Tulsa’s Forgotten Creek Heritage
Excerpted from The Great Oklahoma Swindle: Race, Religion, and Lies in America’s Weirdest State by Russel Cobb by
Russell Cobb
Filter / Sort
Brave New Park
It’s one of those steam baths of a late August night. Cicadas are revving up their engines in the post oaks and
Russell Cobb
Outlaw Canon
On first glance, much about Bobby BlueJacket: The Tribe, The Joint, The Tulsa Underworld is suspect: the absurd length
Joshua Kline
BlueJacket, Inside Out
Part 4, Section 1 — Bobby BlueJacket and Bobby Wilson strolled across the Stone Brothers Buick car lot under lines
Michael P. Daley
The Ballad of Sis Cunningham
In late May 1940, Woody Guthrie was riding high in New York City. Although Guthrie had already made a name for himself
Richard Higgs
Agnes Taylor
Agnes Taylor’s family album is full of hardscrabble farmers, war heroes, and football champions—she’s a
Jeremy Charles
Stalking the Smoking Gun
Every so often, perhaps once a week, the Oklahoma State Senate closes its doors, posts aging sentries outside in the
David Fritze
Love, Lennie
Like most of our peers, my brother and I were big fans of the TV sitcom The Odd Couple when we were growing up in
Charles Morrow
Starlight
To fans of classic films the name Jennifer Jones evokes images of a brunette beauty with distinctive high cheekbones,
Les Howell
Oklahoma: Land of Gore
Sometimes the gore tumbles from the cottonwood trees on the South Canadian River. Those were squirrels that never
Dale Ingram
The Secret Wheat Deal
In 1968, Richard Nixon began calling for an end to the Vietnam War. As a candidate for the presidency in 1968, he gave
James C. Thomas
Last Nice Day
There is a television channel that only shows the live radar, and my parents watch it the way other people watch
Meg Thompson
Death Under the Strawberry Moon
By 1794, the Cherokees were settling in the West in growing numbers, and conflict with the Osage over hunting rights
James Murray
The Pacifist Preacher & Quanah Parker
The Fourth Cavalry mustered at the gates of Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas. Led by Colonel Ranald Mackenzie, the
Jay Cyril Mastrud
The Anti-Okie Panic
In the public discourse, the desperate people pouring over the border in search of work were described as an “influx
Thomas Conner
The Time I Shot Donald Trump
There was a year—I don’t remember the exact one but definitely around the height of his new-found celebrité in
Juan Reinoso
Trust Me
I used to think the funniest thing I’d ever heard Donald Trump say was when, one day in his office, he handed me a
Mark Singer
Leaning
At the 2016 Republican National Convention, which I covered for Flavorwire, I said (perhaps too optimistically) to
Tatiana Ryckman
Mathematical Traditions
American Indians generally have had a pragmatic orientation to the use and study of mathematics. In most Indian
Chris Landon
Our Own Formulas
The 27th of May, 1949, was a momentous day for Louis “Speedy” Wiley, my grandfather. In the span of 24 hours, he
Apollonia Piña
Okie Islam
In late March 1963, field minister Arthur 7-X held a press conference in Oklahoma City. Nation of Islam travelers had
James Murray
The Old Ways
In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were
Annie Heartfield Hartzog
‘Til the Clowns Come Home
Passing Oaklawn Cemetery, on our way to Mazzio’s, Michelle made her request: “Mitch, can you take off your hat?”
Mitch Gilliam
Firelight Along the Frontier
Flames rushed skyward from a structure less than a mile away across the sagebrush. At the height of another dry desert
Michael Canyon Meyer
The Atonement of Christie
Was Nede Wade “Ned” Christie a bloody outlaw or a wrongfully accused Cherokee patriot? That was the question in
Kent F. Frates
The Native Hue of Resolution
The Riverside Indian School is perched on a hill along the Washita River in the wind-whipped town of Anadarko,
Marcos Barbery
The Skunk Paint Years
It’s customary to begin with introductions amongst the Sioux. Even though this is a one-sided introduction—and
Marcus Bush
A New Day
Last September in the town of Bartlesville, 15-year-old Blue Haase got a ride to his local school board meeting. During
Molly Bullock
In My Tribe
A childhood summer afternoon is thrown into relief. I’m 10 years old. My big sister Kat and I are spending the day
Jezy J. Gray
The Greatest of Wrongs
The initial idea of the compilation of this work was to give the reading public an authentic record of the private life
Geronimo and S.M. Barrett
Home Territory
We headed south from McAlester to the Texas border in early morning. The day was blazing hot, humid, no wind. Typical
Rilla Askew
Imagine There’s No Cowboy
Indians on horseback have been stampeding across the television screen all afternoon. It’s the mid-1960s, so maybe
LeAnne Howe
The Mummy of John Wilkes Booth
"My ashes, as the phoenix, may bring forth A bird that will revenge upon you all." — William
Gordon Grice
Surviving and Sustaining at Gosney Farms
One night in 1997, a concerned neighbor called John and Kris (Ratzlaff) Gosney of Cheyenne Valley, Oklahoma, with a
R.E. Graalman Jr.
The Piano Player
For a divorced woman getting by as a music teacher in 1921, Patti Adams Shriner achieved an incredibly bold ambition
Scott Pendleton
Katie Rain Hill
Katie Rain Hill is a commitment-phobe. She’s recently finished a degree in anthropology and sociology with a minor
This Land
In Transit
My alarm was set for 7:00 am, and when I woke up, it felt like Christmas morning. My boyfriend’s mom, Denise,
Katie Rain Hill
The Cyclone
It was Sunday afternoon, April 3, 1892, still and sultry, with a black cloud lying ominously back in the west and
Francis Moore Milburn
Weather You Care
A colorful sign reads, “MOTEL Reno.” The sky is dark with clouds in an array of white and black. Rain patters the
Mason Powell
Down Through There
I took a moment to see all my friends and Brothers one last time, then I was off to the laundry. My closest Brothers
Jimmy Maxwell
How to Arrest the Increase of Homicides in America
It must be conceded that we are in a peculiar condition in this nation today—in such a condition that, in my
Liam Carey
At Risk
While driving to a visit in Adair County on an early afternoon in the rolling brown of a northeastern
Christopher Murphy
Rhyme & Punishment
I come to David L. Moss every week to teach poetry to incarcerated women. It’s become so routine that all of the
Beth Niestemski
Kurt Vonnegut’s Oklahoma Eden
On a warm day in December, Woolaroc ranch hands are rounding up the bison for the annual inspection and culling. A
Ginger Strand
Land of Grand Librarians
Every day an imposing shadow strides across our nation’s capital from the largest library in the world. While the
Larry Guthrie
My Uncle Was an Astro Zombie!
My uncle was an astro zombie. I know you don’t believe me. No one does. When I whisper it to my neighbors, their
Dale Ingram
A Childhood Noir
My earliest recollections are of being pinched. Not in the figurative sense, but actually. I was an awkward,
Jim Thompson
Transcending the Curriculum
I arrived at Ada Junior High School 15 minutes early. I walked past the football team, heard the whistle shrilling, the
Ken Hada
Rideshare vs. Car Ownership
Rideshare services like Uber or Lyft are most often seen as a substitute for a taxicab—a safe ride home after a night
Michael D. Bates
The Green Glacier
"I saw that the name you put to a thing depended on where you stood and where it stood. And… and here’s the
Kyle Walker
Original Okie: Lisa Regan
Lisa Regan taught herself metalwork with welding tools borrowed from a mechanic friend with an auto body
This Land
No One From Here Gets Out Alive
Last week I got the phone call. You know the call I’m talking about: the one that concludes your favorite book and
Chris Sandel
Two Ways of Looking at a Turkey Vulture
One: After work one day, I lay on the couch beneath the picture window. Outside, the Siberian elms tossed their
Gordon Grice
Hair Squared
When Vidal Sassoon realized in the 1950s that he wanted to “change hairdressing to a different form of art,” he
Marcia Beauchamp
What the Thunder Said
This story was made possible in part by our friends at City of Guthrie. Thank you, City of Guthrie, for supporting
Bayard Godsave
Isolation Is the Gift
This story was made possible in part by our friends at City of Guthrie. Thank you, City of Guthrie, for supporting
Mitch Gilliam
An Oklahoma Son Airs His Family Secrets
By the early 1970s, the writer John Cheever had slipped beyond alcoholic; his prodigious drinking had likely caused
Adrian Margaret Brune
I’m Doing a Thing
Eric Fransen is a carpenter who has a woodworking studio in downtown Tulsa. At one point in his past, he was pursuing a
This Land
The Horror in the Ouachita Mountains
This story was made possible in part by our friends at City of Guthrie. Thank you, City of Guthrie, for supporting
James McGirk
Dixie Michell
Born and raised in New Orleans, musician and luthier Dixie Michell’s design sensibility grew from a childhood passion
This Land
The Miracle of ‘Mass’
My wife and I drove the handful of miles from our beloved 92-year-old bungalow in Mesta Park to the Oklahoma City Civic
Jake Johnson
What Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck?
Before he was recognized by Forbes as one of the world’s wealthiest hip-hop stars, before Jim Morrison and The Doors
James Benjamin
Q & A with Bryant Oden
Oklahoma native and Rocky Mountain transplant Bryant Oden has made a career of writing goofy songs for
This Land
Lee Makes the Flowers Grow
West of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, on old Highway 51, past the grounds of the razed Hissom asylum, stand two stoplights.
Mitch Gilliam
The Filth and the Fury
Although Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom later became famous for catching future superstars like U2, The Police, and Van
John Wooley & Brett D. Bingham
A Ride With Bob
Confession time: Based on how huge an influence Bob Wills has always been on Asleep at the Wheel, you might think that
Ray Benson
On the Mystery Train with JD McPherson
Everybody knows Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at a Mississippi crossroads one fateful midnight and gained
Brian Ted Jones
Radio Revival
Somewhere in between the mindless banter of sports talk radio, the bubblegum lyrics of top 40 hits, and the NPR
Gail Banzet-Ellis
Trespassing Oklahoma
I. When I heard the shots—two quick bursts of three—I realized I’d lost track of my dog. A pickup about 300
Richard Higgs
Bookstores of the Big Middle
I take vacations based around bookstores. Other attractions (museums, concerts, culinary destinations) certainly factor
Jeff Martin
School Spirits
Thep Phongparnich slinks into the conference room on Maejo University in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai, and
Kristi Eaton
Old Toy Trains, Little Toy Tracks
In an unremarkable field north of Route 66 sits a small collection of metal memorabilia, including a cactus, a Martian,
Rhys Martin
Borrowed Traditions
This past June, the Japanese fiddler Okano Susumu1 celebrated his 59th birthday by taking time out from a work trip to
Denis Gainty
So Long, Tom Skinner
The door to room 1451 at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa was practically revolving. Tom Skinner’s hospital room was
Lindsay Kline
Woody’s Jesus
Now as I look around, it’s mighty plain to me This world is such a great and a funny place to be The gamblin’
Faith Phillips
A Naked Person Is Not a Poem
Harrod Blank seems like an affable, naturally cheery fella. You’d think then that his dad, documentary filmmaker Les
Thomas Conner
Make War on Peyote
Ponca City, April 16—There are some Indian tribes in the United States, alleged believers in Christianity, who, in
C.M. Sarchet
The Last Lynching in Cimarron
At the little weather-beaten station one hot Sunday morning a single passenger alighted from the dirty car pulled by
Cyrus Townsend Brady
Where the Goddesses Go
In his book The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Leonard Shlain theorizes that literacy has a shadow side, that it may have
Shaun Perkins
Wind Cannot Dry, Water Cannot Wet
Today is May 1. However, this day will have come and gone by the time you read this. I intentionally chose this day
Egunwale F. Amusan
Devotion and Consciousness
The Hindu Temple is non-sectarian and is open to all worshipers and other visitors who wish to know about Hinduism,
Subhash Kak
Tulsa’s Temple of the Three Jewels
In 563 BCE, on the full moon day of April, a prince was born, named Siddhartha Gautama, who would leave his kingdom
This Land
Scalpel
Almost every patient mentions how it’s cold in the operating room. We keep the room around 60 degrees, in part to
David Schneider
Passing Over
I check my email before going to bed and find a message from my ex-husband with “Sad News” in the subject line. I
Cheryl Pallant
Shalom, Ardmore
I went down to Ardmore looking for the last Jews in a town that could—if it were so inclined—lay claim to the title
Russell Cobb
The Gold and the Glory
When Oral Roberts was 16, afflicted with tuberculosis and convinced he was going to die, a voice came to him out of the
David Fritze
Letter to My Son the Weekend He Died
Friday Dear Paul, February 15, 2008— You died today—maybe you know that. Twenty-four. It’s
Barry Friedman
New Documentary Details Japan’s Country Music Culture
This Land Films is pleased to announce a new partnership with director James Payne and producer Matt Leach to produce
This Land
Video Killed the Pulpit Star
A young guy wearing a cobalt blue hoodie and shiny leather jacket has just robbed a woman’s purse. Rummaging through
Mike Mariani
An Astrological Look at Oklahoma
Most people know about the Sun Sign column in the newspaper, but did you know that astrologers do much more? We
Lynn Bootes
Love Beyond Belief
When you have a church that is bound together by a promise rather than a belief system, you free people to be honest
Reverend Dr. Marlin Lavanhar
Scenes from Muslim Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol
Muslims in Oklahoma, like other minority communities in the state, haven’t always felt secure in their homes and
Randy R Potts
Heaven Is a Place for Sale
Roberts Liardon loves talking about the sofa he sat on in Heaven. “It was alive,” he tells the congregation at
Sarah Morice Brubaker
Chicken Fat
Everybody at Alice Robertson Junior High in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was wondering why we, of all the students in the entire
Janis Cramer
Denise Bell
It was a road trip to the Taos Wool Festival that inspired Tulsa native Denise Bell to hand-dye her own yarn. That was
Chris Dykes
Sci-Fi’s Tough Guy
Descending by car into the flaccid Florida peninsula on I-95 can make a bull rider reach for a Valium. Cars, trucks,
Grant McClintock
Reminiscences of an Early Dental Practitioner in Western Oklahoma
It was a wide open range country, featured by boundless rolling hills carpeted by green grass and acres of many hued
Dr. F. C. Holmes
A Meditation on Metaphors
If you go online and look up “bad metaphors and similes,” here are a few examples you’re likely to
Darren Ingram
The True Blues and the Tiger Eyes vs. the Ku Klux Klan
Tom Bouggous was a man who stood out in a crowd. He was an outspoken and powerfully built Indian who had lived in the
David A. Farris
Onehorse, OK, pop. 1,000: Saaaaaaalute
Driving home tonight, I see Loretta Lynn on a casino billboard & take a left turn to
Benjamin Myers