OKLAHOMA

Sooner State

Origin of state's name: Based on Choctaw Indian words for "red man"

The Oklahoma state flag honors more than 60 groups of Native Americans and their ancestors. The blue field comes from a flag carried by Choctaw soldiers during the civil war. The center shield is the battle shield of an Osage warrior. It is made of bufflo hide and decorated with eagle feathers. Two symbols of peace lie across the shield. One is the calumet, or peace pipe. The other is an olive branch. Crosses on the shield are Native American signs for stars, representing high ideals.

Entered Union: November 16, 1907; 46th State
Capital: Oklahoma City
Motto: Labor Omnia Vincit (Labor conquers all things)
Flower: Mistletoe
Bird: Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Tree: Redbud
Song: Oklahoma!

A LITTLE HISTORY
Oklahoma was part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Oklahoma was known as Indian Territory (but was not given territorial government) after it became the home of the 'Five Civilized Tribes'-Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole-1842-1846. The land was also used by Comanche, Osage, and other Plains Indians. As white settlers pressed west, land was opened for homesteading by runs and lottery; the first run taking place on April 22, 1889. The most famous run was to the Cherokee Outlet in 1893.

FACTS AND TRIVIA ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Set aside as Indian Territory in 1834, the region was divided into Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory on May 2, 1890. The two were combined to make a new state, Oklahoma, on Nov. 16, 1907.

On April 22, 1889, the first day homesteading was permitted, 50,000 people swarmed into the area. Those who tried to beat the noon starting gun were called Sooners. Hence the state's nickname.

U.S. Highway 69 follows Texas Road, one of the earliest routes through Indian territory to Texas. This is the same route that Southern (Butterfield) Overland Mail used from 1858 to the Civil War.

There is an operating oil well on state capitol grounds called Capitol Site No. 1.

Found only in a streak of rock that runs north and south through the middle of OK, the Barite Rose Rock is a reddish-brown stone that resembles a rose in full bloom. An old Cherokee legend says the rocks represent the blood of the braves and the tears of the maidens who made the devastating "Trail of Tears" journey in the 1800s to OK.

ADD SOME SPICE TO THOSE DISHES

Zack Mulhall had a wild west show starring his daughter Lucille, the world's first cowgirl, who became a favorite of President Theodore Roosevelt. The show toured from 1900-1915.

OK has a state wildflower, the Indian Blanket, which is red with yellow tips. It symbolizes the state's scenic beauty as well as the its Indian heritage. It blooms in June and July.

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