Leaving Cherokee Nation and on to Historic Rt. 66 in the Midwest-Miami, Oklahoma (6/2021)

 My husband was the first to observe that there were differences in the license plates as we drove around Indian Territory/Oklahoma. There are at least 16 different tribes that call this state "home." The legal status of these plates varies by tribe, with some being recognized by the federal government and others not. 

Today, the Cherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the United States with more than 390,000 tribal citizens worldwide. More than 141,000 Cherokee Nation citizens reside within the tribe’s reservation boundaries in northeastern Oklahoma.

This one line  from early research at the Oklahoma Historical Society still resonates in my brain: 

"The Cherokees were the largest slaveholders among Native American nations, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society."

 An interesting article from BET this past year:

Cherokee Nation Seeking To Collect Family Histories Of Slave Descendants, As It Remembers Those Enslaved By The Tribe

I was and am so conflicted over this. I had a tough time driving through the Cherokee Nation and was glad to be leaving it as we drove on into the night. I did a couple "fuck you's" and "how could you cry about your trail of tears when you had black folk doing the heavy lifting," and drove on. Very distinct childhood memories kept flooding back- the black side of the VA family getting bragging rights for their nice hair and Cherokee heritage. I was so confused now. Even tracing the black folks who "settled" on the frontier became muddled. Were they "freedmen," descendants of the enslaved by Indians or "pioneers," freed folks from the Whites after the Civil War who came to squat and "claim" (some would argue steal) land to start to make a life for themselves. 

Another interesting article talks about further indignities the Cherokee visited upon black folk when they kicked them out and off the governemental doles claiming they weren't "true blood." This expulsion wasn't in the 19th century, it happened in 1983 and legal battling continues to this day. Not to mention, as our family did often enough, the "mixed bloods" who actually do have some Indigenous blood in them.

cherokee-slavery-court-decision/

Bye bye Cherokee Nation, I won't see you again. A bit surprised at my feelings, but there they were...

No not Florida, Miami Oklahoma.

Nine Native American tribes are located in or near Miami; Quapaw Tribe, Wyandotte Tribe, Modoc Tribe, Miami Tribe, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe, Ottawa Tribe, Eastern Shawnee Tribe, Peoria Tribe, and Shawnee Tribe.

A small city that was also part of Indian Territory. It has rolling prairies that we travelled through a bit before we hooked up to the Historic Route 66. The county is named Ottawa. Both the Ottawa and the Miami were on the land when a white man came along and bought about 600 acres and the town was born in 1891. Known for lead and Zinc mines in the area, this created the "boom" to grow this town.

Sadly, historic Woody's diner from 1930's didn't make it thru the pandemic. 

Miami is known more now for tourism, but you can tell the town has seen hard times

Cute little touristy things to be found on Rt.66. This chapel has been around since 1954.

In 1991, Route 66 Cultural District teamed up with 10 artists to create the history of the town in Murals. 

NEO began as the School of Mines in 1919 and is now called the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.

Imagining a prairie home from 1925. It was estimated to cost $76k in 2021.

One of Miami's big tourist attraction is Coleman Theatre-built in 1929 by local mining magnate George Coleman. The theatre has a distinctive Spanish Colonial Revival exterior.

As you leave "historic" Rt. 66 Main St. Oklahoma, another picture emerges. This vacant site is 2 acres large. It last was a retail place called "Treasure Hunt" that sold salvage items.

And sadly yes there is an ubiquitous "Dollar General" in this scruffy, rundown part of Miami, OK.  Who knew what happened to the business on the right. It didn't look like new damage, but just old damage left to decay.