New Growth | 1907–Present Day
Resilience and Renewal
In this section, you will explore the resilience of tribal nations in the 20th century and beyond. As First Americans entered the 20th century, we began to put down roots in Oklahoma. Despite more than 100 years of federal assaults and assimilation policies, we held onto elements of our cultural practices.
Oklahoma became a state in 1907. A generation of First Americans learned to adapt to the modernized, Western culture, with its new technology and formal education. Assimilation meant that our cultural traditions would adapt as well.
As the century progressed, we began to reclaim our sovereignty and right to self-governance. We pushed back against federal policies that harmed our people. As our community members gained pride in their cultural identities, self-expression bloomed.
Our tribes, once at risk for disappearing from the cultural landscape, are growing strong in the 21st century.
How were tribal civil rights regained?
Intertribal Alliances
In the 20th century, First Americans were still under attack. US policy sought to terminate tribes and force us to assimilate. In response, we formed alliances, organizing nationally to protect our sovereignty.
The Society of American Indians, our first rights organization, formed in 1911. In the twenties, the American Indian Defense Association (AIDA) championed policy reform. In the thirties, AIDA became AIAA, the Association on American Indian Affairs. In 1944, the National Congress of American Indians began advocating for tribes and against destructive policies. In 1971, the Native American Rights Fund formed to provide legal services.
Through their cooperation, Native leaders and advocates strengthened our position at state and national levels. Many of our national leaders are from Oklahoma tribes.
Affiliated Nationhood
Recognizing their common issues and concerns, some tribes unified in political alliances. The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes represent the collective interests of the Wichita, Waco, Keechi, and Tawakoni peoples. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes function as one nation, while maintaining independent cultural ceremonies and practices.
Other tribes split off from large political bodies. The Yuchi, Alabama Quassarte, Thlopthlocco, and Kialegee tribal towns were once part of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy in the Southeast. Today they have reclaimed their unique political identities.
National Congress of American Indians
Now I know that you can’t put the same blanket over everybody … at the same time, but if you use some judgment you can spread that blanket out so that the one that is a little colder can get warm from it.
— Ben Wright (Choctaw), founding member of the National Congress of American Indians, 1944
In 1944, 80 delegates from nearly 50 tribal nations gathered in Denver to form the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). This national alliance arose to respond to US policies designed to terminate tribes, assimilate us, and attack our sovereignty.
Today, NCAI is Indian Country’s most effective voice defending tribal sovereignty in modern US-tribal relations. Most NCAI presidents and vice-presidents are, or have been, citizens of our 39 tribes in Oklahoma.
Nation to Nation
Our historic practices of forming alliances carried our nations through dark days. Our sovereignty has not always been respected by the United States. Nevertheless, we remain as sovereign nations.
We have established government-to-government relationships with federal and state entities. We negotiate with federal agencies for the management of our natural resources through land leases and mineral and water rights. Our tribes enter into agreements and compacts with state governments for faming enterprises, tobacco sales, and licenses for automobiles and hunting.
Tribes have adapted to serve our First American people. Tribes seek to serve and govern their communities on their own terms. Many continue to rely on the priorities that our ancestors followed.
How does culture sustain tribal members today?
During the 20th century, First Americans rallied from challenging times, drawing upon our cultural strengths for survival. We recognized that our fate rests in our own hands. Like a phoenix from the ashes, our people began to rebuild our communities. Through the collective efforts of individuals, tribal communities grew stronger, acting on our sovereignty.
Birth of the Intertribal Powwow
The intertribal powwow is one of the most awe-inspiring displays of Native culture. The Ponca Tribe hosted the first powwow. A social dance, it borrows from different Native customs, such as the central drum and collective movement of the dancers. These cross-cultural gatherings have become a way for tribes to celebrate our heritage collectively.
The powwow combines these cultural elements with roles like Arena Director and Master of Ceremonies from the old Wild West shows. New protocols were developed to guide participants’ behavior, showing respect to honor the songs and dances. Competitive powwow dancing emerged in Oklahoma in the 1910s. Dance competition categories are divided by gender, age, and dance style.
Cultural Exchange
The American Indian Exposition is one of the oldest and largest intertribal gatherings in the United States. The annual event started in 1934, launched by many of our Oklahoma tribes. The Apache, Arapaho, Caddo, Cheyenne, Comanche, Delaware, Fort Sill Apache, Iowa, Kiowa, Osage, Otoe-Missouria, Pawnee, Ponca, Sac & Fox, and Wichita & Affiliated Tribes sponsored it the very first year.
Tribes embrace the Indian Expo, held in late summer, as an opportunity for fellowship and intertribal cultural exchange. The gathering also gives us the chance to teach non-Natives about our cultural lifeways.
Preserving Our Languages
Our languages are essential. Without our languages, we cannot conduct our ceremonies, offer our prayers, or sing our songs.
For years, US policies punished Native language speakers. Boarding schools forced Native children to speak only English. Some of our languages are now extinct; others are at risk.
Today, many tribes actively preserve and revitalize their languages. They approach language renewal in different ways. The Miami Tribe opened the Myaamia Center to coordinate their use of technology and cultural programming. The Chickasaw Nation has developed language apps, a master-apprentice program, and Rosetta Stone Chickasaw, a free online language learning system.
Cultural Identity Through Self-Expression
First American cultures and arts blossomed in the second half of the 20th century. Oklahoma’s Native authors and artists sparked a renaissance that reached broad audiences.
Our collective voices now speak globally, often on behalf of Indigenous peoples around the world. We recognize the importance of perpetuating and promoting our tribal cultures. With the growth of markets and festivals that display Native creativity, more and more people have come to appreciate our cultures.
Today, we celebrate our artists and cultural heritage. A new generation of creative Natives carry our cultural and artistic legacies forward.
Authors
First American cultures and arts blossomed in the second half of the 20th century. Oklahoma’s Native authors and artists sparked a renaissance that reached broad audiences.
The reputation of Oklahoma Native authors was firmly established with Lynn Riggs’s (Cherokee) script for the 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs, later adapted for Broadway as the musical Oklahoma. With the 1968 publication of N. Scott Momaday’s (Kiowa) House Made of Dawn, a Native literary renaissance was born.
Joy Harjo (Muscogee), named U.S. Poet Laureate in 2019, was the first Native poet to hold that high post. Linda Hogan (Chickasaw), LeAnne Howe (Choctaw/Chickasaw), and a host of modern authors give poetic voice to the traumas, the triumphs, and the joys shared in our communities.
Musicians
Whether it’s the sound of a rattle or drum, music remains the heartbeat of our cultures. With timeless lyrics and powerful chords, our musicians carry us forward.
Some write traditional music, while others use new musical forms. Composer Louis Ballard (Quapaw/Cherokee) wrote classical works that take our stories to new audiences. Tim Long (Muscogee/Choctaw) and Jerod Tate (Chickasaw) are nationally recognized composers who continue that tradition. Opera singers like Barbara McAlister (Cherokee) perform internationally. Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis III (Comanche/Kiowa) played alongside George Harrison and Eric Clapton.
Promoting Native Art
By the mid-20th century, the arts of Indian Country had been transformed from cultural curios to collectible fine art. Collectors and others who appreciate Native art recognize Oklahoma as a source of emerging and established artists’ work.
Acclaimed artists like Dick West (Cheyenne), Joan Hill (Muscogee), and Cecil Dick (Cherokee) opened the doors for a flood of artists to experiment with new forms of visual expression. Art markets emerged, fostering a vibrant Native arts community.
Today, Native artists from Oklahoma participate in all the major Indian art markets throughout the United States.
What is the relationship between resistance and resilience?
Native people experienced discrimination as a community and as individuals but also resisted and advocated for change politically and artistically.
The 1956 Indian Relocation Act resulted in many Native people leaving rural areas and reservations for urban areas. When First Americans tried to find jobs and housing in cities, they faced bias and prejudice.
In 1968, the Indian Civil Rights Act stated that tribal governments had governing powers over their tribal members. In 1977, the US Commission on Civil Rights reported that Indian legal rights were not being recognized. In the late 1970s, tribes started programs to provide education, housing, and healthcare for all members, including urban Indians.
The whole 1960s movement also helped, as did AIM, who mouthed the word ‘sovereignty’ first and scared the heck out of everybody else…. A lot of people, even those who talk about it, don’t quite understand what sovereignty means. To me, it means the right to be self-governing over our own people and our own lands, and that we are a system of governments like the federal system.
— LaDonna Harris (Comanche)
Native Activism & Advocacy
First Americans played an important role in the rise of ethnic power movements during the Civil Rights era. Native activism—also called the “Red Power Movement”—started with the National Indian Youth Council in 1961.
Federal policies and programs had left tribal peoples without the economic resources they needed to care for their families. Activists brought national attention to human rights issues in Indian Country, from poverty and poor health conditions to violated treaty rights.
Many First American leaders who rose to national attention in those years were from Oklahoma, including the Camp Family (Ponca), Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne/Muscogee), and LaDonna Harris (Comanche).
Today, First Americans continue to organize to fight injustices. Our collective voices now speak globally, often on behalf of Indigenous peoples around the world. We recognize the importance of perpetuating and promoting our tribal cultures. With the growth of markets and festivals that display Native creativity, more and more people have come to appreciate our cultures.
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
In 1886, First Americans’ religious practices were limited under federal policy. Our ceremonial practices were called “Indian Offenses,” and brutally policed for decades. In 1921, the US government outlawed the ceremonies altogether.
In 1978, Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) to protect and preserve our rights to practice our religions. But customary sacraments were still outlawed, including peyote. Activists spoke out. In 1994, AIRFA was amended to protect the use of peyote as a sacrament in the Native American Church.
Warriors
Historically, our First American warriors were essential to our survival. They courageously protected our families and communities. Their efforts preserved our cultural lifeways. Warriors were selfless in their sacrifices, overcoming extreme conditions, difficulties, and distances.
Mainstream American literature, art, and entertainment often misrepresent our First American warriors. They have portrayed them as brutal, mindless savages, particularly as Plains men wearing feathered warbonnets. These simplistic portrayals dehumanize and dishonor the commitment, training, and dignity of our warriors.
Today, our warriors continue to serve our communities in many roles and capacities. While people think of modern warriors as men in the military, women also serve. Our warriors are not just in the armed forces; they also protect our sovereignty, rights, languages, lands, and resources.
Essential Questions
Use this organizer to address the Essential Questions raised in this section.
Up Next
In the last Moving Fire Story, you will learn about the importance of the drum from Kiowa, Pawnee, and Ponca tribal members.