Press Release
November 3, 2025
Contact: CJ Budy
Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 580-237-1907
[email protected]
csrhc.org
Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid Hosting Dr. Kalenda Eaton for Lecture in November
ENID, Okla. — On Friday, November 14, at 6 p.m., the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will welcome Dr. Kalenda Eaton of the University of Oklahoma for a lecture titled “Tiny Boxes and Vast Legacies: Mapping the African American Homesteading Story in Oklahoma Territory.” The talk will be held inside the 1902 church in the Humphrey Heritage Village.
Under the Homestead Act of 1862, the federal government offered eligible settlers 160 acres of land. Oklahoma holds a unique position in this history as the Homestead Act did not significantly impact the territory until nearly thirty years later. Immediately, the political changes in borders and land allotments ushered in demographic changes across the region. Using a new data map produced from the Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project, this presentation will explore the communities of African American homesteaders in Oklahoma Territory during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Specific examples from Garfield County will be highlighted.
Dr. Kalenda Eaton is a professor in the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies at The University of Oklahoma. She is a humanities scholar whose research focuses on African American Western regional studies, intersections of Black literary studies and cultural history, and women’s studies.
The lecture is included with paid admission to the site. For more information about the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, please visit csrhc.org or call 580-237-1907.
The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications, the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit okhistory.org.
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Editor’s Note: Photos of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center are available upon request.
