Oklahoma was inhabited by Native American tribes including the Wichita
and Osage. In the 16th century Spanish explorers became the first
documented Europeans to visit the area, there is evidence to suggest
that viking explorers passed through in the 6th century, but this has
yet to be accepted widely by the scientific and historical community.
Oklahoma, as Indian Territory, served as the relocation area for the
policy of Indian Removal started by Andrew Jackson in the 1830s; the end
of the Cherokee Trail of Tears was Indian Territory. There were already
many tribes living in the territory, along with whites and escaped
slaves.
The Five Civilized Tribes, so named due to their early adaptations to
Christianity and European clothing, technology, and trade, were not the
only ones forced to Oklahoma. The Delaware, from the northeast U.S.,
Kiowa, Comanche, and other nations were forced to move to Oklahoma.
The name Oklahoma comes from the language of the Choctaw people, who
were removed from Mississippi to Indian Territory by the United States
Government in the early to mid-1800s. "Oklahoma" is a combination of two
Choctaw words: okla, meaning 'people', and homa, which means, among
other things, 'red.' The name was suggested by Allen Wright, Principal
Chief of the Choctaw Nation from 1866 to 1870.
The Five Civilized Tribes set up towns such as Tulsa, Tahlequah, and
Muskogee, which became some of the larger towns in the state. They also
brought their African slaves to Oklahoma, which added to
African-American population in the region.
After the Civil War, in 1866, the federal government forced the tribes
into new treaties. Most of the land in central and western Indian
Territory was ceded to the government. Some of the land was given to
other tribes, but the central part, the so-called Unassigned Lands,
remained with the government. Another concession allowed railroads to
cross Indian lands.
On March 23, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison signed legislation which
opened up the two million acres of the Unassigned Lands for settlement
on April 22nd of that year - some of the settlers were called Sooners
because they had already staked their land claims before the land was
officially opened for settlement.
On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma Territory combined with Indian Territory
to become the 46th U.S. state.
In the early 1900s the oil business began to get underway. Huge pools of
underground oil were discovered in places like Glenpool. During the
height of the Great Depression, drought and non-ecologically-friendly
agricultural practices led to the Dust Bowl, when massive dust storms
blew away the soil from large tracts of arable land. The resulting crop
failures forced many small farmers to flee the state altogether.
