The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA), in partnership with the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma History Center, invites the public to a special premiere screening and panel discussion examining the life of Belle Starr and the true crime intrigue of her story.

Back in Time: “Belle Starr, Bandit Queen” will screen on Thursday, July 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center Museum. 

Back in Time is OETA’s award-winning documentary series that explores the people, places, and moments that shaped Oklahoma history. This new episode, “Belle Starr, Bandit Queen,” takes viewers on a journey through the Missouri-born outlaw’s life, her time in Indian Territory’s Cherokee Nation, and her mysterious unsolved murder.  

Panelists will include:

Dr. Ronald Hood
Dr. Hood was born and raised in Ada. He received his Bachelor of Science from East Central University and his MD from the University of Oklahoma. His family has lived in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, for five generations. He is the present owner of Younger’s Bend, the home and gravesite of Belle Starr. 

Jonita Mullins
Jonita Mullins is an award-winning author and speaker who has written over 15 books and 1,000 articles on the history of Oklahoma and Arkansas, with an emphasis on untold stories of the American Indian Nations. 

Mullins grew up in Haskell, Oklahoma, and currently lives in the Founders’ Place Historical District of Muskogee.  

She is the founder of the Bass Reeves Legacy Troupe, a group of re-enactors who celebrate the life and times of one of the greatest Old West lawmen to serve on the frontier. Preserving western history and its uniquely American stories is her passion. 

Ken Busby
A native Tulsan, Ken Busby serves as Executive Director and CEO of the Route 66 Alliance. Previously, he served as Executive Director and CEO of the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa for twelve years.     

Busby is the past chair of the Tulsa Route 66 Commission and was appointed by the Governor to the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission in 2020. He is the immediate past president of the Oklahoma Museums Association. He serves on the executive committees of the Tulsa Symphony, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust, and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.  Busby is also a proud member of the Friends of OETA board of directors. 

Michael Wallis
A best-selling author and reporter, Michael Wallis is a historian and biographer of the American West who also has gained international notoriety as a speaker and voice talent. In 2006, his distinctive voice was heard in CARS, an animated feature film from Pixar Studios.  

His work has appeared in hundreds of national and international magazines and newspapers, including Time, Life, People, Smithsonian, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. 

Wallis has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize and was also a nominee for the National Book Award. In 2016, he received an Emmy Award for his work on the documentary film Boomtown. In 2026, Wallis received the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame’s Lifetime Achievement Award. 

RSVP for Back in Time