The National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians (also known as American Indian Hall of Fame), established in 1952 in

Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post of ...

, is part of a complex representing American Indian life. The National Hall of Fame has bronze busts mounted outdoors. The Hall of Fame, which has free admission and is staffed by volunteers, features busts of 41 Native Americans from various tribes to honor their contributions and place in

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...

. Also in Anadarko is the

Southern Plains Indian Museum Southern Plains Indian Museum is a Native American museum located in Anadarko, Oklahoma. It was opened in 1948 under a cooperative governing effort by the United States Department of the Interior and the Oklahoma state government. The museum feat ...

, which features highly-skilled arts and crafts of contemporary and historic artists from both the local Plains tribes, as well as other American Indians relocated to present-day Oklahoma in the 19th century, such as the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, Caddo, Southeastern Woodlands tribes, and others. The museum was established in 1947 and features changing exhibitions and sales of art.

The inducted

American Indians inducted into the Hall have included figures nationally known who never lived in Indian Territory, as well as those associated with Oklahoma during their lives. Among the American Indians inducted into the Hall have been * Sequoyah (Cherokee), who created the Cherokee syllabary *

Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. He had served as the Sena ...

(Kaw/Osage/Potawatomi), politician and vice-president of the United States *

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Nativ ...

(Sac and Fox), athlete and Olympic gold-medal winner *

Allie Reynolds Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Reynolds pitched 13 years for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954). Reynolds was nicknam ...

(Creek), Six-time world series winner
Other figures include war chiefs from the Indian wars: *

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

(Odawa) * Black Hawk (Sauk), * Sitting Bull (Hunkpapa Lakota), * Tecumseh (Shawnee), *

Cochise Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ...

(Chiricahua Apache), * Geronimo (Chiricahua Apache), and *

Chief Joseph ''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), was a leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa ...

(Nez Perce). There are also busts of Stand Watie and John Ross,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

chiefs who took different sides in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, respectively. Another military figure is

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Clarence L. Tinker Major General Clarence Leonard Tinker (21 November 1887 – 7 June 1942) was a career United States Army officer, the highest ranking Native-American officer (as a member of the Osage Nation), and the first to reach that rank. During World War II ...

( Osage), the highest-ranking army officer of Indian ancestry.Victor J. Danilov. ''Hall of Fame Museums'', p. 182 Four women, spanning colonial, 19th-century and contemporary times, were also inducted: *

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

, or Matoaka (Pamunkey), ally of Jamestown settlers and wife of

John Rolfe John Rolfe (1585 – March 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia in 1611. Biography John Rolfe is believed ...

* Sacajawea (Lemhi Shoshone), interpreter and guide for

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

* Roberta Lawson (

), leader of women's clubs and educational institutions, president of

General Federation of Women's Clubs The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890 during the Progressive Movement, is a federation of over 3,000 women's clubs in the United States which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. Many of its activities ...

, with two million members * Alice Brown Davis (Seminole), first woman elected as Principal Chief of the

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest of the three federally recognized Seminole governments, which include the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the M ...

Notes

External links

National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians
Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Dept. of Interior
GuyB, "National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians"
Flickr, photos of each bust {{authority control Museums established in 1952 Native American museums in Oklahoma Outdoor sculptures in Oklahoma Biographical museums in Oklahoma Art museums and galleries in Oklahoma Museums in Caddo County, Oklahoma Halls of fame in Oklahoma

The inducted

See also

Notes

External links