, Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency in Concho • Seminole Nation Museum Collection – 8/14/1950 article in Seminole Producer commemorating 100 yrs of Spring Indian Baptist Church, Sasakwa, OK

Additional Manuscript Examples • Map of Choctaw Nation • Map of Osage Indian Reservation, 1911 • Posters • State Indian Fair, Craterville Park, 1950 s • National Vietnam Veterans Pow-Wow, Colony, OK 1984

Sound Recordings • Doris Duke Collection – interviews from late 1960 s – early 1970 s • Conna Mae Saddleblanket, Kiowa-Apache. Reminiscences of latter part of the reservation period and early part of the post reservation period. • Indians for Indians Hour Radio Program • Clip from April 1948: 12 -year-old student from Pawnee Indian School (he referred to as “Gravy U”) • Assorted collections, e. g. Ralph E. Cooley (Delaware language)

Books Some ideas so far: • Books written by Native American authors from Oklahoma ex: John Joseph Mathews • Hymnals • Language primers • Indian Sign Language (1865) article in Fall 2002 Sooner Magazine says that this was Dale’s first book purchase

Examples of Art Works or Artifacts Held in the WHC • John Joseph Mathews – Talking to the Moon • Woody Crumbo – Deer and Papoose (note: papoose is no longer an acceptable term for an infant, but this is the artist’s title) • Carl Sweezy – The Home of the Indian • Cherokee Matrices – these are molds used to cast letters for printing the Cherokee syllabary

Possible Campus Partnerships/Collaborators • Departments • • • Native American Studies History School of Library and Information Studies English, Anthropology, etc. Want input from several people, but want to ask at least one person to be a guest curator or otherwise top-level contributor or advisor • Colleges • • Fine Arts Education Law Honors • Other Collections • Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, most likely Native Languages department • Fred Jones Junior Museum of Art • Carl Albert Center

Potential Community Partnerships • Tribes or tribal libraries and cultural centers • Norman Public Schools Indian Education Program • Jacobson House • Oklahoma Library Association – Tribal Libraries Committee • Tulsa City-County Library