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| This 1895 Atlas map depicts Oklahoma Territory in pink and Indian Territory in yellow |
| What's In a Name? The Many Faces of Oklahoma History People unfamiliar with southwestern history can get mightily confused with the different names given to the state of Oklahoma. And because it is a relatively young state, many don't even know the copious history that exists, anyway. Unlike any other state in the Union, Oklahoma's history can be readily identified by the various legal names it has carried over the years. Becoming American The area that is now Oklahoma had both Spanish and French claims to it, but ultimately the Americans gained the land through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 (the Louisiana Purchase boundary was deemed to go a bit south of the Red River into Texas, and this is why the first American settlements of Texas occurred along the Red River, not at Austin's colony. However, the 1819 Adams-Onis Treaty defined the boundary better). The Oklahoma panhandle was not included in the Adams-Onis Treaty and remained "no-man's land" up until Oklahoma Organic Act of 1890. Indian Territory The Louisiana Purchase made the land that would become Oklahoma a border state, and was considered a kind of buffer between the Aglo east and the Spanish west. Maybe that's why Andrew Jackson decided that the area would become the new homelands for expelled Indian tribes in the East; in any event, he designated the land "Indian Territory" and throughout his administration several tribes were expelled from their homes. The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek - who had been designated the "Five Civilized Tribes" - thus made the hard journey west to an unfamiliar and very different landscape. The tribes had known large hardwood forests and lush bottom lands. Indian Territory was rocky, dry, and brushy. Some of the Native Americans set up life in their new lands that approximated their old ways, but many members had become "Americanized" through the years and continued that behavior. As they had been expelled from southern states, all of the tribes owned slaves, but the slaves' treatment differed considerably in each group. They also brought with them cotton culture. Civil War The Civil War along the Red River merits a whole other section; suffice to say, the South lost, and as Indian Territory had been deemed by the Union as Confederate sympathizers. Of course, that was not completely true; there were Unionists and Confederates not just within the territory, but among the tribes as well. It was literally brother fighting brother in some instances. Most of the Indians did not own slaves or have plantations, and they resented having to fight for those who did. After the war, the federal government voided all previous treaties with the Five Civilized Tribes, even though half of the tribes had remained loyal. The 1866 Treaties with each of the Five Civilized Tribes stipulated that, among other conditions, the tribes allow their lands to the west to be redistributed for an new influx of dispossessed Indians. The tribes were also to release land to the railroad right of way. The breakdown of Indian Territory had begun. Oklahoma Territory When the railroads, speculators and new tribes entered, the old communal land holding ways of the Native Americans were ignored. The new tribes were forced to homestead a certain number of acres. The left-over acreage was then free game for speculators, bankers, and railroad and industry promoters, and they promoted settlement by calling on white homesteaders. The first Land Run on the unassigned lands - in the middle of the state, where Oklahoma City now lies - occurred by presidential Proclamation on April 22, 1889. Congress decided to protect the eastern part of the territory by establishing the Oklahoma Organic Act (1890), which designated that the east remain "Indian Territory" and the west become "Oklahoma Territory." Oklahoma Territory was considered white man's land. The End of Indian Territory The Dawes Commission Act of 1893 was lauded as an attempt to get the eastern Indian Territory to act more "American" - meaning, to lose their communal ways and become private property holders. The Act, which passed as a rider to an Indian appropriations bill, stipulated that all Indians had to register with the Indian Bureau to claim benefits (many did not for fear of persecution), and that the land of the Five Civilized Tribes would be redistributed by allotment. The remaining acreage would then be opened for settlement via a land lottery. By 1906, the lands were allotted, the open lands grabbed up, and the last frontier was now settled. It was time for statehood. Oklahoma or Sequoyah? Indian Territory had proposed to be its own separate state, named Sequoyah, but Congress didn't buy it. Instead, Theodore Roosevelt signed the Enabling Act, which made the territories eligible for statehood - but only as one unit. The territorial government did not even recognize Indian nationhood anymore. After the Constitutional Convention of 1906 in Guthrie, to which all counties within Oklahoma and Indian territories sent delegates, the new state was founded. Oklahoma was admitted into the Union as the 56th state on September 17, 1907. The history of the creation of Oklahoma is one of deceit, opportunity, and dreams. Of all the states in the Union, it surely is the most fascinating story - and the most tragic. |
| The abandoned Altus railroad depot (with Thurber brick sidewalk) |
| An overgrown remnant of the Old Military Road through Boggy Depot, Shawnee Cattle Drive stop and Civil War ghost town |
| The backside of downtown Idabel |
| The busy train station at Davis, with modern elevators in the background, indicates the hold railroads still have over the state |
| Want to know more about Oklahoma history? Visit the Red River Historian Bookstore! |
| Oil became a booming business for Oklahoma after statehood. For the most part, Native American tribes were paid for the oil. But all lost substantial amounts of their lands. The Osage oil fields north of Oklahoma City were so rich that unscrupulous men married Osage women, then murdered them, to obtain their oil leases. |
A Brief History on Names
