THE ARTS-The Arts and Humanities Council established in 1965 and supported by the Governor and the Legislature has continued "to encourage and stimulate all forms of ... endeavors" in the arts. Museums such as the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Gilcrease are known throughout the nation for outstanding collections of Western art. The popularization of Indian art can be credited largely to the Oklahoma University Museum of Art, where, in the summer of 1929, Professor Oscar Brousse Jacobson of the University Art Department took a collection of works by five Kiowa Indian students to France. There he had a limited edition portfolio made which was received with acclaim. Later that summer he entered these original works in a special exhibition in Prague where they received international attention. For this special encouragement of Indian arts, Jacobson received a Citation from the United States Department of the Interior. The field of classical music is fostered by the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra; the Oklahoma City Chamber Orchestra; the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra; the Tulsa Little Sym­ phony; Lawton Philharmonic and the Enid Phillips Symphony. One of the state's fastest growing fields of interest in the arts is the . The precedent for this interest was established back in the late thirties and early forties when five major names in American ballet emerged from Oklahoma-, , , Rosella Hightower and -all of North American Indian descent.

A DIVERSE PEOPLE-As diverse as its geography are Oklahoma'S people. Contributing to its culture are more than 100,000 Indians, the largest group in anyone state. Many of its black citizens, descendents of the state's first settlers, have risen to national prominence. Other ethnic groups, Czech, Italian, Hispanic, and more recently, people from Korea and Vietnam, have contributed from their culture to enrich the state. Many of these groups hold festivals to celebrate their special heritage and to perpetuate it with native food, song and dance. In every area of life-business, entertainment, arts, science, government and sports­ Oklahomans have gained worldwide recognition. Of special note are the number of astronauts from our state. This is particularly interesting due to the fact that Wiley Post, a native Oklahoman and early-day pioneer in the field of aviation, was the first to discover the jet stream and the first ever to design and wear a space suit. Among the original seven U.S. astronauts is Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., of Shawnee, who orbited the earth 22 times during a 34-hour, 20-minute flight in 1963. On February 8,1974, after 84 days in space, William R. Pogue of Okeman returned to earth having established the record of the longest manned flight in U.S. history. Other Oklahoma astronauts are Owen K. Garriott of Enid and Stuart A. Roosa of Claremore, as well as Thomas P. Stafford of Weatherford, who commanded the joint United States-Soviet mission launched in July of 1975. Our most recent pioneer in space is Dr. Shannon W. Lucid from Oklahoma City. She has been asked to join the first group of women to be trained to become astronauts. Oklahoma athletes have won their share of fame also. Among the greatest would be Jim Thorpe, whom the King of Sweden, at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, declared to be "the greatest athlete in the world." The list of famous Oklahomans continues with such names as our most famous ambassa­ dor-at-Iarge Will Rogers; Carry Nation of Guthrie, who led the fight for prohibition; Bill Pickett, the black cowboy who invented bulldogging; Lynn Riggs who wrote "Green Grow The Lilacs" from which script Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the Broadway musical hit "Oklahoma!"

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