The Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, showcases the art, history, and culture of the so-called "

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by European Americans in the colonial and early federal period in the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek ...

": the

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 ...

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

, Choctaw,

Muscogee (Creek) The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsSeminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

tribes. Housed in the historic Union Indian Agency building,Five Civilized Tribes Museum website
fivetribes.org; accessed May 14, 2010. the museum opened in 1966. The museum holds an extensive collection of

Native American art Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes ...

of the

, including a large collection of originals by Jerome Tiger (Muscogee/Seminole, 1941–1967).

History

The museum originated with the Da-Co-Tah Indian Club, which began campaigning in September 1951 to use the Union Indian Agency building to house a local museum. In 1954, the club sponsored legislation, H.R. Bill No. 8983 by U.S. Representative Ed Edmondson, that petitioned the return of the building to the municipal government of Muskogee, Oklahoma. The legislation was passed and signed by

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

and the museum was incorporated on November 19, 1955. Two years later, Marie L. Wadley (

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

/Cherokee) became the first president of the museum. The building opened its doors as the Five Civilized Tribes Museum on April 26, 1966. In 2016, T. Sean Barney succeeded Mary Robinson as executive director.

Union Indian Agency Building

The Union Indian Agency Building is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

and was constructed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1870s to house the Superintendent of the Five Civilized Tribes. Until this point, each tribe had their own agency, except for the Chickasaws and Choctaws, who shared one at

Boggy Depot ''Boggy Depot'' is the debut solo album by Alice in Chains guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell. The vinyl edition was released on March 31, 1998, and the CD was released on April 7, 1998 through Columbia Records. The album was named after the ...

. The term, "

", was coined around the same time as the opening of the consolidated agency building. The building was used for the offices and residence of the Indian Agency Superintendent and his family. The building was owned by the

Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

and served as a school and orphanage for the

Creek Freedmen Creek Freedmen is a term for emancipated Creeks of African descent who were slaves of Muscogee Creek tribal members before 1866. They were emancipated under the tribe's 1866 treaty with the United States following the American Civil War, during whi ...

. In 1909, the ownership of the building was transferred to the municipal government of Muskogee, Oklahoma. The city passed ownership to the United States government in 1944 to aid the Veterans Hospital facilities, but it was left unused. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it began a new life as “The Chateau” where area residents came to listen and dance to live bands. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the building fell into disrepair until the city and Da-Co-Tah Indian Club worked to repair and restore the building.

Exhibits

On April 16, 1966, the Da-Co-Tah Indian Club opened the doors to the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. The funds used for the restoration of the Old Agency Building had been raised from individual donors, without any federal, state or municipal aid. Since then, the Museum has been following the goals set forth by the Club. The museum helps share the art, culture, and history of the Five Tribes with tours. Exhibitions featuring various aspects of their lives, history and culture are displayed downstairs, and are changed quite frequently. Upstairs one can find many artifacts mixed in with art from either the current competition, or from the Museum's permanent collection. The museum holds an extensive collection of art produced by Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, and Seminole artists, such as Fred Beaver, Johnny Tiger,

Joan Hill Joan Hill (December 19, 1930 – June 16, 2020), also known as Che-se-quah, was a Muscogee Creek artist of Cherokee ancestry. She was one of the most awarded Native American women artists in the 20th century. Personal Joan Hill was born in Musk ...

, and many others. It has the world's largest collection of Jerome Tiger originals, including “Stickballer”, his only major sculpture, which is on permanent display in the gallery.

Da-Co-Tah Indian Club

The goal of the Da-Co-Tah Indian Club was stated in their Bylaws. “The object of this organization shall be to bring members of the various Indian tribes into closer communications for acquaintance, mutual helpfulness, inter-tribal social activities, and to promote awareness of tribal history and accomplishments throughout the greater community area. The club shall be

non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are Secularity, secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian i ...

and non-political”. Those founding women, all of Native American ancestry, chose the name “Da-co-tah” for their club, taken from the

Dakota language Dakota (''Dakhótiyapi, Dakȟótiyapi''), also referred to as Dakhota, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language. It is critically endan ...

, because it means “Circle of Friends.” They met the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Red and gold were chosen for the club colors, being they were the symbols of friendship, of steadfast ideals and of ambition for the future. In 1930, the Da-Co-Tah Indian Club was federated. ''To those pioneer Indians whose courage and fortitude, perseverance and achievement sustained them through travail and disaster and earned for them the name of The Five Civilized Tribes, and who laid the foundation for the State of Oklahoma.'' - These words by Grant Foreman were printed at the beginning of a letter postmarked April 15, 1966, which was sent out in preparation for the opening of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. They participated in many charitable acts, such as donating canned foods, clothes and shoes to the Murrow Orphanage, as well as making sure they were taken to barber shops for their haircuts. They also took the children to attend the Free State Fair once a year and to go see movies, as well as many other activities. The Club raised funds to provide charitable services to poor Indian families, and to make donations to

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

. They raise money for the Drought Relief Fund and the Unemployment Fund.

Events

Each year competitions are held where tribal members can compete in painting, pottery, gourd art, sculpture, and more. The student art show is also held each year, where students with descent from one of the Five Tribes, who are in grades seventh through twelfth, are allowed to compete. Every April, the museum is host to ''Art Under The Oaks'', an art market held on the grounds during the weekend. This gives visitors a chance to buy directly from the vendors, all members of one of the five tribes, as well as see traditional singing and dancing. November hosts the Master's Show featuring works of Five Tribes Master Artists.

Publications

In 1984, the Museum published a cookbook of recipes submitted by Native Americans and others entitled Pow Wow Chow. Decades later, Senator

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

's submission of six recipes, and falsely signing herself "Elizabeth Warren - Cherokee," became a matter of controversy during political campaigns.

References

External links

Five Civilized Tribes Museum website

Five Civilized Tribes Museum on TravelOK.com
Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma {{Coord, 35, 45, 50, N, 95, 24, 52, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-OK Museums established in 1955 Native American museums in Oklahoma History museums in Oklahoma Museums in Muskogee County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Muskogee, Oklahoma Tourist attractions in Muskogee, Oklahoma 1955 establishments in Oklahoma