OU Native American students and a Native American studies professor said the effects of the pandemic and respect for elders in tribal nations have resulted in Native American groups achieving
In March, OU honored five Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma with the opening of the Five Moons Lounge in Copeland Hall, which was intended to serve as a source of representation and inspiration for all. OU Native American students, however, said they still feel underrepresented at OU and by education surrounding Native American studies.Â
OU Press Editor Joseph Brandt and OU President William Bizzell sought to construct an American Indian institute at OU, according to the Native American Studies website. Three courses were inaugurated in the 1930s, making OU one of the first universities to make Native American and Indigenous studies a curricular focus.
Dacoda McDowell-Wahpekeche
Is it Native American, American Indian or Indigenous?
Those terms and others are used to describe people with tribal descent in Oklahoma and other states. The question is: What is the correct term?
The state of Oklahoma is home to 38 federally recognized sovereign nations. In 2003, The Oklahoman reported on which tribes are indigenous to Oklahoma. They are the Osage, Caddo, Kiowa, Comanche and Wichita.
Tribes including the Potawatomis, Kickapoos and the Shawnees moved to Oklahoma because of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 signed by then-President Andrew Jackson. Those tribes wouldn’t be considered indigenous to the state of Oklahoma but are indigenous to the United States as a whole.