Native American History | Oklahoma Historical Society
Source: https://www.okhistory.org/learn/native-history
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:33
Native American History | Oklahoma Historical Society
Native American History
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Native American History
The Art of Woody Big Bow
Now on Exhibit
Works by Kiowa artist Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Big Bow are on exhibit at the
Oklahoma History Center Museum
in Oklahoma City. Born in Carnegie, Big Bow was the grandson of Kiowa chief Zepko-ette, and he studied art at the University of Oklahoma under the instruction of Oscar B. Jacobson. Big Bow is best known for the Thunderbird insignia he designed for Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Division. The exhibit includes sketches of the 45th Infantry logo from the collection.
Big Bow employed the narrative-based style of painting known as Flatstyle, which was popularized by Native American artists in the 20th century. Flatstyle emphasizes shape and contour by using limited shading and perspective. Examples of this technique painted by Big Bow are included in the exhibition.
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Discover Oklahoma’s Native history, culture, stories, and people in our online encyclopedia.
Saginaw Grant
Actors and Performers
Ataloa (Mary Stone McLendon)
Yvonne Chouteau
Alvin Burke Deer
George Weidlen Deer Jr.
Saginaw Grant
Clu Gulager
Rosella Hightower
Moscelyne Larkin
Will Rogers
Will Sampson
Wes Studi
Maria Tallchief
Marjorie Tallchief
Te Ata
Athletes
Allie Reynolds
Jim Thorpe
Moses J. YellowHorse
Joan Hill
Artists
Spencer Asah
James Auchiah
Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Big Bow
Acee Blue Eagle
Blackbear Bosin
T. C. Cannon
Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Crumbo
Joan Hill
Jack Hokeah
Allan Houser (Haozous)
Vanessa Jennings
Ruthe Blalock Jones
Kiowa Six
Stephen Mopope
Lois Smoky
Ernest Spybuck
Willard Stone
Carl Sweezy
Jerome Tiger
Monroe Tsatoke
Dick West Sr.
Doc Tate Nevaquaya
Musicians
Louis Wayne Ballard
Jesse Ed Davis III
Tessie Mobley
Doc Tate Nevaquaya
Writers and Historians
Ruth Margaret Muskrat Bronson
Czarina Conlan
Rachel Caroline Eaton
Joy Harjo
John Joseph Mathews
Navarre Scott Momaday
Narcissa Owen
Alexander Posey
Carter Revard
John Ridge
John Rollin Ridge
Lynn Riggs
Will Rogers
Emmet Starr
Native Culture
Architecture
Art
Basketry
Beadwork
Dance
The Daughter of Dawn
Games
Ghost Dance
Medicine
Military Societies
Music
Native American Church
Oral Tradition
Pottery
Ranching
Sofkey
Sun Dance
Traditional Arts
Trail of Tears
(pageant)
Wild Onion Dinners
Cherokee Advocate
Historic Publications
Cherokee Advocate
Cherokee Phoenix
Indian Journal
Twin Territories: The Indian Magazine
More Topics
American Indians
American Indians and Christianity
American Indians and Education
American Indian Exposition
American Indian Federation
American Indian Movement
Discover more topics in
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
.
Researching Native History
Explore the Archives
Find photographs, newspapers, manuscripts, oral histories, film, maps, and so much more.
The Gateway to Oklahoma History
- view collections online
Research Catalog
- search holdings available in the OHS Research Center
Digitized Newspapers
Search and read over 5,000 issues of Native American newspapers on The Gateway to Oklahoma History including the
Daily Chieftain
, the
Cherokee Advocate
, the
Tahlequah Arrow
, the
Indian Advocate
, and others.
Start exploring digitized newspapers.
Manuscript Guides
View our PDF guides listing collections in the Manuscript Archives by topic.
Boarding Schools
General Topics
Proposed State of Sequoyah and the Sequoyah Convention
Topics by Tribal Nation
The Chronicles of Oklahoma
Access more than 380 issues of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s scholarly journal on The Gateway to Oklahoma History.
The Chronicles of Oklahoma
online
Oral Histories
Listen to oral histories with, and about, influential Native Americans.
Audio Archives on YouTube
Voices of Oklahoma website
Archival Footage
Many videos from the OHS archives are available on YouTube.
Film and Video Archives on YouTube
A Very OK Podcast
Discover Native stories in our monthly podcast.
“Battle of Honey Springs,” 2021
“Battle of the Washita,” 2022
“The Choctaw Code Talkers,” 2024
“The Five Moons,” 2024
“Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis,” 2024
“The Seminoles in Oklahoma,” 2025
“Two Worldviews in Conflict,” 2023
“What is Spiro?,” April 2021
America’s Exiles: Indian Colonization in Oklahoma,
Arrell Morgan Gibson, ed.
Read online
|
Epub
Between Two Worlds: The Survival of Twentieth Century Indians,
Arrell Morgan Gibson, ed.
Read online
|
Epub
Indian Leaders: Oklahoma’s First Statesmen
, H. Glenn Jordan and Thomas M. Holm, eds.
Read online
|
Epub
Oklahoma’s Forgotten Indians
, Robert E. Smith, ed.
Read online
|
Epub
Explore Historic Places
The Creek Council House in Okmulgee is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmarks
Many of Oklahoma’s National Historic Landmarks have a connection to Native Americans. Oklahoma’s landmarks include archaeological sites, forts and battlefields, the capitols of Native nations, and the cabin owned by Sequoyah, creator of the Cherokee syllabary.
Learn more in
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
.
The National Register of Historic Places
Listing in the National Register of Historic Places is an honorific designation that provides recognition, limited protection, and, in some cases, financial incentives for these important properties. The
State Historic Preservation Office
identifies, evaluates, and nominates properties for this special designation. Use the links below to access the National Register nomination for a specific property.
American Baptist Home Mission House, Tahlequah
Anadarko Downtown Historic District, Anadarko
Bacone College Historic District, Muskogee
Benjamin Franklin Smallwood House, Lehigh vicinity
Cherokee National Cemetery, Fort Gibson vicinity
Cherokee Supreme Court Building, Tahlequah
Chickasaw National Capitols, Tishomingo
Chief’s House, Swink vicinity
Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, Newkirk vicinity
City Hall (Osage Council House), Pawhuska
Comanche Indian Mission Cemetery, Fort Sill
Confederated Peoria Indian Thematic Resources, Miami vicinity
Cupco Church, Yanush vicinity
Creek Council Tree Site, Tulsa
Creek National Capitol, Okmulgee (National Historic Landmark)
Edwards-Hardaway Homestead and Cemetery, Red Oak
Green McCurtain House, Kinta vicinity
Honey Springs Battlefield, Rentiesville vicinity (National Historic Landmark)
Hominy Osage Round House, Hominy
Illinois Campground, Tahlequah
Isaac Billy Homestead and Family Cemetery, Daisy vicinity
Joe Ralls House, Atoka
Joseph M. Thompson House, Tahlequah
Lewis Ross-Cherokee Orphan Asylum Springhouse, Salina
Mardock Mission, Stella vicinity
Medicine Bluffs, Fort Sill
Moses Keokuk House, Stroud vicinity
Murrell Home (Hunter’s Home), Tahlequah (National Historic Landmark)
Nine Tribes Tower, Miami
Pawnee Agency & Boarding School Historic District, Pawnee
Peter Conser House, Hodgen vicinity
Quanah Parker Star House, Cache vicinity
Reverend Jess Bushyhead Grave, Westville vicinity
Seminole Whipping Tree, Wewoka
Sequoyah’s Cabin, Akins vicinity (National Historic Landmark)
Spirit of the American Doughboy
Statue, Muskogee
Splitlog Church (Cayuga Mission Church), Grove vicinity
Union Agency, Muskogee
Wheelock Academy, Millerton vicinity (National Historic Landmark)
White Eagle Park, White Eagle vicinity
White House of the Chickasaws (Governor Douglas H. Johnston House), Emet vicinity
Young Cemetery, Ardmore vicinity
Historical Markers
Our database lists hundreds of markers located across the state, including more than 200 related to Native peoples, events, and places. Search by marker name, topic, or county.
Browse markers related to Native American history.
Resources from the Oklahoma History Center Museum
Traveling Exhibits
Bring one of our traveling exhibits to your school, university, library, or community center.
Find out more.
Cherokee Nation: A Portrait of
a People
traveling exhibit
Family Album: Photographs
by Pierre Tartoue
traveling exhibit
Of Influence: Portraits of
Cherokee People
traveling exhibit
Traveling Trunk
American Indian Nations of Oklahoma in the Modern Era
This hands-on trunk includes flags, artwork, and books, as well as information on Oklahoma’s federally recognized tribal nations.
Learn more about traveling trunks.
Resources-By-Standard Guides for Educators
Guides correlating to Oklahoma History Academic Standards
View Oklahoma history standards
.
OKH.1 The student will describe the state’s geography and the historic foundations laid by American Indian, European, and American cultures.
OKH.2 The student will evaluate the major political and economic events that transformed the land and its people from early contact through Indian Removal and its aftermath.
OKH.3 The student will evaluate the major political and economic events that transformed the land and its people from the outbreak of the Civil War through allotment and land openings.
OKH.4 The student will analyze the formation of constitutional government in Oklahoma.
OKH.5 The student will examine the Oklahoma’s political, social, cultural, and economic transformation during the early decades following statehood.
OKH.6 The student will investigate how post-war social, political, and economic events continued to transform the state of Oklahoma from the 1950s through the present.
Guides correlating to US History Academic Standards
View standard USH 1.3
Analyze the impact of westward expansion and immigration on migration, settlement patterns in American society, economic growth, and American Indians.
C. Examine the rationale behind federal policies toward American Indians including the establishment of reservations, attempts at assimilation, the end of the Indian Wars at Wounded Knee, and the impact of the Dawes Act on tribal sovereignty and land ownership.
D. Compare viewpoints of American Indian resistance to United States Indian policies as evidenced by Red Cloud in his Cooper Union speech, Quanah Parker, and Chief Joseph as expressed in his “I Will Fight No More Forever” speech.
Oklahoma Historical Society
800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-521-2491
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Accessibility
|
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Get Updates in Your Inbox
Keep up to date with our weekly newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
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Native American History
Skip to Main Content
Oklahoma Historical Society
Menu
Native American History
The Art of Woody Big Bow
Now on Exhibit
Works by Kiowa artist Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Big Bow are on exhibit at the
Oklahoma History Center Museum
in Oklahoma City. Born in Carnegie, Big Bow was the grandson of Kiowa chief Zepko-ette, and he studied art at the University of Oklahoma under the instruction of Oscar B. Jacobson. Big Bow is best known for the Thunderbird insignia he designed for Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Division. The exhibit includes sketches of the 45th Infantry logo from the collection.
Big Bow employed the narrative-based style of painting known as Flatstyle, which was popularized by Native American artists in the 20th century. Flatstyle emphasizes shape and contour by using limited shading and perspective. Examples of this technique painted by Big Bow are included in the exhibition.
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Discover Oklahoma’s Native history, culture, stories, and people in our online encyclopedia.
Saginaw Grant
Actors and Performers
Ataloa (Mary Stone McLendon)
Yvonne Chouteau
Alvin Burke Deer
George Weidlen Deer Jr.
Saginaw Grant
Clu Gulager
Rosella Hightower
Moscelyne Larkin
Will Rogers
Will Sampson
Wes Studi
Maria Tallchief
Marjorie Tallchief
Te Ata
Athletes
Allie Reynolds
Jim Thorpe
Moses J. YellowHorse
Joan Hill
Artists
Spencer Asah
James Auchiah
Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Big Bow
Acee Blue Eagle
Blackbear Bosin
T. C. Cannon
Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Crumbo
Joan Hill
Jack Hokeah
Allan Houser (Haozous)
Vanessa Jennings
Ruthe Blalock Jones
Kiowa Six
Stephen Mopope
Lois Smoky
Ernest Spybuck
Willard Stone
Carl Sweezy
Jerome Tiger
Monroe Tsatoke
Dick West Sr.
Doc Tate Nevaquaya
Musicians
Louis Wayne Ballard
Jesse Ed Davis III
Tessie Mobley
Doc Tate Nevaquaya
Writers and Historians
Ruth Margaret Muskrat Bronson
Czarina Conlan
Rachel Caroline Eaton
Joy Harjo
John Joseph Mathews
Navarre Scott Momaday
Narcissa Owen
Alexander Posey
Carter Revard
John Ridge
John Rollin Ridge
Lynn Riggs
Will Rogers
Emmet Starr
Native Culture
Architecture
Art
Basketry
Beadwork
Dance
The Daughter of Dawn
Games
Ghost Dance
Medicine
Military Societies
Music
Native American Church
Oral Tradition
Pottery
Ranching
Sofkey
Sun Dance
Traditional Arts
Trail of Tears
(pageant)
Wild Onion Dinners
Cherokee Advocate
Historic Publications
Cherokee Advocate
Cherokee Phoenix
Indian Journal
Twin Territories: The Indian Magazine
More Topics
American Indians
American Indians and Christianity
American Indians and Education
American Indian Exposition
American Indian Federation
American Indian Movement
Discover more topics in
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
.
Researching Native History
Explore the Archives
Find photographs, newspapers, manuscripts, oral histories, film, maps, and so much more.
The Gateway to Oklahoma History
- view collections online
Research Catalog
- search holdings available in the OHS Research Center
Digitized Newspapers
Search and read over 5,000 issues of Native American newspapers on The Gateway to Oklahoma History including the
Daily Chieftain
, the
Cherokee Advocate
, the
Tahlequah Arrow
, the
Indian Advocate
, and others.
Start exploring digitized newspapers.
Manuscript Guides
View our PDF guides listing collections in the Manuscript Archives by topic.
Boarding Schools
General Topics
Proposed State of Sequoyah and the Sequoyah Convention
Topics by Tribal Nation
The Chronicles of Oklahoma
Access more than 380 issues of the Oklahoma Historical Society’s scholarly journal on The Gateway to Oklahoma History.
The Chronicles of Oklahoma
online
Oral Histories
Listen to oral histories with, and about, influential Native Americans.
Audio Archives on YouTube
Voices of Oklahoma website
Archival Footage
Many videos from the OHS archives are available on YouTube.
Film and Video Archives on YouTube
A Very OK Podcast
Discover Native stories in our monthly podcast.
“Battle of Honey Springs,” 2021
“Battle of the Washita,” 2022
“The Choctaw Code Talkers,” 2024
“The Five Moons,” 2024
“Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis,” 2024
“The Seminoles in Oklahoma,” 2025
“Two Worldviews in Conflict,” 2023
“What is Spiro?,” April 2021
America’s Exiles: Indian Colonization in Oklahoma,
Arrell Morgan Gibson, ed.
Read online
|
Epub
Between Two Worlds: The Survival of Twentieth Century Indians,
Arrell Morgan Gibson, ed.
Read online
|
Epub
Indian Leaders: Oklahoma’s First Statesmen
, H. Glenn Jordan and Thomas M. Holm, eds.
Read online
|
Epub
Oklahoma’s Forgotten Indians
, Robert E. Smith, ed.
Read online
|
Epub
Explore Historic Places
The Creek Council House in Okmulgee is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmarks
Many of Oklahoma’s National Historic Landmarks have a connection to Native Americans. Oklahoma’s landmarks include archaeological sites, forts and battlefields, the capitols of Native nations, and the cabin owned by Sequoyah, creator of the Cherokee syllabary.
Learn more in
The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
.
The National Register of Historic Places
Listing in the National Register of Historic Places is an honorific designation that provides recognition, limited protection, and, in some cases, financial incentives for these important properties. The
State Historic Preservation Office
identifies, evaluates, and nominates properties for this special designation. Use the links below to access the National Register nomination for a specific property.
American Baptist Home Mission House, Tahlequah
Anadarko Downtown Historic District, Anadarko
Bacone College Historic District, Muskogee
Benjamin Franklin Smallwood House, Lehigh vicinity
Cherokee National Cemetery, Fort Gibson vicinity
Cherokee Supreme Court Building, Tahlequah
Chickasaw National Capitols, Tishomingo
Chief’s House, Swink vicinity
Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, Newkirk vicinity
City Hall (Osage Council House), Pawhuska
Comanche Indian Mission Cemetery, Fort Sill
Confederated Peoria Indian Thematic Resources, Miami vicinity
Cupco Church, Yanush vicinity
Creek Council Tree Site, Tulsa
Creek National Capitol, Okmulgee (National Historic Landmark)
Edwards-Hardaway Homestead and Cemetery, Red Oak
Green McCurtain House, Kinta vicinity
Honey Springs Battlefield, Rentiesville vicinity (National Historic Landmark)
Hominy Osage Round House, Hominy
Illinois Campground, Tahlequah
Isaac Billy Homestead and Family Cemetery, Daisy vicinity
Joe Ralls House, Atoka
Joseph M. Thompson House, Tahlequah
Lewis Ross-Cherokee Orphan Asylum Springhouse, Salina
Mardock Mission, Stella vicinity
Medicine Bluffs, Fort Sill
Moses Keokuk House, Stroud vicinity
Murrell Home (Hunter’s Home), Tahlequah (National Historic Landmark)
Nine Tribes Tower, Miami
Pawnee Agency & Boarding School Historic District, Pawnee
Peter Conser House, Hodgen vicinity
Quanah Parker Star House, Cache vicinity
Reverend Jess Bushyhead Grave, Westville vicinity
Seminole Whipping Tree, Wewoka
Sequoyah’s Cabin, Akins vicinity (National Historic Landmark)
Spirit of the American Doughboy
Statue, Muskogee
Splitlog Church (Cayuga Mission Church), Grove vicinity
Union Agency, Muskogee
Wheelock Academy, Millerton vicinity (National Historic Landmark)
White Eagle Park, White Eagle vicinity
White House of the Chickasaws (Governor Douglas H. Johnston House), Emet vicinity
Young Cemetery, Ardmore vicinity
Historical Markers
Our database lists hundreds of markers located across the state, including more than 200 related to Native peoples, events, and places. Search by marker name, topic, or county.
Browse markers related to Native American history.
Resources from the Oklahoma History Center Museum
Traveling Exhibits
Bring one of our traveling exhibits to your school, university, library, or community center.
Find out more.
Cherokee Nation: A Portrait of
a People
traveling exhibit
Family Album: Photographs
by Pierre Tartoue
traveling exhibit
Of Influence: Portraits of
Cherokee People
traveling exhibit
Traveling Trunk
American Indian Nations of Oklahoma in the Modern Era
This hands-on trunk includes flags, artwork, and books, as well as information on Oklahoma’s federally recognized tribal nations.
Learn more about traveling trunks.
Resources-By-Standard Guides for Educators
Guides correlating to Oklahoma History Academic Standards
View Oklahoma history standards
.
OKH.1 The student will describe the state’s geography and the historic foundations laid by American Indian, European, and American cultures.
OKH.2 The student will evaluate the major political and economic events that transformed the land and its people from early contact through Indian Removal and its aftermath.
OKH.3 The student will evaluate the major political and economic events that transformed the land and its people from the outbreak of the Civil War through allotment and land openings.
OKH.4 The student will analyze the formation of constitutional government in Oklahoma.
OKH.5 The student will examine the Oklahoma’s political, social, cultural, and economic transformation during the early decades following statehood.
OKH.6 The student will investigate how post-war social, political, and economic events continued to transform the state of Oklahoma from the 1950s through the present.
Guides correlating to US History Academic Standards
View standard USH 1.3
Analyze the impact of westward expansion and immigration on migration, settlement patterns in American society, economic growth, and American Indians.
C. Examine the rationale behind federal policies toward American Indians including the establishment of reservations, attempts at assimilation, the end of the Indian Wars at Wounded Knee, and the impact of the Dawes Act on tribal sovereignty and land ownership.
D. Compare viewpoints of American Indian resistance to United States Indian policies as evidenced by Red Cloud in his Cooper Union speech, Quanah Parker, and Chief Joseph as expressed in his “I Will Fight No More Forever” speech.
Oklahoma Historical Society
800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-521-2491
Site Index
|
Contact Us
|
Privacy
|
Accessibility
|
Press Room
Get Updates in Your Inbox
Keep up to date with our weekly newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
Subscribe Now