Portal:Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Portal

Oklahoma (/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ ^ⓘ OH-klə-HOH-mə; Choctaw: Oklahumma, pronounced [oklahómma]), is a landlocked state in the South Central, Southern, and Southwestern regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the southwest, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the southeast, New Mexico to the west, and Colorado to the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla, 'people' and humma, which translates as 'red'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the Sooners, American settlers who staked their claims in formerly American Indian-owned lands until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorized the Land Rush of 1889 opening the land to settlement.

With ancient mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers, and the U.S. Interior Highlands, all regions prone to severe weather. Oklahoma is at a confluence of three major American cultural regions. Historically, it served as a government-sanctioned territory for American Indians moved from east of the Mississippi River, a route for cattle drives from Texas and related regions, and a destination for Southern settlers. There are currently 25. According to the 2020 U.S. census, 14.2 percent of Oklahomans identify as American Indians, the highest Indigenous population by percentage out of any state.

A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas. (Full article...)

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Sequoyah, creator of the Cherokee syllabary, as painted by Henry Inman, c. 1830

The Cherokee or Tsalagi (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ, romanized: Tsalagi pronounced [dʒalaˈɡî], endonym: ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, Aniyvwiyaʔi / Anigiduwagi) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their ancestral homelands, living in towns along river valleys in what is now southwestern North Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, parts of western South Carolina, northern Georgia, and northeastern Alabama, with hunting grounds extending into Kentucky. Together, these lands encompassed approximately 40,000 square miles.

The Cherokee language belongs to the Iroquoian language family. In the 19th century, the ethnographer James Mooney recorded an oral tradition describing the Cherokee as having migrated southward in ancient times from the Great Lakes region, an area historically associated with other Iroquoian peoples. More recent linguistic and archaeological scholarship has proposed an earlier origin. Anthropologist Thomas R. Whyte, writing in 2007, suggested that the proto-Iroquoian language likely originated in the Appalachian region and that the divergence between Northern and Southern Iroquoian languages began approximately 4,000 years ago. (Full article...)

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Downtown El Reno

El Reno (/ɛl rinoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 16,989 residents, representing an increase of 1.55% from the 16,729 recorded in the 2010 census. The city was established shortly after the 1889 land rush and named for the nearby Fort Reno. It is located in Central Oklahoma, about 25 miles (40 km) west of downtown Oklahoma City. (Full article...)

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See List of municipalities in Oklahoma for more city articles

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Credit: Chris Denbow
The Boston Avenue Methodist Church in downtown Tulsa, considered one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical Art Deco architecture in the United States.

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Featured content

Featured articles: Black Seminoles • Chickasaw Turnpike • Jim Thorpe • Oklahoma • Tulsa, Oklahoma • Woody Guthrie • Oklahoma City bombing • Brad Pitt

Featured lists: Oklahoma birds • Tallest buildings in Tulsa • List of tallest buildings in Oklahoma City • List of birds of Oklahoma • List of Oklahoma Sooners football seasons • List of Oklahoma Sooners head football coaches • List of Oklahoma Sooners in the NFL Draft

State facts

Nickname:The Sooner State
Capital and largest city: Oklahoma City
Governor: Kevin Stitt (R)
Total area: 181,196 square kilometers (69,960 square miles)
Population (2020 census): 3,959,353
Date admitted to the Union: November 16, 1907
Senators: Alan S. Armstrong (R), James Lankford (R)
Representatives: Kevin Hern (R), Josh Brecheen (R), Frank Lucas (R), Tom Cole (R), Stephanie Bice (R)

State symbols

Mammal: Bison
Bird: Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Fish: White bass
Floral emblem: Mistletoe
Flower: Oklahoma Rose
Grass: Indian grass
Insect: Honeybee
Tree: Redbud
Fossil: Allosaurid dinosaur
Rock: Rose Rock
Soil: Port Silt Loam
Song: Oklahoma!
Beverage: Milk

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Underwood in 2019

Carrie Marie Fisher (née Underwood; born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer and songwriter. Recognized for her vocal range and dynamic stage presence, Underwood is credited as a pivotal figure in 21st century country music. She has revitalized and sustained the presence of female country artists in popular culture since winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005.

Her first single, "Inside Your Heaven" in 2005, made her the first-ever country artist to debut atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and the only solo country artist to top the Hot 100 in the 2000s. Led by crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", her first album, Some Hearts (2005), became the best-selling debut album of all time by a solo female country artist, was ranked by Billboard as the top country album of the 2000s, and won her three Grammy Awards—including Best New Artist. Thereafter, Carnival Ride (2007) sold over half a million copies first-week and won two Grammy Awards, while Play On (2009) made her the only woman ever to have eleven consecutive top-two singles and the first since the 1980s to attain ten number-ones at country radio. (Full article...)

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... that the U.S. state of Oklahoma was not allowed to ban Sharia law?
... that after a 2008 tornado, Michael Chertoff likened Picher, Oklahoma, to a nuclear bomb site?
... that the three costliest tornadoes in Oklahoma's history hit the same town in 2013, in 1999 and in 2003?
... that Joe Eddins helped conservative Oklahoma enact universal preschool?
... that the morning show on an Oklahoma TV station was such a "local phenomenon" that the president of ABC acquiesced to them not airing Good Morning America?
... that Ken Selby walked along U.S. Route 66 from Oklahoma City to Tulsa at the age of 73?

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The following are images from various Oklahoma-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Oklahoma topographical map (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 2Map of Indian Territory (Oklahoma) 1889. Britannica 9th ed. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 3American Indian Movement poster from civil rights era (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 4Spiro Mounds on the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 5Köppen climate types of Oklahoma, using 1991-2020 climate normals. (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 6Allen Wright, a Choctaw minister, scholar and chief, is credited as the state's founding father for creating the state's name in 1865. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 7Gushers brought in many of Oklahoma's early oil fields—this one on February 21, 1922, near Okemah. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 8The Dust Bowl ravaged the Oklahoma Panhandle and nearby areas in the 1930s. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 9The Coronado Expedition 1540–1542 (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 10Regional map of Oklahoma (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 11Geographic map of Oklahoma (from Geography of Oklahoma)
Image 12US 1822 (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 13Map of the United States with Oklahoma highlighted (from List of municipalities in Oklahoma)
Image 14Caddoan Languages (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 15Poor mother and children during the Great Depression. Elm Grove, Oklahoma (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 16Flag of Oklahoma (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 17The Republic of Texas. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 18The Great Plains (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 19Cartoonist's rendering of Theodore Roosevelt's initial reaction to the Oklahoma Constitution.^{[needs context]} (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 20The modern United States, with Louisiana Purchase overlay (in green) (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 21Routes to Indian Territory taken by the Five Civilized Tribes, often known as the Trail of Tears. (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 22Oklahoma and Indian Territory, 1890s (from History of Oklahoma)
Image 23Map showing British territorial gains following the Treaty of Paris in pink, and Spanish territorial gains after the Treaty of Fontainebleau in yellow. (from History of Oklahoma)

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WikiProject Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Highways	Missing articles on Oklahoma newspapers	Taskforce Tulsa

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