Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court fulfilled its legal duty and moral obligation, ruling that almost half of Oklahoma was American Indian land in one of the most far-reaching Native American cases to come before the highest USA court in decades. Three million acres of land in east Oklahoma was returned to the Muscogee Creek Nation, to meet the original boundaries of the Nation under the Treaty of 1866.
Oklahoma’s position in Native American history has been significant, being the unassigned land that almost 60,000 American Indians were forced to relocate to from their ancestral homelands, following the passage of the Indian Removal Act, 1830. The mass migration of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek and Seminole nations, as well as their African Slaves became known as the Trail of Tears which continued for the next two decades.
With the headquarters of 39 American Indian nations based in the state and a total of 67 Native American nations having called Oklahoma home, the strong heritage and culture that has come with these is very much a part of Oklahoma’s identity today, with two new American Indian attractions due to open in the next year – The First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City (2021), and the Choctaw Cultural Center (late 2020) in Durant, home of the Choctaw Nation Oklahoma Headquarters.
American Indian Culture can easily be experienced across Oklahoma via car, RV or motorcycle. Feel the heart-stopping power of a traditional tribal dance to a drum beat at a sacred powwow. Be swept away by the intricate details of colourful regalia at a parade and experience the deep peace and reverence of the earliest Oklahomans with a visit to one of many historical sites that celebrate their rich tribal heritage. As we dream of taking an international road trip, here’s 10 top locations and experiences to plan into a Native American inspired journey through Oklahoma once the borders open:
1. Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, OK
Located in the foothills of Oklahoma’s Ozark Mountains in Tahlequah, the Cherokee Heritage Center conveys the detailed history and vibrant heritage of the Cherokee people, as well as their time in Oklahoma. Experience how the Cherokee people lived by touring the numerous displays scattered throughout 44 wooded acres, including the Diligwa 1710 Cherokee Village, with demonstrations of early cultural practices in Cherokee life before European contact, such as basketry, flint knapping and Cherokee stickball. Inside the heritage center, feel the pain of the Trail of Tears by touring an exhibit featuring life-size sculptures depicting the emotional forced removal of the Cherokees from their indigenous territory.
2. Cherokee National History Museum, Tahlequah, OK
Less than 5 miles from the Heritage Center is the Cherokee National History Museum which first opened in August 2019. Located in the iconic Cherokee National Capitol Building, the building originally housed the tribe’s executive, legislative and judicial offices from 1869 – 1906 and was most recently the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court before transforming into a space dedicated to sharing the tribe’s history and culture with the rest of the world. Exhibits feature commissioned art by Cherokee Nation artists, alongside displays of preserved artefacts and interactive augmented reality stations.
3. Chickasaw Recreation Area and Chickasaw Cultural Centre, Sulphur, OK
Located in the foothills of the Arbuckle Mountains in Sulphur, Chickasaw National Recreation Area is Oklahoma’s oldest national park and an under-the-radar nature spot. The government purchased 640 acres of land from the Chickasaw Nation in 1902 to protect the mineral and freshwater springs, with additional acreage bought in 1906 and renamed Platt National Park. Joined with the Lake of the Arbuckles, the two parks joined to form the Chickasaw National Recreation Area 70 years later. Road trippers can choose from six campgrounds within the park to explore the 30+ trails and enjoy swimming, boating, horseback riding and cycling across this expansive land.
Immerse yourself in Chickasaw civilization from the tribe’s pre-Oklahoma existence through the triumphs of the tribe today at the Chickasaw Cultural Center, on the edge of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. This grand cultural centre, which sits on more than 100 acres of Chickasaw land in south-central Oklahoma, allows visitors to see, feel and even taste the heritage of the Chickasaw tribe through interactive exhibits, botanical displays and traditional dwellings. Walk through the powerful Removal Corridor to view the painful journey that brought the Chickasaws to Oklahoma and feel as though you’re traversing the bleak winter landscape yourself. While at the center, join the inner circle of a long-practiced stomp dance and get a taste of true Chickasaw culture at the Aaimpa’ Café, where traditional fare such as grape dumplings, Indian fry bread and pashofa (a corn soup) are served.
4. National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City
Home to an internationally-renowned collection of more than 28,000 classic and contemporary Western and American Indian art works and artefacts, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum paints a vibrant picture of the American West, while preserving its history and cultures. Begin and end your visit at James Earle Fraser’s emotion-invoking sculpture The End of the Trail, depicting a lone Native American on a weary horse. A new outdoor area, Liichokoshkomo’ (meaning Let’s Play), will have you navigating between tipis, Puebloan cliff dwellings and an interactive chuck wagon, with the opportunity to grind corn, add to weaving on a giant loom and hear from cross-cultural story tellers. Learn more about Cowboy culture, American Rodeo (with world’s most extensive collection of American rodeo photos, saddlery and rodeo trophies), and immerse yourself in Prosperity Junction – a fully-constructed frontier cattle town.
5. Red Earth Art Center, Oklahoma City
Visit the Red Earth Art Center each June (delayed in 2020 to September) and witness the cities, if not the country’s, greatest display of American Indian visual and performing arts at the Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival. Watch a celebratory parade of tribal spirit as representatives of more than 100 tribes overtake the streets of Oklahoma City in native regalia. Don’t miss the festival’s heart stopping Grand Entry, when dancers in tribal dress compete to the powerful beat of drums, and stick around for the juried art show and market.
6. Sequoyah’s Cabin, Sallisaw, OK
Sequoyah, the famous Cherokee silversmith who developed the written alphabet for the Cherokee language, is memorialized on Oklahoma soil at Sequoyah’s Cabin in Sallisaw. Tour this one-room cabin, which Sequoyah built in 1829, and transport yourself to the days when Sequoyah worked to increase literacy within the Cherokee Nation. Learn the basics of Sequoyah’s working syllabary at the museum, where other Cherokee artifacts are also on display, and reflect on Sequoyah’s great accomplishment and contribution to Oklahoma heritage as you roam the very grounds Sequoyah once walked within the 10-acre park surrounding the cabin.
7. Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK
The famous Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, home to one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of American Indian and Western art, showcases Oklahoma’s one-of-a-kind American Indian history in a way that honours tribal culture through the preservation of anthropological finds and renowned artwork. Located on 475 sprawling acres protected by native grasses, the museum features everything from Navajo rugs and detailed jewellery, to breathtaking beadwork and intricate pottery. Feel the spirit of Oklahoma’s American Indian tribes through artwork created for beauty and function, and pause to reflect on these art pieces that serve as dynamic catalysts for both tribal unity and appreciation.
8. Standing Bear Park, Museum & Education Center, Ponca City
Standing Bear may have been a chief of the Ponca tribe, but the towering statue erected in his honor in Ponca City stands as a tribute to every Native American. Famous for his landmark speech before a U.S. District Court in 1879 stating that all American Indians regardless of tribe deserved the same recognition and protection under the law as white men, Standing Bear paved the way for native rights in this country. Standing two stories high and made of bronze, this larger-than-life representation of the chief at Standing Bear Park captures his spirit of compassion and zeal. After viewing the statue of Standing Bear, take a moment to stroll along the on-site walking trails and consider the incredible legacy of the six area Native American tribes: Osage, Pawnee, Otoe-Missouria, Kaw, Tonkawa and Ponca. Don’t miss the renowned Standing Bear Powwow, held each year in September, to witness as representatives from these six tribes gather for intertribal dancing, powerful singing and lively drumming within the park.
9. Osage Nation Museum, Pawhuska, OK
The Osage Nation Museum is the oldest tribally owned museum in the USA. This Pawhuska landmark has an extensive photograph collection, historical artefacts and art collection telling the story of the Osage people. Take time to explore the spirited mix of American Indian and western culture in the town of Pawhuska, where 86 of the 98 downtown buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town’s heritage is deeply interwoven with the Osage Nation, named in honour of Chief Paw-Hiu-Skah.
10. Five Civilized Tribes Museum, Muskogee, OK
Step into the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee and you will be standing on a piece of sacred American Indian history. While the museum is packed with one-of-a-kind art and artefacts celebrating Native American life, the building itself plays a significant role in the history of the tribes. As the first Union Indian Agency building to house the Superintendence of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek and Seminole), this museum is uniquely able to convey the rich culture and heritage of the very five tribes, including the Muscogee Creek Nation that have now seen their tribal lands returned to them. Visitors are invited to view breathtaking paintings and sculptures that depict the American Indian journey that has been both painstaking and – now even more poignantly – celebratory.
Learn more about Oklahoma’s American Indian culture here: www.TravelOK.com/american_indian_culture
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