Oklahoma and American Indian Imagery
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OKLAHOMA AND AMERICAN INDIAN IMAGERY By [Copyright 2011] William Brett Anderson Submitted to the Department of Geography and the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ______________________________ Chairperson James Shortridge ______________________________ Terry Slocum ______________________________ William Johnson ______________________________ Jay Johnson ______________________________ Rita Napier Date Defended: November 30, 2011 The Dissertation Committee for William Brett Anderson certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: OKLAHOMA AND AMERICAN INDIAN IMAGERY ______________________________ Chairperson James Shortridge Date approved: _________________ ii Oklahoma and American Indian Imagery Abstract William Brett Anderson Department of Geography, 2011 University of Kansas In the late 1980s and early 1990s marketing firms conducted an in-depth examination of the general public‟s image of Oklahoma as part of their efforts to make the state a profitable tourist destination. This study found that people lack a clear impression of Oklahoma, that many have a negative perception of the state, and that American Indians are the most positive characteristic of thinking about Oklahoma. Seeking to understand these results, this dissertation explores the historical development of images associated with Oklahoma and those of American Indians in the state. Perceptions recorded in articles, stories, and editorials drawn from national magazines provide my basic data. I supplement them with ideas from novels and movies. The presentation, grounded in the appropriate scholarly literature, is both chronological and thematic. Each chapter focuses on impressions and attitudes about Oklahoma or American Indians in the state in different periods. My extended study confirms the findings of the imagery surveys conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Thinking about Oklahoma has continually shifted from event to event, with dominant meanings overlapping and none lasting for a long time. However, within this ambiguous imagery, negative viewpoints have prevailed in three different periods. The first was during the land runs of the early 1890s, the second in the 1920s and 1930s because of social and political turmoil, and the third— resulting from the widespread belief that Oklahoma was the center of the 1930s Dust Bowl—since the 1970s. Positive attitudes about Indian peoples in the state reflect a growing appreciation of culture diversity in American culture and date to the middle twentieth century. iii Dedication The following pages are dedicated to the memory of my grandpa, Bill Lawson, and my mom and dad, Bob and Gail Anderson. iv Acknowledgements With the completion of this dissertation many thanks are due. Foremost is Pete Shortridge, my advisor. His book, The Middle West, served as model for my work. He meticulously edited the chapters, improving the prose significantly. I was continually astonished by his ability, but more importantly the amount of work he must have put into reading through passages that I had struggled with, understanding what I was trying to say, and then reshaping my words into a much more succinct form. He always did in this and returned the chapters in just a few days. Beyond that, Pete went far above the call of duty with his patience. The members of my committee also contributed. At the University of Kansas I took two western history classes under Rita Napier and was exposed to a number of works that aided in my research. Barbara Shortridge taught a class on American Foodways that I enjoyed immensely, and she carefully read the dissertation, catching some errors, and thereby improving the final version. She also provided insight into some issues that I should consider for further research. Terry Slocum also read and edited the work in a highly professional manner. William Johnson graciously took part in the defense. The courtesy and efforts of others are also appreciated. At KU, Graduate Program Coordinator Bev Koerner made it a lot easier for a student living in another state trying to fill out the appropriate forms. Susan Kile, the secretary for the department of geography at Eastern Illinois University, helped making copies and mailing chapters. A number of unnamed librarians tracked down long-forgotten periodicals located in storage in my search for articles. I‟ve had a long journey in my education as a geographer, and many have aided along the way. Particular thanks go out to three people who‟ve played the most important roles. As an undergrad at the University of Oklahoma I first became interested in what human geographers do while taking a class with Bob Rundstrom. At Kansas State University I was lucky to cross paths with Jeff Smith, who served as the advisor for my thesis. During my time at KU I became friends with fellow graduate student John Bauer, and he always offered encouragement, helped me work through ideas, and even read some of the chapters. At EIU Mike Cornebise discussed themes with me and read the last two chapters. Again, thanks to all of those who helped. v Table of Contents List of Figures vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: The Final Frontier 13 Chapter 3: Indian Territory: The Final Home of the Red Man 44 Chapter 4: Persistence of Frontier Imagery 78 Chapter 5: The Grapes of Wrath and the Oklahoma Dust Bowl 120 Chapter 6: American Indian Imagery Since Statehood 168 Chapter 7: Summary 191 Bibliography 199 vi List of Figures 2.1 Map of the Unassigned Lands 19 2.2 “Ejecting an Oklahoma Boomer” 20 2.3 “The Fertile Fields of Oklahoma” 37 2.4 “Oklahoma City as it was in 1889” and “Oklahoma City as it is To-Day” 39 3.1. Map of Indian Territory, 1889-1907 45 3.2 “Town Life in the Indian Territory” 68 4.1. “A Kleagle‟s Farm in Kloklahoma May Look Like This” 89 4.2 “A Machine-Gun on Guard in Oklahoma City” 94 4.3. “King of the Prairie” 100 4.4. “William Henry Murray” 102 4.5 “In Full Bloom” 108 4.6. “The Oil Rush in Oklahoma” / “An Oklahoma Oil Field Bristling with Derricks” 109 4.7. “The Taming of Wild Mary” 111 4.8. “Men Work Feverishly at Laying Pipe Amid Endless Rows of Derricks” 112 4.9. “Derricks Crowd the Governor‟s Mansion” and “Oil Wells Reared their Ugly Heads Around the Governor‟s Mansion in Oklahoma” 113 5.1. “Here is the Drought, Here is the Dust” 126 vii 5.2. “Oklahoma Dust Bowl Migrant” 130 5.3. “Pretty Hard Now. Sun‟ll Come Out Soon and We‟ll be All Right” 135 5.4. “Oklahoma Drought Refugees Arrive at the State Border at Yuma” 136 5.5. “Oklahomans on US 99 in the San Joaquin Valley of California, April 16, 1938” 140 5.6. “Troubled Mother of a Large Family of Migrant Oklahoman Sharecroppers” 150 5.7. “Farmer John Barnett and his Family are „Okies‟ Who Stuck to their Land Near Woodward” 152 6.1. “Two Veterans of the Southwest Who Have Refused to Adopt Modern Dress” 171 6.2. “The Pathos of the Race That Once Owned the Continent is Expressed By This Tragic Figure” 172 6.3 “From Across Nation, Tourists Come to Tonkawa Hill, Okla.” 181 6.4 “A „Social Dance‟ at Indian City” 185 7.1 Summary of Oklahoma Imagery, 1870-late 1980s 192 7.2 Summary of Indian Territory Imagery, 1870-1907 196 7.3 Summary of Themes and Cultural Conceptions of American Indians in Oklahoma, 1908-early 1980s 197 viii Chapter 1 Introduction Since the early 1990s, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism has utilized the slogan “Native America” as a centerpiece for its marketing efforts to lure tourists and their economic impact to the state. On highway welcome signs and billboards, in tourism promotional literature, and both advertisements on television and in print, a concerted effort has been made to construct an image that Oklahoma is the place to visit for those wishing to experience American Indian history and culture. A visit to the Oklahoma Tourism Department archives revealed that the “Native America” theme was not a haphazard motto that had been created with little thought or consideration. Instead, the slogan and related publicity campaign was the culmination of years of complex analysis of Oklahoma’s image by advertising and public relations firms who sought to identify the most positive image that could make the state a profitable tourist destination. These studies revealed three key facts: that most people do not have a clear impression of Oklahoma, that many aspects of the state’s image are negatively perceived, and that American Indians are the most unique and positive characteristic that the state can use to attract visitors.1 This dissertation began with a desire to understand the tourism department’s decision to use the slogan “Native America.” My curiosity quickly expanded however, particularly to questions of how American Indians came to be the state’s most positive theme for advertising. The dissertation expanded in similar fashion. 1 The study now before you explores the historical development of the Oklahoma image and the changing role that American Indians have played in it. In the process several questions will be answered. How did Oklahoma come to have a stereotype? Has this negativity always existed, or is it a more recent phenomenon? How did American Indians come to be perceived as one of the most positive aspects of Oklahoma’s overall image? Considering the ignoble symbolism associated with regional historical events such as the Trail of Tears and the more general creation of Indian Territory as a repository for Native Americans driven from their homelands throughout the United States, it is clear that the role of Indians in Oklahoma’s image has changed significantly over time.