The State of Oklahoma - An Introduction to the Sooner State from NETSTATE.COM HOME INTRO The State of Oklahoma SYMBOLS ALMANAC ore than 50 languages are spoken in ECONOMY M GEOGRAPHY the state of Oklahoma. There are 55 STATE MAPS distinct Indian tribes that make the state PEOPLE their home, and each of these tribes has GOVERNMENT its own language or dialect. The colorful FORUM history of the state includes Indians, NEWS cowboys, battles, oil discoveries, dust COOL SCHOOLS storms, settlements initiated by offers of STATE QUIZ STATE LINKS free land, and forced resettlements of BOOK STORE entire tribes. MARKETPLACE NETSTATE.STORE Oklahoma, the Sooner State Oklahoma's Indian heritage is honored in NETSTATE.MALL its official state seal and flag. At the GUESTBOOK center of the seal is a star, and within CONTACT US each of the five arms of the star are symbols representing each of the five tribes (the "Five Civilized Tribes") that House Flags were forcefully resettled into the From $5.99 territory of Oklahoma. The tribes Great Selection. depicted on the seal are the Creeks, the Unbeatable Prices. Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Cherokee, Flags For Every and the Seminoles. The present Season & Reason. www.discountdecorati… Oklahoma state flag depicts an Indian war shield, stars, eagle feathers, and an Indian peace pipe, as well as a white Find Birth man's symbol for peace, an olive branch. Records Online THE STATE NAME: 1) Search Birth Records for Free 2) Find the Oklahoma is a word that was made up by the native American missionary Allen Records Instantly! Birth.Archives.com Wright. He combined two Choctaw words, "ukla" meaning person and "humá" meaning red to form the word that first appears in a 1866 Choctaw treaty. Oklahoma means "red person." Indian Genealogy Records THE STATE NICKNAMES: 4,000,000,000+ Family History Names Find Your The Sooner State Ancestors! "Unassigned Lands" in Oklahoma www.FamilyLink.com/… were offered to settlers through a series of "Land Openings" where Buy American newcomers initially competed for Flags Online the land in horse races. The Land Choose From A Run of 1889 began the process of http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/ok_intro.htm[11/13/2011 6:57:48 PM] The State of Oklahoma - An Introduction to the Sooner State from NETSTATE.COM … Wide Selection Of disposing of these Unassigned American Flags Only At Quinn Lands. The Homestead Act of 1862 Flags! provided that a legal settler www.quinnflags.com could claim 160 acres of public land, and those who lived on and Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City improved the claim for five years could receive title. Buy Flags Online for People who entered the district illegally to lay claim to lands, before the designated Less entry time, were called "Sooners." The name came from a section in the Indian 500,000 Flags in Stock. Better Appropriations Act of March 2, 1889, that said that nobody would be permitted to Prices & Selection. enter upon and occupy the land before the time designated in the President's Free Shipping! opening proclamation and that those that did would be denied rights to the land. United-States-Flag.com This section became known as the "sooner clause." Texas Travel Early legal settlers had a very low opinion of Sooners of course. This began to Maps change by 1908 when the University of Oklahoma named the football team the The Official Site Of "Sooners." Like many nicknames, this one's negative connotations faded over time Texas Tourism. and the name, Sooners, is now worn with pride. Though not official, Oklahoma is Get Guides, Maps And More Info popularly known as "The Sooner State." Now! www.traveltex.com Boomer's Paradise he terms "Boom" and "Boomer" were first used by Dr. Morrison Munford in the Kansas City Times in reference to the effort to establish settlements in the State Flags "Unassigned Lands" and to the people involved in those efforts. Promoting the Annin Products "Boomer's Paradise," early advocates of settlement in the Unassigned Lands began Cheap Fire Departments/Membe what is referred to as the "Boomer Movement." The Boomer Movement was Discounts initiated before the Unasigned Lands were legally opened for settlement. www.premierflag.com Early Boomers included James Madison Bell a Cherokee, who tried to settle in the Cherokee Outlet and Kansas and Missouri settlers, organized by Kansan Colonel Bike & Charles C. Carpenter, who entered Indian Territory and tried to settle along the Breakfast North Canadian River. These Boomers were evicted by U.S. Troops. Covered At Inn of the Ozarks your bike In 1880, David Lewis Payne led a party of 21 settlers to the south bank of the and your breakfast North Canadian River and laid out a town called Ewing. They were removed by the are always U.S. Fourth Calvary. Payne continued to flaunt the government's proclamation covered forbidding unlawful entry into Indian Territory and returned to Ewing with a larger www.InnOfTheOzarks.… group of settlers. Judge Isaac Parker levied a $1,000 fine against the Boomer leader for his second intrusion. Mr. Payne's arrest seemed to make him more popular and he continued to guide Boomers into the forbidden territory. When David Lewis Payne died suddenly, of a heart attack, in 1884, his lieutenant, William L. Couch, assumed leadership of the Boomer Movement and lead four more excursions into the Oklahoma territory. Again and again the Boomers were arrested and expelled from the area. Illegal intrusions by Mr. Couch ended in 1885. http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/ok_intro.htm[11/13/2011 6:57:48 PM] The State of Oklahoma - An Introduction to the Sooner State from NETSTATE.COM The Boomer Movement gained new momentum in 1886 and 1887 when the Santa Fe Railroad constructed a line that ran from Arkansas City, Kansas to Gainesville, Texas right through the Unassigned Lands. At this time political pressure was exerted to open up the Unassigned Lands to settlement. In 1889 an amendment to the Indian Appropriations Bill allowed President Benjamin Harrison to proclaim the Unassigned Lands open for settlement. THE STATE CITIZENS: People who live in Oklahoma or who come from Oklahoma are called Oklahomans or Oklahomians. Sometimes Oklahomans are referred to as Sooners. THE STATE QUARTER: The first United States Mint Image commemorative quarter-dollar coin released in 2008 honors Oklahoma, Quartz Mountain Resort, Lake Altus-Lugert, Lone Wolf and is the 46th coin in the United States Mint's 50 State Quarters® Program. Oklahoma, nicknamed the "Sooner State," was admitted into the Union on November 16, 1907, becoming our Nation's 46th state. The Oklahoma quarter features an image of the State bird, the Scissortail Flycatcher, in flight with its distinctive tail feathers spread. The bird is soaring over the State wildflower, the Indian Blanket, backed by a field of similar wildflowers. The coin's design also bears the inscriptions "Oklahoma" and "1907." The depiction of Indian Blanket (or Gaillardia) symbolizes the State's rich Native American heritage and native long grass prairies that are abundant in wildlife. Oklahoma was formed by the combination of the Oklahoma Territory and the Indian Territory of the Five Civilized Tribes -- Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee. The State's name is derived from the Choctaw words "okla" and "homma," meaning "red" and "people." The process to choose the coin's reverse design began in February 2006. Citizens submitted more than 1,000 concepts for consideration. This eventually led to the creation of ten narratives based on these concepts. A vote by Oklahoma citizens narrowed the field to five, which were sent to the United States Mint for consideration. The final artistic renderings, developed by United States Mint Sculptor- Engravers and artists in the United States Mint's Artistic Infusion Program, were then proposed to Oklahoma for a statewide vote. On April 30, 2007, Governor Brad Henry announced his recommendation of the State bird and wildflower design, based on the overwhelming number of citizen votes for this design. http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/ok_intro.htm[11/13/2011 6:57:48 PM] The State of Oklahoma - An Introduction to the Sooner State from NETSTATE.COM The Department of the Treasury approved the design on May 25, 2007. Four other designs were considered, including "Pioneer Woman and Child with Windmill and Oil Derrick," "Pioneer Woman and Child with State Outline and Oil Derrick," and two versions of "Pioneer Woman and Child with State Outline and Calumet." For more about the state commemorative quarters, visit this page. This 50 State Quarter Map is a great way to collect and display all 50 State Quarters. Sources... Shankle, George Earlie. State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols. Irvine, Calif.: Reprint Services Corp, Revised edition, 1971. Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 3 Sub edition, 2001. Additional Information Oklahoma (From Sea to Shining Sea), by Linda Saylor-Marchant. 80 pages. Publisher: Scholastic Library Publishing (September 2003) Reading level: Grades 3-5. Presents information about Oklahoma's people, geography, history, landmarks, natural resources, government, state capitol, towns and cities, and more. Oklahoma Oklahoma (World Almanac Library of the States), by Linda Saylor-Marchant Michael A. Martin. 48 pages. Gareth Stevens Publishing (October 2002) Reading level: Grades 4-6. Filled with the most up-to-date information, including the latest Census results. Full-color photos bring to life the story of Oklahoma. In addition to an in-depth factual profile of Oklahoma in the form of a state Almanac, this book offers fascinating and lively discussions of the state's history, people, geography, government, economy, culture, and lifestyles.