Dead Warrior Lake, sometimes known by its prior name of Dead Indian Lake, is located about 3 miles south of

Roll, Oklahoma Roll is a community located in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, United States. The community is on U.S. Highway 283 at the junction with State Highway 47. Cheyenne lies approximately 11 miles to the south along Route 283. The Canadian River ...

, and 11 miles north of

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

Roger Mills County, Oklahoma Roger Mills County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,647, making it the third-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Cheyenne. The county was create ...

, on US Route 283. The lake and the adjacent Black Kettle Recreation Area are all part of the

Black Kettle National Grassland The Black Kettle National Grassland, in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma and Hemphill County, Texas, contains of which are in Oklahoma. Named for the Indian leader Black Kettle, the grassland is managed by the Cibola National Forest, which also m ...

, which is managed by the

Cibola National Forest The Cibola National Forest (pronounced SEE-bo-lah) is a 1,633,783 acre (6,611.7 km2) United States National Forest in New Mexico, USA. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. The name w ...

. The lake is about 80 acres in size. Popular species of fish caught here include flathead catfish, black drum, and blue catfish. The surroundings include amenities such as picnic tables, fireplaces, fishing piers, a boat ramp, docks, and a nature trail. Primitive camp sites are also available.

Dead Warrior Creek

A watercourse called at that time Dead Indian Creek was dammed in the 1950s to create the lake, and the Dead Indian Lake name followed. Early settlers in the area gave the creek that name after discovering a

burial site. Both the creek and the lake were rechristened in June 2006 to use the "Dead Warrior" name. This came about by a decision of the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...

which resolved almost a decade of controversy about whether the prior titles were offensive to Native Americans. The creek starts west-southwest of Roll, and proceeds generally southeast before becoming a tributary of the

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geography The ...

west-northwest of

Strong City, Oklahoma Strong City is a town in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 47 at the 2010 census. History The town of Strong City was formally established June 25, 1912. It was named for Clint Strong, a railroad official and entre ...

References

Lakes of Oklahoma {{US-lake-stub