November is National American Indian Heritage Month [1]! Oklahoma has done much to preserve American Indian culture and customs but, of course, this wasn’t always the case. Learn about Oklahoma’s past, as well as other state’s histories in American Indian History Online [2]. This database connects members with primary sources, maps, videos, and much more. Search by keyword, topic, resources, and eras.   

American Indian History offers fast access to more than 15,000 years of culture and history, covering more than 600 Native American groups, through tablet/mobile-friendly videos and slideshows, images, biographies of key people, event and topic entries, primary sources, maps and graphs, and timelines. With a user-friendly interface, this award-winning database allows for an interactive, multifaceted look at the indigenous peoples of the Americas. An important feature is full cross-searchability across all the Infobase history databases for an even more comprehensive view of history. – from the vendor

This week, in place of an open site, I’d like to recommend David Grann,’s meticulously researched and thrilling, Killers of the Flower Moon - ebook [3], eaudio [4], book [5], cd [6]. While most Oklahomans are familiar with the murders, few know the full, horrifying story.

“In the 1920s, the Osage found themselves in a unique position among Native Americans tribes. As other tribal lands were parceled out in an effort by the government to encourage dissolution and assimilation of both lands and culture, the Osage negotiated to maintain the mineral rights for their corner of Oklahoma, creating a kind of “underground reservation.” It proved a savvy move; soon countless oil rigs punctured the dusty landscape, making the Osage very rich. And that’s when they started dying.” - Amazon

Action Steps

1. Using American Indian History Online [2], choose a culture area or an era
2. List one interesting fact about a tribe or an event – link to your source if you like!

Free notebooks for all commenters!