Waiting and Mad, by Charles Marion Russell (1899)

 

A real look into the internal workings of the mind of Charlie Russell, Cowboy Artist Extraordinaire, with this witty and wonderful picture, Waiting and Mad (1899).

People who have known me for some time have surely heard me say, “I’ve been married for 33 years and I’ve spent 27 of them waiting.”  As someone who regularly waits by the door, waits by the shower and waits in the car while my Much Better Half does whatever it is that he’s doing, the feeling in this picture is very familiar.  And I’m sure the look on my face is much the same.

Just to be upfront about it – I love this picture.   Though Charlie was merely a capable draughtsman of the human form, every detail of this picture speaks volumes.

The story is clear from the surroundings and the look of … sultry disgust on the Indian woman’s face.  Here is a beautiful and sexualized woman – notice the nearly exposed breast and the provocative curve of hip.  Her pallet is ready for company, but the fire in the foreground has grown cold (a witty joke), the dinner bowl is now empty, and the long pipe is cast aside and unused (ditto).  Like the wispy smoke from the dead fire, there is only a dissipating trace of something that was once hot.

Most delicious of all is the look on her face: a mixture of disappointment, fury, resignation and bored familiarity.  One has the distinct impression that this has happened before, and will probably happen again in the future.  And she knows it.

So … why do I like this painting so much?  Mainly because Charlie’s views on humanity were much smarter and commonsensical than the ways we are taught to think today.  Charlie knew many Native Americans in his time in the West, and genuinely liked them.  He was one of nature’s democrats – he judged people as individuals, and knew that, as groups, people are more alike than they are different.

Today, we are taught that our differences matter more than our similarities, and that our cultural peculiarities are some sacred carapace that protect us from being more like one another.  Charlie would’ve thought we were crazy (and I’m with Charlie).  This picture works so well because Charlie was able to capture the look of everyone who has ever waited for their wife or husband to show up.  It would be the same picture if the woman was in an Asian setting, or a Middle-European one, or in a contemporary American home: and that is Charlie’s point.  We’re all people, and we’re all more alike than we are different. 

 

I love this picture! What do you think of it?

STAR WARS: A DISGUISED WESTERN - Meg Mims

I can hear it now... "but Star Wars is sci-fi." "It's set in fictional worlds of outer space." "Star Wars, a western? BUNKO!" Aha. You may not agree, but I'll try to convince you that this classic American film is indeed a disguised "western" in "a galaxy far, far away."

First, I'll confess that my first date with my husband was going to the movies in 1977 to see Star Wars. We'd heard how good it was, yadda yadda. Hey, we like good movies. So why not? Like any newly dating couples, we were cautious (no popcorn, might stick in the teeth... do we hold hands this soon? nah... what else should I say to a guy I don't know well?) Once the film began, with the "backstory" scrolling into the distance, and the small space ship being swallowed up by the huge Imperial cruiser -- we totally forgot each other. The movie was *that* good.

Everyone knows that George Lucas is a western fan. Sure, he loved Flash Gordon and wanted to incorporate those elements, but here's what he also said:

"I liked westerns. Westerns were very big when I was growing up. When we finally got a television there was a whole run of westerns on television. John Wayne films, directed by John Ford, before I knew who John Ford was. I think those were very influential in my enjoyment of movies."  (Click here to read the whole interview) Okay, so he enjoyed westerns. It doesn't prove Star Wars is a western in disguise. This is only my opinion, after all.

Think analogy. Let's consider the setting of Star Wars too. Skip the whole Princess Leia vs. Darth Vader confrontation on his ship and go straight to Tatooine -- a desert planet. Reminds me of New Mexico or west Texas (except it was filmed in the Tunisian desert) -- and the "ranch" Luke Skywalker lives on is actually a moisture farm, scratching out a sparse living (much like any desert area in the old west.) The "droid" robots could be imagined as the "cattle" -- except they help work on the farm tending "vaporators."

Okay, let's go back to Princess Leia, who cannot escape from villainous Darth Vader. Her droid robots C3PO and R2D2 use an escape pod to avoid capture and land on Tatooine, where they are "rustled" by the Jawa creatures to be sold to the highest bidder. And that's how they end up at Uncle Owen's farm. Luke takes on a quest to find the reclusive Obi Wan Kenobi that he knows as Ben Kenobi (consider him to be an old west "sheriff" since the Jedi masters once kept order using the Force and their light sabers).

Luke engages with Tatooine's Tusken Raiders (think native Americans) before Ben Kenobi rescues him. This cements a bond between them, making Luke his mentee, especially after they discover that Darth Vader's "soldier" or Stormtroopers destroyed the Jawa transport as well as killed Luke's aunt and uncle at their farm. Luke has no choice but to join Ben Kenobi -- who gives Luke his father's light saber (as deadly as a Colt or Peacemaker in the old west). The mentee becomes the "deputy" with this weapon and must learn to use it. And while these lessons take place later on on a space ship, Luke and Ben could easily be standing anywhere in the old west shooting tin cans off a fence.

Ben and Luke (and the droids) head to the "den of scum and villainry" called Mos Eisley (which could be Dodge City, Deadwood, Tombstone) to find some way of escaping the villains. Enter Han Solo, mercenary -- think of him as a hired gunslinger -- who makes a deal with Luke and Kenobi at the cantina. But first, Han runs into a bounty hunter -- and ends up killing Greedo first. Harrison Ford was a natural in this film. His first credited role was in the western A Time to Kill before he appeared in Gunsmoke, The Virginian and Kung Fu, and after his Star Wars and Indiana Jones series of films, played a villain in Cowboys and Aliens. And after shooting the bounty hunter, Han Solo tosses a coin to the barkeeper and says, "sorry about the mess." Classic! He struts off, his blaster once again holstered and tied to his leg.

Since Princess Leia didn't cooperate with the villainous Darth Vader (the real bad guy), she was sent to "jail" -- and Luke talks Han into rescuing her. She is the love interest, after all, like any western "damsel in distress." Plus Ben Kenobi (the sheriff, remember) must confront the villain Darth Vader -- Ben believes only he can defeat him. Luke and Han (deputy and gunslinger) end up in trouble during the rescue and Leia must save the day (a nice twist), but they end up jumping from the frying pan into the fire. (In case you haven't seen Star Wars, I'll keep the details vague.) And the ultimate showdown between Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi (villain and sheriff) sends Luke (deputy) into a further showdown with the enemy.

Okay, that's enough proof for one post. I suppose I could go on and talk about the other films in the series, but Star Wars (A New Hope) is enough for now. And check this out! I stumbled over this site when researching about Star Wars' characters -- they "rebooted" them as collectibles. Click here if you're interested in seeing the West Wars figures. Here's a picture of them. Pretty wild.

Oh, my boyfriend back then (now my husband) and I ended up seeing Star Wars at least sixteen times. That movie was far better than anything else released that year -- and we saw more things we missed the first few times. We're still total fans to this day of the original three films, as is our daughter. May the Force be with you! And happy trails to you as well.

Award-winning mystery author Meg Mims lives in Southeastern Michigan with her husband, a 'Make My Day' Malti-poo dog. Her sweet Lhasa Apso-mix rescue dog -- the "hero" of her Christmas novella Santa Paws -- will live forever in her heart. Meg loves writing novels, short novellas and short stories, both contemporary and historical. Her Spur Award / Laramie Award winning Double series is now among the Prairie Rose Publications book list. Meg is also one-half of the D.E. Ireland team writing the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery series for St. Martin's Minotaur. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. 

American Indians and the Law Part 3

Troy D. Smith

Welcome to part three of this series dealing with American Indians and the courts. If you missed them, you can go back and check out PART ONE and PART TWO.

As promised, from this point I am going to discuss some especially important legal cases that took place in the post-Civil War American West. Most of these cases are at least partially linked to precedents set in the Marshall decisions in the era leading up to the Trail of Tears, but further refined legal concepts introduced in those earlier rulings. We will begin with one of those (unfortunately) rare cases that has kind of a happy ending for the indigenous people involved.

STANDING BEAR v. CROOK, 1879

If you are familiar with Western history and particularly the Indian Wars, you might immediately wonder if the "Crook" in question was General George Crook, who at various times opposed the Sioux and fought against Geronimo's Apaches. The answer is yes, THAT Crook. But who was Standing Bear?

Standing Bear was a Ponca Indian- a small tribe who had long lived in what would later be Nebraska. In 1877 they were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma.) About a third of the tribe perished upon arriving, many of starvation, including Chief Standing Bear's son. Standing Bear had promised his son that he would bury him in their Nebraska homeland, so when his son expired the chief and a Ponca contingent left the reservation and traveled north to do just that. General Crook was ordered to Nebraska to arrest them.

The general, however, was sympathetic to their plight, especially after he heard about the abysmal conditions on the reservation to which they had been removed. He arranged to get legal counsel for the chief, and they agreed to work pro bono. Susette La Flesche also agreed to help, serving as interpreter; La Flesche was a well-educated Native American woman who was married to an Omaha newspaper editor. Soon Standing Bear's story was being spread around the country, to mostly sympathetic ears.

Standing Bear's counsel sued for a writ of habeas corpus -that is, to have a hearing to be released from unlawful detention without evidence or cause. General Crook, even though he was sympathetic to Standing Bear's cause, was named as defendant because technically he was the government agent holding him under arrest. The case was heard in district court in Omaha.

Standing Bear was allowed to testify on his own behalf, and -raising his right hand -said: "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I prick it, the blood will flow, and I shall feel pain. The blood is of the same color as yours. God made me, and I am a man."   

The judge ruled in Standing Bear's favor. These were the five principle points of the judge's decision:

"First. That an Indian is a person with the meaning of the laws of the United States, and has therefore the right to sue out a writ of habeas corpus in a federal court and before a federal judge, in all cases where he may be confined, or in custody under color of authority of the United States, or where he is restrained of liberty in violation of the constitution or laws of the United States.

Second. That General George Cook, the respondent, being the commander of the military department of the Platte, has the custody of the relators [the Poncas] under color of authority of the United States, and in violation of the laws thereof.

Third. That no rightful authority exists for removing by force any of the relators to the Indian Territory, as the respondent has been directed to do.

Fourth. That the Indians possess the inherent right of expatriation as well as the more fortunate white race, and have the inalienable right to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,' so long as they obey the laws and do not trespass on forbidden ground. And

Fifth. Being restrained of liberty under color of authority of the United States, and in violation of the laws thereof, the relators must be discharged from custody, and it is so ordered."


In other words, Standing Bear and his contingent were free to go, and free to bury his son.

On a larger level, though, there were much broader implications. The biggest one was: An Indian is a person, according to law.  As a person, even though not American citizens (that didn't come until 1924, despite the Fourteenth Amendment stating that anyone born on American soil was an American citizen), Indians therefore have "natural rights" such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." And individual Indians, if detained for no justifiable reason, have recourse to the courts.

Of course, there was still a long way to go, and a lot of legal points to be decided. One of them -one of the biggest, in fact -is: who has jurisdiction on an Indian reservation, the Indians or the federal government? Next time we'll look at a couple of cases that helped refined the court's official approach to that question.

You might also enjoy reading my blog series "Writing About Indians When You're Not One," which I will be adding to soon. Here are the topics we've covered there:

KINSHIP
BALANCE
INDIANS ARE PEOPLE
LEADERSHIP
PROPERTY
GENDER
SPACE AND TIME
SPORTS
THE ENVIRONMENT

You might also want to check out these fictional works with American Indian themes, available at amazon, smashwords, and barnes and noble...

TROY D. SMITH is an assistant professor of history at Tennessee Tech University, where he teaches American Indian History, American Indian Law, Environmental History, and Cherokee History.

Hollywood Hi-Jinks with Western History

Hollywood sure has done some major hi-jinks over the years with western history. After all, isn't movie-making all about raking in the dough? They're not making dry as dust documentaries. Who would go see a film without rough and tumble saloon fights, Indians on the warpath, circled wagons, high noon street shoot-outs?

The heck with true history! Right? Ahem.

Here are a few examples of Hollywood movies that played fast and loose with the Old West. I'm not putting down these movies. Take it all with a grain of salt - but Doris Day as Calamity Jane?  Even if Martha Jane was supposedly considered "attractive" in her youth, by the time she met Wild Bill, that semblance was long gone. Leathery skin from the wind and sun, muscular with rarely washed hair - I mean, Doris Day? REALLY? Here's a side-by-side view of the two. See for yourself. I'll even throw out photos of Howard Keel and the real Wild Bill Hickok too.

Howard could have slapped on a mustache and wig, for heaven's sake. Even though some of the scenes show Doris sans makeup - well, she was no plain Jane no matter what! Oh well. Here's a trailer for the movie - and it plays fast and loose with the romance between Wild Bill and Martha Jane too. No clear historical record existed of a marriage (or child born to them), but Calamity was clearly obsessedwith Wild Bill. Even though he'd married Agnes Lake Thatcher, a successful circus owner.

Let's examine an older movie - They Died With Their Boots On from 1941. (Let's not even go to that shadowy place where Anthony Quinn plays Chief Sitting Bull! But for the era, at least there was some sympathy shown the Native Americans.)

The dashing (and Australian, although he was actually born in Tasmania) Errol Flynn portrays Colonel George Armstrong Custer. Uh-hum. And the lovely Olivia deHavilland plays his wife, Elizabeth Bacon Custer - not much of a stretch there. But Errol Flynn? REALLY? Here's the photos. Along with the trailer, too. Can we say cliche'? Custer in real life had zero sympathy for the Indians, never touched liquor after the Civil War and was quite the arrogant bastard. Considered to be "highly fictionalized", movie goers of the day made They Died With Their Boots On one of the top-grossing films of the year. 

Hmm. There might be a touch of similarity in those craggy features, but Flynn couldn't grow a mustache to save his soul. Plus he couldn't erase the hint of a British accent (he attended school in England.) No matter, since Olivia deHavilland was born in Tokyo to British parents. Olivia's mother divorced her husband and moved to California, but taught both her daughters elocution. (Joan Fontaine was Olivia's sister.) Olivia and Errol seemed well-matched and were very popular, having made eight films together. They certainly share on-screen chemistry (Olivia swears she never had an affair with him, despite Errol's desire - plus he was married at the time). Whatever the historical inaccuracy of George and Libby Custers' official first meeting, we'll forgive them.

We could name several more Hollywood hi-jinks at the movies, but I'll leave readers to add their favorite mash-ups in the comments section. And let's face it, westerns aren't the only movies Hollywood goofed up. Consider the six-foot Peter O'Toole playing Lawrence of Arabia, who was actually shorter than Napoleon at five-foot-one! Nicholas Meyers has a great article about movie inaccuracies - click here to read it. 

As Hollywood often says, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT. No questions answered.

Click here to check out Meg's Amazon Author page for her award-winning western mysteries!

~~~~~

Meg also writes under the pseudonym D.E. Ireland with a friend - Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins are getting mixed up with murderers in London's post-Edwardian era.

Check out their page and their cozy mystery series. Here's the cover of

Book 1, debuting September 23rd from St. Martin's Minotaur books.

BE THANKFUL FOR WESTERNS - Meg Mims

I pretty much ran through the various heroines, heroes, horses, villains and sidekicks in my previous posts. I had to think twice about what to address next -- and figured since Thanksgiving is coming up, I'd ask some of the readers an important question.

WHY ARE WE THANKFUL FOR WESTERNS?

Think about it. It's just fiction/film entertainment. A way to pass the time, to relive the "Cowboys and Indians" fun we had as kids, right? Think again. Who hasn't been intrigued by what you've read or watched to Google a fact or fiction question? I have, countless times. Come on, don't be shy! Admit it. Why are we thankful?

 A.  HISTORY - for the history alone, we ought to be thankful (whether or not the book or film gets it right) because reading or seeing a western will definitely spur the interest of the reader/film goer - old, young or in-between. I can't tell you how often as a kid that I went searching in the library for non-fiction books due to seeing Jeremiah Johnston or Little Big Man, Last of the Mohicans (it *was* set in the west, for the era) or Dances With Wolves, McLintock! or Stagecoach, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Tombstone or True Grit -- and I recently read many of the fiction books associated with films (forgive me, I came late to reading in the genre.) Reading and seeing the panoramic views of the American plains, the buffalo herds, the wide open prairie before settlers came, the mountains, the cowboys and cattle drives, the railroad line stretching west - all helped me expand my knowledge of the American West.

B. CHARACTERS - you have to admit that the American West bred unique individuals. Tough, resilient, hard-working, gritty survivors who did whatever they had to or went back East (or died.) The origins of that character and integrity come from the melting pot of all the various people, native and immigrant - pilgrims from England, the original People of all the various tribes stretching east to west, stout Irish and Germans, Italians and other Europeans, Russians and Swedes and many others, and don't forget the African Americans forcibly brought here, who also fought for their freedom, plus the Chinese who were brought to dynamite through the Sierras while building the transcontinental railroad, and who stayed on to fight for a new life here.

These men (and women, which I'll address soon) were portrayed in books and films that have lasted in our memories - and it's up to us to pass on what we know to the next generation of Americans. From the real liver-eating Jeremiah Johnston, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Butch Cassidy, Jesse James and others to actors Graham Greene, Wes Studi, John "Duke" Wayne and Victor Sen Yung who portrayed Hop Sing on Bonanza - long before any television show dared to address anti-Chinese sentiment in the Old West. Long before David Carradine's Kung Fu show, too.

And now for the unique women who stood by their men or stood alone, just as tough and resilient, just as hard-working and gritty. In fact, women equaled men in helping to survive conditions in summer and winter in the endless, empty prairies or in rough towns. Consider Sacagawea, who with her infant son strapped on her back, helped lead the Lewis & Clark expedition... and the pioneer family of Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose daughter Rose assisted her mother in writing the beloved series of her childhood on the prairie. Both Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane proved their mettle in matching men, shot for shot or job for job. And let's not forget Judy Garland in The Harvey Girls, where they actually got the uniform right, to give us a window into how some ladies came out to civilize the Old West.

C.  AS AMERICAN AS MOM, HOT DOGS, BASEBALL AND APPLE PIE

Why else would people in Japan, Germany, Italy and other countries love westerns if not for a love of our country's origins? I'm not sure everyone in America loves our origins as much as they should - except when the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving roll around. Thomas Jefferson started America's westward expansion with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from the French - you can see the map to get a picture of how fast the "west" was added to the original states and how the territories each had unique traits, from Florida's swamps to the majestic Rockies to the California gold fields and the Pacific Northwest forests. Western books and films give us far more than entertainment. They are based on a foundation of fascinating history, and no other country in the world (except Australia, although their books/films are few) has such a rich, massive lore for readers and film goers to explore and enjoy.

D. ER,  LET'S NOT FORGET "THE PEOPLE"

Many Indian tribes called themselves "The People" and they were here first in fact, although the American government hardly took that into consideration when expanding west - and ruthlessly cut down an incredible array of culture, tribal history and way of life in sheer greed and profit. But Native Americans remain a cornerstone of the "Old West." They can never truly be forgotten, thank goodness. They may never regain the status they once had, of course, when nations and alliances stretched from the east to the west coasts of America. But their grit, spirit and courage shown in battling to maintain their unique way of life shaped the "Old West" as much as the cowboys, cattle droves, Mormons, prairie farmers, gold and silver miners, railroad builders and laborers, lawmen and criminals, soiled doves and gamblers, etc. Consider this map which shows all the tribes before Columbus.

 
I am exceedingly thankful for the Old West, for the history of this country and the endless possibilities to bring that era alive in my writing. Yeehaw and Happy Thanksgiving to y'all!

Meg Mims is an award-winning author with two western mysteries under her Eastern belt. She lives in Michigan, where the hills are like driveway slopes and trees block any type of prairie winds. LIKE her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter or check out her books on her website. Double Crossing won the 2012 Spur Award for Best First Novel and Double or Nothing is the exciting sequel. Both Double Crossing and Double or Nothing are finalists in the Laramie Awards! Her story, "A Savior Is Born," is included in A Wolf Creek Christmas published by Western Fictioneers, and her new Christmas novella, Santa Claws, is out. Last year's Christmas novella Santa Paws is once again an Amazon bestseller!

Source for Tribal Nations map - www.escapistmagazine.com

Oklahoma vs. Hollywood

Dust Bowl Oklahoma

By mid-Twentieth Century most citizens living outside the borders of Oklahoma, probably thought of this state as a dusty, wind-scoured flatland populated by ruthless outlaws, brutal savages, greedy oil barons, and downtrodden, dirt-poor rubes. And let’s not forget your lean and slow-talking cowboys. 

This is pretty much the perception Hollywood has foisted on the masses about Oklahoma going all the way back to their movie-making beginnings around 1905. For sure, film-makers have seemed to like Oklahoma for its prospects, both the land and its people; but most often, it appears, not in a particularly flattering way. 

But to be fair to the movie people – which, frankly, kind of sticks in my craw – they weren’t all that far off in their portrayals. A lot of notorious outlaws roamed Oklahoma and Indian Territory at one time or another – Bill Doolin’s gang, the Dalton boys, Belle Starr, Henry Starr, the Youngers, Al Jennings, Frank and Jesse, Bonnie and Clyde, just to name a few. And it did sequester some notable battle-prone Native Americans – Geronimo, Quanah Parker, Cherokee Bill, Lone Wolf, Blue Duck (the real one, not McMurtry’s), Ned Christie, Wes Studi.

Will Rogers

As for the cowboys, off the top of my head, there were Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Ben Johnson, Jim Shoulders, James Garner. And, of course, we can’t forget our most famous son, Will Rogers (himself one-quarter Cherokee).

Could’ve been some land and money-grabbing oilmen, too, but the ones I know were hard-working entrepreneurial capitalists who lived the original American dream and came up from nothing. Frank Phillips comes to mind, as does rancher/oilman Charles Francis Colcord. Both of these “oil barons” were very philanthropic, and left a lasting legacy in the state, not the least of which was a mountain of jobs.

In the early Hollywood years Oklahoma outlaws and lawmen appeared on the silver screen; the former glamorized, the latter vilified. And the stilted view of Oklahomans peaked with John Ford’s 1940 film version of John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath. That’s when the poverty-stricken hicks arrived, the “Okies.” But more on that in a minute.

Bill Tilghman

Lawman Bill Tilghman got into the movie business back in 1908 both as a director and actor. He did a series of one-reelers at the request of a man named John R. Abernathy, despite Tilghman’s insistence that he knew nothing about flim-making. In my imagination, I hear Abernathy saying to Tilghman, “It ain’t no big deal, Marshal. Ain’t nobody else knows much about it, neither.”

The first film, The Wolf Hunt, came about as a result of President Teddy Roosevelt coming to the I.T. to do some hunting, meet some Native Americans, and make some speeches. On one hunt, the old Lion Tamer witnessed Abernathy take down a wolf with his bare hands. The president was so impressed, he told Abernathy that if he’d re-enact the feat in a moving picture, he would show it at the White House (something quite unique at that time). So Abernathy, enlisting Tilghman as his director, and a man named Kent, who owned a Curtis motion picture camera, did just that.

Tilghman made several more films, as did the former outlaw turned lawyer, Al Jennings.

[A short aside: Al Jennings went from outlaw to lawyer to politician illustrating the natural selection of elected officials.]

All of Jennings’ films lionized outlaws - particularly himself - and denigrated lawmen. Angered by that, Marshal Tilghman made a film titled The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws which sought to re-create the crimes of several Oklahoma bad guys, such as Bill Doolin, Henry Starr, and Jennings, and show them being brought to justice at the competent and honorable hands of peace officers. The movie became a fair success, and inspired Henry Starr to get into film-making about his own exploits. I explored this some in my novel Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr.

In my opinion two films had the greatest impact on the world’s perception of Oklahoma and Oklahomans: The Grapes of Wrath and the musical Oklahoma! 

The movie Joads and a Hollywood goat hired as an extra

While it’s a historical fact that many farmers were devastated by the great drought conditions that led to the Dust Bowl, it’s not a historical fact that most of those migrants to California, as a result of it, came from Oklahoma. Most came from the Texas panhandle and western Kansas, the actual geographic heart of the Dust Bowl. Yet, all of those unfortunates were called Okies.

FYI for you non-Okies, Okie is one of those cultural terms which is okay (no pun intended) to call someone if you are one, but considered a derisive slur if you’re not. 

Someone referred to the movie Oklahoma! as a picture postcard of the state. Personally, I think it’s more of a cartoon. While Oklahoma did adopt the title song as its official state song, I don’t think the film displayed any other redeeming social value. There was, though, that line from one of the songs that has always stuck with me: “Oh, the farmers and the cowmen should be friends.” However, I don’t think that issue has ever been totally resolved.

Phil Truman has authored three of what he calls, “Oklahoma-centric” novels. His first, GAME, an American Novel is a sports inspirational about small town schoolboy football. Legends of Tsalagee weaves a tale of mystery and adventure in a small town. A 2013 Peacemaker Award nominee, Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr is Phil’s first foray into the western genre in this historical novel about the life and times of an Oklahoma outlaw. He has won numerous awards for his short fiction, and his western short story “Last Will for an Outlaw” will appear in LaFrontera’s anthology, Dead or Alive, due to be released June 2013.

Phil’s website is: http://philtrumanink.com/