2021 Oklahoma History Conference
“Perspectives in History”

Thursday, April 22, and Friday, April 23, 2021
Presented by the Oklahoma Historical Society, this virtual conference included 11 live sessions, 11 on-demand sessions, and two programs.

Thank you to our panelists, attendees, and supporters!
Recordings of the live presentations and Q&A session (with the exception of the keynote) are online. On-demand sessions will remain online after the conference. Professional development sessions are indicated by this symbol .

Notice for Young or Sensitive Viewers
Presentations include historical accounts, quotes, and excerpts, which may include offensive language, negative stereotypes, and descriptions of traumatic events. Materials are presented uncensored and unaltered to reflect the historical record, and some content may be disturbing to viewers. These do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Recordings of Live Sessions with Q&A are Available on YouTube

Recordings of the live presentations and Q&A session (with the exception of the keynote) are now available.

“A Conversation with Hannibal B. Johnson: The Tulsa Race Massacre and Greenwood Rising”
Hannibal B. Johnson, esquire, chair of the Education Committee for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission and local curator of Greenwood Rising; Larry O’Dell is the director of development and special projects, OHS

Larry O’Dell discusses the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre with historian and author Hannibal Johnson, who served as the education chair for the current 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Commission. The session examines the atmosphere and events leading to the massacre, the aftermath and rebuilding of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, urban renewal and its effects on North Tulsa, the activities of the new commission, and the events planned for the anniversary. The presentation shares information about the new Greenwood Rising Museum that is slated to open on Greenwood Avenue.

“Developing a Strategic Plan for Your Historical Organization”
Kathy Dickson, director of Museums and Historic Sites Division, OHS

Strategic plans are a vital core document for any organization. Not only are strategic plans necessary for setting goals and long-term plans, but many grants, including the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program, require organizations to have a strategic plan. While developing a strategic plan might seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. Kathy Dickson has helped create numerous strategic plans for historical organizations of varying sizes and needs across the state. This program will help organizations by providing a roadmap for developing a strategic plan in-house.

“Endurance Strategies: Indigenous People in Central Oklahoma During the ‘Orgy of Exploitation’”
John Truden, history doctoral graduate student, University of Oklahoma

In 1940, Angie Debo wrote about the “orgy of exploitation,” a period between 1898 and 1934 in which corrupt politicians and lawyers descended on and dismembered the territories of the Five Tribes. This session examines the strategies of Indigenous people during this period. Topics include Sauk trader Moses Keokuk, who battled the Lincoln County treasurer’s office in territorial court; Citizen Pottawatomi urban planner Catherine Burnett, who used her husband’s capital and her allotment to construct a successful trading center that did not fall under territorial jurisdiction; Chickasaw businessman E. B. Johnson’s use of a grafting firm to help him swindle Native people in eastern Oklahoma; and Absentee Shawnee Chief Big Jim’s decision to move his people to a remote area in hopes of being left alone.

“The Ghosts of Creek County: Revisiting Oil and Indigenous Sovereignty”
Russell Cobb, author and associate professor, University of Alberta

The discovery, extraction, and production of oil have played a central role in the story Oklahoma tells about itself. From the icons of Tulsa’s Golden Driller to the names of sports teams (Drillers, Barons, Energy), oil is central to Oklahoma’s identity. Behind the celebration of oil as a symbol of progress, however, lies a darker story. This story concerns the legalized theft and swindles of land allotments granted to citizens of the Five Tribes. This presentation will examine two cases that exemplify the crosscurrents of Indigenous sovereignty, oil production, and cultural relations between American Indians, African Americans, and white settlers between 1907 and 1922. Speaker Russell Cobb will tell the stories of two Muscogee (Creek) women: Millie Neharkey and Minnie Atkins. Expanding on the work of Angie Debo, Cobb will reveal the machinations by which oil barons took possession of tribal lands through Oklahoma’s unique guardianship laws. This presentation will consider the larger implications of how this historical period affects Oklahoma’s petro-cultures after the Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision.

“Good, Better, and Best Practices for Collections Care”
OHS staff Jeff Briley, deputy director of the Oklahoma History Center; Mallory Covington, CA, archival collections manager; Jennifer Holt, curator at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum; and Karen Whitecotton, director of collections for OKPOP.

For collecting historical organizations, collections care is an essential but often overwhelming responsibility. Financial, facility, and staffing limitations can make it difficult for organizations to follow the “best practices” expected for collections care. This session examines how organizations can make small but significant changes to collections care. While best practices are always the goal, this program will explore ways to mitigate issues until long-term solutions can be found. This roundtable is an opportunity to learn from some of the best collection specialists and archivists in the state.

“Historical Considerations in the Creek Nation Reservation Cases”
Susan Work, attorney and author

Notable scholars have described the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century histories of the Five Tribes in well-researched treatises. However, these scholarly works did not analyze the detailed text of the many complex federal laws relevant to convenient, but false, popular assumptions advanced by state officials for decades: the ideas that Congress terminated the Five Tribes’ governments and disestablished their reservations, and that Five Tribes citizens disappeared into a great melting pot in the new state.

In finding that the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation continues to exist, the 2020 Supreme Court majority opinion in McGirt and the 2017 Tenth Circuit opinion in Murphy (affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2020) interpreted relevant federal treaties and statutes without accepting past assumptions. This presentation discusses some of the more important historical perspectives discussed by the parties, amici, and the Court in these cases.

“The Misremembered ‘Uncle’ Wallace and ‘Aunt’ Minerva: Establishing Father-Daughter Kinship”
Shelby Ward, attorney and genealogist

“Uncle” Wallace and “Aunt” Minerva Willis contributed to the musical legacy of Oklahoma and beyond. They performed Negro spirituals during the antebellum Indian Territory period. The Fisk University Jubilee Singers popularized some of their songs in the 1870s. In 2011 the State of Oklahoma designated a song credited to them, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” the state gospel song. While their talent has not been forgotten, the nature of their relationship has been misremembered. The mainstream history of Wallace and Minerva incorrectly defines them as a married couple. Upon examining primary sources, it is established that they were parent and child. Understanding their relationship sheds light on why Wallace may have received more credit and disrupts relationally-based slave stereotypes. The session will share how this research journey unfolded and the formation of a manuscript documenting this research. Ward demonstrates how kinship relationships can be documented for the enslaved inhabitants of Indian Territory.

“Project VOICE: Visions of Inclusion, Culture, and Empathy”
Savanna Payne and Jamie Hinds Blank, English language learner instructional facilitators, Oklahoma City Public Schools

ProjectVOICE attempts to introduce individuals in our community to the lives and stories of newcomers and English language learners served within the Oklahoma City Public School District. Through careful selection of mentor texts, students design and craft multiple stories reflecting their lives, settling on one for inclusion in a collection of personal narratives. With the partnership of the Oklahoma History Center, this published anthology of student-led work will become one of Oklahoma history’s primary resources focusing on the experiences, challenges, and opportunities faced by individuals new to the English language and the state of Oklahoma.

“The Tulsa Council of Defense v. Andrew J. Smitherman”
Randy Hopkins, attorney (retired)

In October 1918, the Tulsa Council of Defense summoned Andrew J. Smitherman, editor and publisher of The Tulsa Star. The council was the most vigorous arm of Governor Robert Lee Williams’s State Council of Defense, the wholly extralegal “supreme law of the land” in Oklahoma during the World War. The summons grew out of the Tulsa Star headline, “Whites Adopted Slavery Methods,” and an accompanying article “Let Us Have Democracy,” which reported an instance of peonage in Tulsa and its dramatic resolution.

This presentation reviews events reported in “Let Us Have Democracy,” including underappreciated instances of interracial cooperation and respect for the rule of law. The session also explores the historiography and failure of Oklahoma historians to preserve the extensive documentation of the State Council of Defense, and conclude with the confrontation between the Tulsa Council and the newsman.

Special Programs

Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony

Red Dirt Rangers Musical Tribute to Steve Ripley

On-Demand Sessions

“Acquisitions as Activism: Preserving and Celebrating Creative and Cultural Legacies Through Collection Development”
Todd Fuller, curator, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma

“A Disgraceful Blot: Oklahoma Territory and the Victorian Divorce Crisis”
Jennifer Lynch, instructor, University of Central Oklahoma

“Finding Isaac Rogers”
Nicka Sewell-Smith, genealogist

“Fluid Resistance: A Queer Analysis of Art and Politics in Oklahoma”
B Hinesley and Arlowe Clementine, public history graduate students; Macy Jennings and Jacie Earwood, art history graduate students; and moderator Dr. Laura Arata, assistant professor, history department; all of Oklahoma State University

“The Legend of Cora Youngblood: Oklahoma’s Forgotten Prodigy”
James P. Gregory Jr., doctoral graduate student, University of Oklahoma

“A Mexican Oklahoman History”
Jorge Luis Chavez, public history graduate student, Oklahoma State University, and assistant curator of education, Oklahoma History Center, OHS

“Telling the Stories of Creek Allottees of Tvlse”
The Lucinda Hickory Research Institute

“Uncovering Oral History Perspectives in Oklahoma”
Karen Neurohr, professor, Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Oklahoma State University; and Mallory Covington, CA, archival collections manager, OHS

“Washita Love Child: The Life and Times of Jesse Ed Davis”
Douglas K. Miller, author and assistant professor, history department, Oklahoma State University

“William Faulkner Was Right: Why How We Talk About History Matters”
Dr. Amber J. Godwin, assistant clinical professor, Sam Houston State University