UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE AN ETHNOHISTORY OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN EXPOSITION AT ANADARKO OKLAHOMA: 1932-2003 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By E. R. GAEDE JR. Norman, Oklahoma 2009 AN ETHNOHISTORY OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN EXPOSITION AT ANADARKO, OKLAHOMA: 1932-2003 A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY BY ________________________________ Dr. Gus Palmer, Jr. “Chair” ________________________________ Dr. Paula J. Conlon ________________________________ Dr. Jason Baird Jackson ________________________________ Dr. Sean P. O’Neill ________________________________ Dr. Don G. Wyckoff © Copyright by E. R. GAEDE JR. 2009 All Rights Reserved. DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Patricia J. (Leslie) Davis. For more than five decades she has given her unconditional love, encouragement and support to me. My mother was raised in Anadarko, Oklahoma, and was the first person to introduce to me the idea that anything worth cherishing also required hard work, diligence, and commitment. The life lessons my mother imparted to me, her first-born, during my formative years have continued to serve me well as I have navigated my way through this journey called life. Thus, it is to my mother that I now extend my sincerest gratitude and thanks for all her love, her sacrifices, and her prayers on my behalf. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is with the greatest gratitude and pleasure that I offer the following acknowledgements. First, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to members of my advisory committee: Dr. Paula Conlon, Dr. Jason Jackson, Dr. Sean O’Neill, Dr. Gus Palmer, and Dr. Don Wyckoff. Each member has made thoughtful and valuable contributions to the development, research and fruition of this dissertation project. Their constant and unwavering support and counsel on my behalf throughout the period of my graduate studies cannot be praised enough. The Department of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma also deserves my sincere thanks for their funding support, and for providing me with my first opportunity to practice the craft of teaching with Professors Joe Whitecotton, Loretta Fowler and John Monaghan. This project could not have been completed without the contributions of many special people including the 2003 American Indian Exposition Board of Directors, especially Morgan Tosee, President; Terri Byrd of the University of Oklahoma Bursars office; staff at the Sam Nobel Oklahoma Museum of Natural History; Oklahoma Historical Society archivists, especially Bill Welge and Chester Cowan; and, librarians and staff at the Western History Collections at the University of Oklahoma, particularly Josh Clough. My very special appreciation and sincere gratitude is offered to Karen and Don Pewo, grandma Bea Saupitty, Maria Saupitty Tonips, Dorothy Whitehorse, Vanessa Mopope Jennings, Leonard Cozad Sr., and the Cozad family, the Goombi family, the Gooday family, Dixon Palmer, Sammy Tonekei White, Linda Poolaw, grandma Catherine Bull Coming, Vernon and Rhoda Bull Coming, Ramona TallBear, Edgar Heap of Birds and so iv many others who shared with me their anecdotes, stories and recollections of the American Indian Exposition and, without whom, this study would be greatly diminished. Warmest affection goes to my constant companion at graduate school, my study partner, confidant and one of my closest and dearest friends, Michaela Buenemann who was and is always there with her smile, humor and words of wisdom. Cheers to my fellow Diogenes Club brothers Warren Lail and Stance Hurst, my close friends, intellectual allies and lifelong confidants. A very special acknowledgement also goes to my dear friend, colleague and fellow enthusiast for all things American Indian, Mik Stokely. Thank you for your friendship, professional and scholarly advice, your willingness to listen, and for sharing your keen insights when we were in Oklahoma, and now via long phone conversations from our respective teaching posts. So, too, I offer my sincere thanks to David Mair, Chair, Department of English at the University of Oklahoma for his encouragement, professional advice, and for his friendship. I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to my teaching colleagues at Monroe Community College, especially those members of the Department of Anthropology/History/Political Science/Sociology, who have offered their support and words of encouragement these past several months as I have finished work on this project. I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to my dear friend Beverly Abplanalp for her constant encouragement and our years shared traveling this road called life. Likewise, I want to convey my longstanding admiration and respect for a truly outstanding mentor and close friend Bow Davis, Emeritus Professor of Art History, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, who has remained one of my strongest v supporters all these years. Many thanks go to my Cornell University and Syracuse University colleagues and cohorts (BOOKIES) for their support in this endeavor. I also want to send a big shout out to Karen Edelstein, Alicia Plotkin and Brian Zaph, and all of my HCMB family, especially David, Todd, Marjorie, Guy, Ben, Kurt, Marshall, Jim, and Betty for perpetuating and celebrating our close-knit ties over all these many years, through times both thick and thin. Finally, I want to extend my warmest affection and love to my family, especially my mother whose unconditional love and encouragement, and unwavering support of her eldest son’s decisions throughout these many years can never be adequately repaid. It is with great happiness and thanksgiving that I convey my deepest love and appreciation to Geri who, for the past two years, has brought much joy and renewed purpose into my life. May our journey together as life partners, carry us day-by-day to the stars and beyond. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………..………...…………….……….……….iv INTRODUCTION………………………………………………...………………………1 CHAPTER ONE: Anadarko: “Indian Capital of the World”……………….…….……..32 CHAPTER TWO: World’s Fairs, Festivals and Expositions: Cultural Arenas for Expressing Community, Identity and Resistance…………….…......77 CHAPTER THREE: American Indian Exposition: 1932–1944: From Genesis at Craterville Park Fair to the Eve of VJ Day Celebrations………..108 CHAPTER FOUR: American Indian Exposition: “The Glory Years”–1945 to 1975….158 CHAPTER FIVE: American Indian Exposition 1975–2003: Bicentennial Blues, and The Beginning of Decline–Perceptions and Realities……..…....…253 CHAPTER SIX: In Their Own Words: Family, Fellowship, and Future……………....302 CHAPTER SEVEN: Conclusion: Perpetuating the Founders’ Dream………………....459 LITERATURE CITED…………………………………………………………………489 APPENDIX I: American Indian Exposition Ephemera…………………….…………..523 APPENDIX II: Chronology of AIE Officers, Directors, and Princesses……..………..570 APPENDIX III: Chronology of AIE Pageant Scripts……………………………....…..627 vii INTRODUCTION Imagine for a moment that you have been transported back in time; the year is 1959, the setting Anadarko, a small south-central Oklahoma town. Under a cerulean blue August sky, lacey wispy cloud traces intermittently shield crowds of eager onlookers from the brewing summer heat; giddy with anticipation we take our designated places behind the Kiowa mud daubers, or mud men as they are sometimes called. That is, a group of men and boys––seven to twelve in number––sitting in the trough of a buckboard wagon filled with yogurt thick, Okie-red, wet mud. This year’s group is already slathering the cool, moist Permian plaster over every inch of their bodies waiting for the parade to begin, delighting enthusiastic spectators. It’s not surprising that as nine year old members of the Sunset school marching band with our instruments readied, the wagon load of Indians just a few feet in front of us prompts not only bafflement but heart-pounding excitement. At the same time, it’s almost impossible to keep our nerves in check. Stretching ahead of and behind us as far as our sight line permits, are regalia clad Wichita, Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Apache Indians. In total, members of at least a dozen different Indian tribes are represented. Some are on foot, feathers gracing their headdresses are flicking to and fro, jingling bells encircle their waists, arms and ankles, and their colorful feather bustles flutter and rustle with each movement and step they take. Other Indians sit proudly atop magnificent prancing, painted, palomino or chestnut colored horses. Dozens more of them, toddler to elder, are seated on brightly festooned flat wagon floats or exquisite 1 Pendleton blanket and shawl-draped automobiles and trucks; the entire length of the procession is anxiously awaiting the parade marshal’s signal to commence. Spectators, Indians and white townsfolk alike are boisterous, animated by a growing, pulsating excitement intensifying with each passing moment; almost tangible, this excitement courses through the assembled ranks. The atmosphere is electric! The festive energy generated by parade goers standing four and five persons deep along both sides of Main and Broadway, palpable. At last the signal sounds; horns blow and drums provide the cadence. Citizens of Anadarko in unison with hundreds of visitors from across the United States, cheer, clap and crowd close as they can to welcome the start of the 27th annual American Indian Exposition parade. Cameras are readied to capture each moment as