2010 Oklahoma Folklife Festival
About the poster
A. The mistletoe was adopted by the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature in 1893. In 1909 State Senator Golobie promoted the adoption of the Mistletoe as Oklahoma's official state flower. Today it is officially called Oklahoma's State Floral Emblem.
B. "Land of the Mistletoe" was written by George Riley Hall of Henrietta, Oklahoma.
C. The quote is from Washington Irving's The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
1. The picture of the two men was taken at the Semi-Centennial of Oklahoma. The man on the right is Will Rogers, Jr. Rogers was given an honorary headdress. His native tribe, the Cherokee, doesn't wear headdresses. http://www.okhistory.org/semicentennial.html
2. The picture is of a brush arbor and teepee at a Cheyenne gathering at Concho, Oklahoma. If you look closely you can see an SUV in the background and a lawnmower in the foreground. Brush-arbors are common in many cultures and are mostly used for religious ceremonies or just to cool the family in hot weather. Arbor making traditions vary but most builders use willow or cedar boughs for the arbor's greenery.
3. This painting of mistletoe shows green leaves and white berries.
4. John Imes, a Scot bagpiper from Oklahoma, plays in front of the Oklahoma History Center in 2009. Celts used the mistletoe in sacred ceremonies of the Celtic culture. Scots are Celtic.
5. Seminole girls preserve old ways with a very involved hairstyle. This shows respect for their traditions.
6. The young lady with the floral embroidery is a Czech descendent at the Czech Festival in Yukon, Oklahoma. Floral designs are common in many traditional cultures around the world as well as in Oklahoma. Many American Indian cultures use floral designs as well. http://www.okhistory.org/Folklife/articles/Czechs.pdf
7. Illustration of mistletoe
8. Adilita Hernandez dances in her green dress. This style of dancing comes from Mexico. Ms. Hernandez is a teacher at Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City. Her dance students learn traditional styles of Mexican dancing. Floral designs are common in several traditional dresses used by dancers.
9. Herman Johnson has been a fiddler since the 1930s. He plays old-timey, Western Swing, contest fiddling, and other styles. He celebrates his heritage with fiddle styles that take many years to learn and perfect. Mr. Johnson is from Shawnee, Oklahoma. The fiddle is Oklahoma's official state instrument. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FI001.html
10. Tracy Pepiakitah Settlemeyer is a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma. She makes corn shuck dolls. This simple old craft was widely known by many American Indian people as well as many children who grew up on farms that raised corn.
11. Did you know that kissing under the Mistletoe was a European tradition?
Will Rogers was just breaking into show business in the early part of the 20th century when this photo was taken. He was a real cowboy and was a very skilled roper. Cowboys learned "on the job" so their occupation was, and is, traditional. Will also was a Southern-styled storyteller with the satirical style of humor common to many American Indian people. As Will once said, "When playing cowboys and Indians I can play either part with conviction."
12. One of Oklahoma's revivals of traditional music began in the 1950s with the folk music craze.
Here a trio of Tulsans prepares to hit the road in 1965. The most common place to find folk music in those days was in a coffee house. Oklahoma City had several dozen coffee houses. Tulsa, Lawton, Norman, Stillwater, and other towns had coffeehouses, too. Most were in churches. The coffee house helped renew interest in traditional music. http://tulsatvmemories.com/tulscof3.html
13. & 14. Oklahoma's official state colors are green and white. Guess what inspired the colors. Yes, it was mistletoe.
15. Oklahoma's Semi-Centennial included the National Folk Festival. American Indian dancing was a very popular part of the celebration. This event lead to a renewed interest in traditional and PowWow dancing.
http://www.okhistory.org/semicentennial.html
16. Several European cultures believed that mistletoe lost its "special" qualities if cut; therefore, knocking the mistletoe down with a long stick or rock was the preferred way to get a clump of the green. Of course, it was easier than climbing the tree.
17. Jay McShann was at home behind the keyboard of a piano. He was a jazz and blues player who grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He played with Charlie Parker and many other jazz greats of his time. Mr. McShann held onto old blues forms and yet seemed as up-to-date as any performer. This was his way of celebrating old ways.
18. Mistletoe was often used to decorate cemetery plots in times past when no other greenery was available. It was the only wintertime flower for the pioneer in Oklahoma's past. http://www.okhistory.org/publications/index.html
Henry Gilliland was a court reporter in Altus, Oklahoma. He was also a Confederate veteran and widely-acclaimed fiddler. He made a record for the Victor Company in 1922. That recording is regarded as a forerunner of modern Country music. http://www.okhistory.org/Folklife/articles/HenryGilliland.pdf
19. Singers gather round a drum at the Sacred Heart Mission PowWow in the early 1990s. Although the PowWow came into being in the 20th century it is Oklahoma's most lively oral tradition today. The singer facing the camera wears a Notre Dame logo cap. His name is Lawrence Wahpepah, a Kickapoo elder. You don't have to go to Notre Dame to sing at a drum. http://www.okhistory.org/Folklife/articles/MovingHistory.pdf
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