Quarterly publication containing articles, book reviews, photographs, illustrations, and other works documenting Oklahoma history and preservation.

Article follows the continuation of Ensign L. L. Culver's journey from its first part in the Winter 2002-03 issue of The Chronicles of Oklahoma. Brad Agnew describes Culver's service in the Scouts and Raiders, a joint army-navy unit that participated in World War II amphibious assaults, his military successes, and his return home with the conclusion of the war.

Article discusses the impact of the 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath, on the reputation of the citizens of Oklahoma in the 1930s. After the discriminatory term "Okie" was adopted to refer to struggling migrant Oklahomans, government administration and civic leaders worked to change the way Oklahomans were viewed in the post-depression era.

Article describes the efforts of early Methodist Episcopal missionaries to convert members of the Ponca tribe to the Methodist faith and renounce some of their traditional practices after government agents had reported a need for cultural assimilation. Mark van de Logt illuminates the negative bias held towards some Native American traditions and the reasoning of both the missionaries and the Poncas for their actions.

Article describes the history of opera houses and other venues for public entertainment in Oklahoma and Indian Territories in the territorial period. Many of the "opera houses" evolved to stage plays, shows, or musicals, and eventually were converted into moving picture theaters.

Article covers the life and career of United States Indian Inspector for Indian Territory, J. George Wright, during the land allotment era. Kent Carter provides more detail on the connections Wright made with the Five Tribes as well as his political struggle with Tams Bixby over the position of Commissioner.

This article details the difficulties that settlers of the Cherokee Outlet faced and how they coped with adverse conditions. Many environmental and economic factors contributed to their success or failure, including a major drought on the Southern Plains that coincided with the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in 1893.

Article discusses the life and entrepreneurship of James J. McAlester, owner of McAlester's General Store, a prominent establishment in the Choctaw Nation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Linda C. English takes a closer look at the growth and change of the store through its records.

Article compares artistic evidence of the occupation of historic locations in Oklahoma by American Indian tribes in the form of George Catlin's artwork with the archeological findings in those areas. Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko gleans information about the acculturation within the Osage, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creek tribes during the removal period.

Article explores the many often-overlooked contributions and achievements of Oklahoma women during World War I. Women organized meetings to create movements to assist war efforts, worked outside the domestic sphere in various occupations, and became involved in industrial growth.

Article describes the history of the town of Mehan, Oklahoma, its founding families and businesses, and the town's unique social center--a croquet field. Founded near the turn of the twentieth century, Mehan remained a small, quiet village until an oil boom brought an influx of people to Payne County in the 1920s. Prosperity lasted only until the 1950s, however, when population loss, a devastating flood, and the loss of the railroad initiated Mehan's decline.

Article details the history of Polish settlers in Oklahoma, from the mass migration that occurred between 1825 and the beginning of World War I, to the founding of Harrah, Oklahoma, to their attempts to preserve Polish culture, heritage, and traditions for future generations. Agnieszka Kemerley explores the reasons for their migration as well as the growth of Harrah itself.

Article describes the state of race relations in Oklahoma during the early 1900s through the examination of the trials, appeals, and execution of Will Johnson, a black man charged with the murder of an elderly white woman. Though African Americans held nearly equal status in the territorial period, the case's proceedings indicate the trial as a "benchmark" that indicated the switch to the rigidity of the Jim Crow era.

Article describes the Indian Peace Commission, an effort in the early 1870s by members of the Five Civilized Tribes to act as intermediaries between the United States and the Southern Plains tribes in an attempt to ease longstanding tensions.

Article describes the life and career of tramp reporter turned two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Marquis James. Paul S. Vickery highlights the author's autobiographical book about the Cherokee Strip, which explored his boyhood experiences in Enid, Oklahoma.

Article provides a comprehensive account of steamboating on the Upper Red River and the role of riverine navigation in the development of the state of Oklahoma.

Article examines the rhetoric of written speeches by Choctaw leaders addressing Euro-American government officials in a post-contact era to determine the nature of the language used. Stephen P. Van Hoak argues that rather than indicating dependency, the Choctaws used self-abasing and respectful language to promote diplomacy and at times protest mistreatment.

Article describes the plight of the Poncas, who were forcefully removed from their lands and later refused compensation, and the response of President Rutherford B. Hayes. In a message to Congress, Hayes acknowledged the wrongs done to the Poncas and called for revisions of policy regarding relations with Native American tribes.

Article describes the history of capital punishment in the section of Indian Territory that was attached to Arkansas Territory for judicial purposes. After calling for the creation of a "resident court," a local court was finally established to give inhabitants of Indian Territory jurisdiction over crime in their area, and Von Russell Creel discusses the resulting cases in detail.

Article introduces credible witness reports and documentary evidence, including construction specifications, to support the conclusion that Choctaw Chief Thomas LeFlore's house near Wheelock Mission was the structure built according to the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, rather than the house located near Swink, Oklahoma.

Quarterly publication containing articles, book reviews, photographs, illustrations, and other works documenting Oklahoma history and preservation.

Quarterly publication containing articles, book reviews, photographs, illustrations, and other works documenting Oklahoma history and preservation.

Quarterly publication containing articles, book reviews, photographs, illustrations, and other works documenting Oklahoma history and preservation.

For the Record section including the minutes of the regular quarterly board meeting of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Historical Society that was held on October 23, 2002.