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 Photograph of World War I veteran Choctaw Joseph Oklahombi at his home near Wright City, Oklahoma, May 12, 1921. He is wearing the Croix De Guerre medal he was awarded from France. (4122 (detail), Czarina Conlan Collection, OHS)
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Honoring those who served
WWI Choctaw Code Talker recognized on Veterans Day
Private First Class Joseph Oklahombi, a Choctaw Code Talker who served in World War I, will be inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame on Thursday, November 11, as part of the Choctaw Nation’s Veterans Day ceremonies at the Arrowhead Stage on the Choctaw Capitol Grounds in Tuskahoma. For more information about the ceremony, click here.
Joseph Oklahombi was born May 1, 1895, in the Kiamichi Mountains of McCurtain County, Oklahoma. He served in the 36th Infantry Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 141st Regiment, 71st Brigade during World War I. Oklahombi was one of the original Code Talkers.
He and other Choctaw soldiers from the 141st, 142nd, and 143rd Infantry regiments used their Native language to translate English radio transmissions, making it impossible for the enemy to decode the messages. Once transmitted, the Choctaw Code Talkers on the receiving end translated the messages back into English, safely delivering urgent dispatches to commanders in the field.
Read more about Joseph Oklahombi in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture by clicking here.
The Oklahoma Historical Society has multiple resources to help with the research of military records, many of which are available online. Click here to access these resources.
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Tony Hillerman: A Life book signing with author James McGrath Morris
Author James McGrath Morris will be signing copies of his latest book Tony Hillerman: A Life (2021) from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, November 17, at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City.
Morris offers a balanced portrait of Hillerman’s personal and professional life and provides a timely appreciation of his work. In intimate detail, Morris captures the author’s early years in Depression-era Oklahoma and Hillerman’s near-death experience in World War II. The book examines his 60-year marriage to Marie, and his family life with six children, five of whom were adopted. Other highlights include Tony Hillerman’s career in the trenches of journalism, his affliction with PTSD, his enchantment with Navajo spirituality, and his ascension as one of America’s best-known authors of mysteries.
James McGrath Morris is the author of many award-winning books. Morris has also written The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War; Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press; and Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power.
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Preorder a copy of the James McGrath Morris book Tony Hillerman: A Life today by visiting the Oklahoma History Center Museum Store online. Presale copies are now available. For information about hundreds of other titles for purchase, please browse the online store or contact museumstore@okhistory.org or 405-522-5214. |
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Museum After Dark: Lantern Tours
On Friday, November 19, the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will host its annual Lantern Tours. Costumed interpreters will host entertaining and educational vignettes in each of the four buildings of the Humphrey Heritage Village. Visitors will step back in time to early-day Enid where they will attend a school board meeting, listen to a church sermon, visit the land office, stroll past the Glidewell Bordello, and encounter a few more surprises along the way.
The Lantern Tours are a special ticketed event taking place in the Humphrey Heritage Village, with the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center exhibits remaining open to the public at regular admission prices. For more information about this series, please call 580-237-1907.
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Last chance for OHS award nominations
The deadline to nominate individuals or organizations for the OHS annual awards program is fast approaching! To nominate outstanding achievements in the collection, preservation, and sharing of Oklahoma’s rich history, please click here and download the nomination forms. The completed form must be submitted no later than Monday, November 15, 2021, to lodell@okhistory.org or mailed to Larry O’Dell, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. Current members of the OHS Board of Directors and current employees of the OHS and its museums, sites, and affiliates are not eligible. Awards will be presented at the OHS Annual Awards Banquet on Thursday, February 24, 2022, at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
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OHS COVID-19 safety measures
Per CDC guidance, we recommend that visitors who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccination wear face masks and maintain social distancing in indoor public areas. All visitors, staff, volunteers, contractors, and vendors should use appropriate handwashing techniques.
We ask that you avoid visiting OHS museums, sites, and affiliates if you have COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms, have a fever, or are otherwise feeling sick or unwell.
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Click event listings below for more information.
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13 - "History of Fort Gibson" presentation by Dr. Bob Blackburn, Fort Gibson Historic Site, Fort Gibson
13 - Fashions of the Overholser exhibit closes, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
13 - Cast-Iron Cooking class, Chisholm Trail Museum and Horizon Hill, Kingfisher
13 - Quilting workshop with Martha Ray, Sod House Museum, Aline
13 - “Let’s Talk About It” Book Discussion Series, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
17 - Tony Hillerman: A Life book signing with author James McGrath Morris, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
17 - Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Committee meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
18–19 - National Register of Historic Places workshop series (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
19 - Museum After Dark: Lantern Tours, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
20 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
20 - History and Haunts at the Overholser, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
26 - Movie Night featuring Will Rogers in They Had To See Paris (1929), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
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1 - “Life at Hunter’s Home: Winter Celebrations” begins (VIRTUAL), Hunter’s Home, Park Hill
1–3 - Section 106 workshop series (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
3–4 - Will’s Country Christmas, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
4 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
4 - Guthrie’s Distinctive Homes Tour and wassail at the Carnegie Library, Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Guthrie
4 - Photos with Santa at the Museum, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
6 - Section 106 workshop series (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
8–10 - Tax Credits workshop series (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
10 - Museum After Dark: Christmas in the Village, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
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Pawnee child Justice Gilmore Eaves, born March 25, 1914. He is depicted in this photo wearing a World War I US Army child-sized uniform, emblematic of the home front patriotism felt by American families during the war effort overseas. Justice was 4 years old when World War I concluded. He died in 1928 at the age of 14, never reaching adulthood. His younger brothers Louis Morton Eaves and Wilber, Jr. Eaves both served in the US Army Infantry in World War II. (3165.J, Matt Duhr Collection, OHS) |
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