NATIVE AMERICA A visit to Indian Territory


Oklahoma is named after the “Okla homma”, the Red People” which was the name given by the Choctaw Indians to the


native population. It is home to 39 of the 562 Indian nations offi cially acknowledged by the USA. The reason why so many Indian nations retreated to Oklahoma in particular can be traced back to President Jefferson who earmarked the land west of the Mississippi as Indian Territory at the beginning of the 19th century. However, the relocation rarely proceeded peacefully – consider, for example, the Trail of Tears whereby the “Five Civilized Tribes” (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) were forcibly removed from the South east.


The Washunga Days each June, for example, commemorate the fact that most of the tribes did not leave their old homelands voluntarily. The Kaw or Kanza Indians return to their old homelands around Council Grove/KS from which they were forcibly removed in 1873. The Standing Bear Powwow in Ponca City, where hundreds of Native Americans come together at the end of September, is known way beyond the borders of Oklahoma. An almost 7m high statue and a


museum commemorate Standing Bear (1834- 1908), the famous


leader of the Ponca, who in 1879 litigated in the US District


Court against the forcible relocation of his people and won his case. The Indian Peace Treaty Pageant, held in September and celebrated in Medicine Lodge/KS (www.peacetreaty.org) since 1917, attests that there were also peaceful agreements. It commemorates the peace treaty signed in 1867 by the US Government and representatives of the Kiowa, Comanche, Kiowa- Apache, Cheyenne and Arapaho people.


Over 50 powwows take place each year in Kansas and Oklahoma, many of which are open to the public. In addition to the Standing Bear Powwow, the Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival at the beginning of June in Oklahoma City (www.redearth.org/red- earth-festival) is another highlight in the events calendar. The term “powwow” or “pow wow” is derived from the word “powwaw” (spiritual leader) in the language of the Narragansett people. Nowadays it has two meanings: a traditional meeting or a dancing contest at which money and other prizes can be won.


Indian Territor


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