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Explore Native American history at OHS
November is Native American Heritage Month. The Oklahoma Historical Society has multiple resources for discovering Oklahoma’s Native history, culture, stories, and people. Visit the Native American history page on the OHS website to explore our archives, newspapers, oral histories, podcast episodes, historic places, noted landmarks, and educational tools. You can also read about Oklahoma’s remarkable Native actors, performers, artists, musicians, writers, historians, and athletes.
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Join the Oklahoma Historical Society for the book release of Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis (2024) on the evening of Tuesday, November 12, at the Oklahoma History Center. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the event begins at 7 p.m.
Author Douglas K. Miller will discuss his research on Jesse Ed Davis, a Kiowa/Comanche guitarist who collaborated with music legends such as Bob Dylan, B.B. King, and John Lennon. The book chronicles Davis’s rise from Oklahoma to international fame in the 1960s and 70s, examining his artistic influence and contributions to music history. Miller will sign copies of Washita Love Child, which will be available for $35. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested at okhistory.org/signing.
After the discussion, there will be a Q&A, followed by a book signing and a reception featuring live music by Chebon Tiger, a Seminole-Mvskoke musician with personal and cultural ties to Jesse Ed Davis. Tiger will honor Davis’s legacy by performing selections from Davis’s catalog.
For questions about the event, contact Angela Spindle 405-522-0472 angela.spindle@history.ok.gov.
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This program is funded in part by Oklahoma Humanities (OH) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily represent those of OH or NEH.
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Jesse Ed Davis’s iconic Telecaster guitar and Fender Bassman amplifier, (pictured above), which are currently housed at the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture (OKPOP), will be on display at the book release event, giving attendees a rare glimpse of the instruments that helped define his sound. The guitar and amp will have a permanent home at OKPOP when it opens in Tulsa. |
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Follow OKPOP on Facebook to see all of the latest news, trivia, fun facts, and interviews relating to Oklahoma creatives of film, TV, music, literature, and more! |
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IN HER OWN WORDS
National Humanities Medal recipient Joy Harjo
Award-winning writer, performer, musician, and former US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo is the recipient of a National Humanities Medal!
Joy Harjo (citizen of the Muscogee Nation) has written nine books of poetry, has five award-winning CDs of music, and has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame, along with receiving numerous honorary doctorates. She was born in Tulsa on May 9, 1951. In 2019, Joy Harjo was appointed the 23rd United States Poet Laureate. She is the first Native American to serve in this position. Listen to her impressive story, about growing up in Tulsa, surrounded by artists and musicians, in her Voices of Oklahoma interview conducted by John Erling.
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“The Black Experience and Route 66” program and pop-up exhibit |
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On Friday, November 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Choctaw Freedmen Citizen Footprints (CFCF) is partnering with the Oklahoma Historical Society to share and discuss Black experiences on Route 66 in the Chesapeake Event Center and Gallery at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
The CFCF will unveil the Oklahoma Freedmen Families and Descendants pop-up exhibit at the event. This exhibit explores the journeys of Freedmen families traveling across Route 66 and other Oklahoma roads, highways, and byways for work and family gatherings, creating a new path for their descendants to follow.
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Saturday, November 16
Hunter's Home
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Saturday, November 16
Oklahoma History Center
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Step into the past at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center
Visitors can go back in time and experience life in the Cherokee Outlet during History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid.
On the first and third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the five historic territorial buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village come to life with reenactors dressed in period clothing from the late 1800s. Attendees can sit at school desks in the Turkey Creek one-room schoolhouse while lessons are taught, hear a pioneer tale at the Sneed family log cabin, and watch as craftsmen and women work their trades.
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The Shoemaker book discussion and signing with Retired Major Joe Lee Todd
In honor of Veterans Day, the Oklahoma Historical Society's John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center will host a special discussion and book signing of The Shoemaker on Wednesday, November 13, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Musser Learning Lab at the Oklahoma History Center.
Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame member Retired Major Joe Lee Todd will discuss Louis Kerbel’s life and times. Todd is the author of The Shoemaker (2021, New Forums Press), a biography of Kerbel based on hours of recorded interviews. The program is free; however, seating is limited. Please register in advance by calling 405-522-5225 or emailing research@history.ok.gov.
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Kilgen Theatre Organ performance featuring Dennis Scott and the silent film Speedy (1928)
On Monday, November 18, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., a Kilgen Theatre Organ performance will be held in the Devon Great Hall at the Oklahoma History Center featuring organist Dennis Scott accompanying the Harold Lloyd silent film Speedy (1928), a 1928 American silent film directed by Ted Wilde.
Tickets are $10 for Oklahoma Historical Society members, $20 for the general public, and are available by calling 405-522-0765 or clicking below.
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On Thursday, March 20, 2025, the Oklahoma Historical Society will honor award recipients and Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame inductees at our annual Awards Banquet held at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Historical Society is now accepting nominations for several awards.
Visit okhistory.org/awards or click below for full details and to download nomination forms. Instructions for submission are included on each form.
The nomination deadline is Friday, November 15, 2024.
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This week in history - November 5, 1918 |
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On November 5, 1918, Oklahoma voters ratified a universal woman suffrage amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution by a vote of 106,909 to 81,481. Oklahoma became the 21st state to grant women the right to vote. Learn more about the suffrage amendment in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
Listen to the "Votes for Women!" episode of A Very OK Podcast with guest Dr. Sunu Kodumthara to learn about the contributions of Oklahoma suffragists such as Aloysius Larch-Miller, Narcissa Owen, and Kate Stafford, which ultimately led to adoption of a state constitutional amendment in 1918 and the federal amendment in 1920.
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Follow the OHS website calendar to learn about all of our events and programs at OHS museums and historic sites across the state! |
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Connect with the Oklahoma Historical Society on social media—where you can learn more about Oklahoma history and get up-to-date information about events and exhibits across the state!
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Masthead image: World War II ration stamps from War Ration Book Four, printed and distributed in booklets by the US Office of Price Administration. The booklets were distributed to "every eligible man, woman, child, and baby in the United States" in an effort to address shortages of supplies and foods. Learn more about rationing during World War II in Oklahoma through The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
(1995.032.1.8.006, 1995.032.1.8.007, 1995.032.1.8.008, Willis Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society).
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