Oklahoma

Oklahoma City is the state’s largest city and the capital.  It is also home to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center.  It is a 31-acre complex that honors the cowboys and cowgirls of the past in three different ways.  There is an art gallery, with an extensive Western-art collection featuring Charles M. Russel, James Earle Fraser, and Frederic Remington.  Don’t forget to visit the 33-foot tall statue of Buffalo Bill Cody.  The next is The West of Yesterday, a recreation of a frontier village.  The last is dedicated to such heroes of the west as John Wayne, Tom Mix, and Gene Autry, which are located in the Western Performers Hall of Fame.  Another must see is Kirkpatrick Center, which is the city’s cultural and recreational center.  Other exhibits in the Center are the Omniplex Science Museum, the Air Space Museum, the Red Earth Indian Center, and the Kirkpatrick Planetarium, Conservatory, and Botanical Gardens.   

There are many public parks and recreation areas in Oklahoma.  At Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, you can dig for selenite crystals in the salt flats of what was once the enormous Great Salt Plains.  Today a man-made lake covers much of the area, and it attracts such migrating birds as whooping cranes, pelicans, and eagles.  Be sure to walk the Eagle Roost Nature Trail, which is adjacent to Great Salt Plains State Park.  Finally, Spiro Mounds Archaeological Park is the site of nine Native American burial mounds that date all the way back to the 13^th and 14^th century.

Visit the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Don't photograph Native American ceremonies or dances without asking permission.

Descendants from the original 67 tribes which inhabited the Indian Territory still live in Oklahoma today.

 

:: Feedback    :: Email Us    :: Staff Profiles    :: Agency Information    :: Webmaster    :: Home Page

Toll Free:  (800) 450-3273     Local:  (218) 829-3187     Fax: (218) 829-3922 102 Laurel Place, Brainerd MN 56401