Oklahoma
The state of Oklahoma took its name from Choctaw Indian words meaning “red people.” For much of the 19th century Oklahoma was Indian Territory—land set aside by the United States government to be the new home of many Native Americans who were forced out of other regions of the United States. In 1889, however, the land was opened to white settlement. The nickname Sooner State came from people illegally claiming land in the territory sooner than the official opening date. The state capital is Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma covers an area of 69,956 square miles (181,186 square kilometers) in the south-central part of the United States. In the south the Red River separates Oklahoma from Texas. Texas also borders Oklahoma south of the Panhandle, a long, narrow stretch of land in the northwestern part of the state. East of Oklahoma are Arkansas and Missouri. Kansas and Colorado are to the north, and New Mexico is to the west.
Oklahoma is primarily a plains state. The central part of the state alternates between hill and plain. In the south is a mountainous region that includes the Ouachita, Arbuckle, and Wichita ranges. To the northeast is the Ozark Plateau, an area of scenic but rough land. In the far northwest corner of the Panhandle is Black Mesa, which at 4,978 feet (1,517 meters) is the highest point in the state. The main rivers are the Arkansas in the north and the Red in the south.
Oklahoma's weather is normally pleasant. All parts of the state, however, can have heavy thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes.
Several million acres of commercial forest are located in the eastern mountain regions of Oklahoma. Oak and pine trees are plentiful. The redbud is the state tree, and mistletoe is the state flower.
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge protects herds of buffalo, elk, deer, and longhorn cattle. Other animals found in Oklahoma include rabbits, coyotes, wolves, foxes, prairie dogs, and many varieties of nonvenomous snakes. The state bird is the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
Various tribes of Plains Indians lived in what is now Oklahoma before the arrival of Europeans. In the 1830s the federal government forced Indian tribes from the southeastern United States to move to the region, which was then known as Indian Territory. After Indian Territory was opened to settlement in 1889, homesteaders came from every ethnic group found in the United States.
At the start of the 21st century both Native Americans and African Americans made up about 8 percent of Oklahoma's population. About 5 percent of the people were Hispanic, and 2 percent were Asian.
With the development of the oil industry, many of Oklahoma's one-street villages grew into cities with skyscrapers. Today more than 60 percent of the state's residents live in urban areas. Oklahoma City, the capital and largest city, is located in the center of the state. It is the commercial and industrial heart of Oklahoma. The second-largest city is Tulsa, a petroleum center. Fort Sill is the artillery center of the United States Army, and Enid is the home of Vance Air Force Base.
Oklahoma has a wide variety of recreational attractions—mountains, lakes, historic sites, parks, horse racing, and a national forest. In the southern part of the state is the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, known for its mineral springs.
Oklahoma City hosts Red Earth, an annual festival of Native American culture. It is also home to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Anadarko is the site of many Native American expositions and museums. The Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore is a museum dedicated to the famous humorist and actor from Oklahoma.
Native American schools began in what is now Oklahoma in 1832. In 1890, a year after the start of white settlement, the legislature of the territory provided for public schools. Among the state's public institutions of higher education are the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, and Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater.
Oklahoma is a national leader in mineral production. Oil and gas production historically have been the major part of the state's economy. Coal and stone are also important products. After oil prices dropped in the 1980s, however, the state took steps to make its economy more diverse.
The leading manufacturing industries in Oklahoma make processed foods, industrial machinery, metal products, transportation equipment, and chemicals. Service industries such as health care became increasingly important to the economy in the late 20th century. The state's forests provide timber for the pulp and paper industry.
Oklahoma's fertile soil is among its greatest natural resources. Since the early days of settlement agriculture has played a major role in the state's economy. The raising of cattle and calves is the biggest source of income from agriculture. Wheat is the leading crop. Cotton, hay, soybeans, corn, sorghum, and peanuts are also grown.
Prehistoric Indians lived in what is now Oklahoma as early as 15,000 years ago. The Plains Indians tribes that lived in the region when Europeans arrived included the Caddo, Wichita, Pawnee, Osage, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.
The Spanish explorer Francisco Coronado claimed the area for his country in 1541. Spanish control lasted until 1800, when the area passed to the French. The United States acquired the region in 1803 as part of a land deal with France known as the Louisiana Purchase.
In 1828 the United States Congress made the region Indian Territory and required all whites to leave. By 1880 more than 60 tribes had joined the local ones in Indian Territory. Among them were the so-called Five Civilized Tribes from the southeast—the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole.
During the American Civil War (1861–65) many tribes sided with the Confederacy (the states that had withdrawn from the Union over the issue of slavery). As punishment the federal government forced them to give up the western half of their lands. These lands were made available to tribes from the western plains.
Pressure to open the Indian Territory to white settlement led Congress to purchase 2 million acres (810,000 hectares) for farming in the central part of present-day Oklahoma. This area, named Oklahoma Territory, was opened to new settlement at noon on April 22, 1889. People came on foot, by train, in wagons, and on horseback. As more people wanted land, the government assigned individual grants of tribal land to the Native Americans and bought the rest of their reservations for very little money.
An Indian attempt in 1905 to establish a state called Sequoyah was refused by the United States government. In 1906 delegates from both the Indian and Oklahoma territories met to frame a state constitution. Congress accepted it, and Oklahoma was admitted to the Union as the 46th state in 1907.
The growth of agriculture and the drilling of oil wells kept the state prosperous for more than two decades. During the 1930s, however, a severe drought destroyed much of the state's crops. Many farmers abandoned their homes to seek work on fruit farms in California. Oklahoma's economy improved during World War II (1939–45). New farming methods and irrigation improved agriculture. The growth of the oil industry helped the state to develop further in later decades.
On April 19, 1995, one of the worst terrorist attacks in United States history took place in Oklahoma City. A huge, homemade bomb hidden in a rental truck exploded, heavily damaging the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. A total of 168 people were killed, and more than 500 were injured. Population (2000 census), 3,450,654.
