Marching on Statehood Day

American Indians protest centennial celebrationHundreds of American Indians from several tribes marched to the capitol Friday to have their side of the story told on a Statehood Day marking Oklahoma's 100th birthday.

They carried signs reading, "Tolerate 100 Years of Theft?," "The Land Run was Illegal Immigration," and "Stop Racial and Cultural Inequality."

The march began a few blocks south of the Capitol and went north to the south steps, then moved south again toward a grassy plaza.

They chanted "No peace. Not justice."‘We want to remember ... where we came from'

Native Americans demonstrate: Some don't want revelryFor Lindsay Whitefeather, Statehood Day was a chance to send a message to Oklahoma educators to do a better job of teaching tribal histories.

"We should be proud of who we are, and we shouldn't be forgotten,” said Whitefeather, a Comanche from Anadarko, who held a sign reading, "Teach Indian history in our schools — broken treaties, Indian removal.”

"Our history is not taught,” said her sister, Leslie Whitefeather of Norman, whose grandfather signed a treaty with the U.S. government in Medicine Lodge, Kan., which guaranteed tribal land in Oklahoma along with goods and services. As with many other Indian treaties, the federal government failed to uphold the bargain.One thing to change:Golden, of Clearview, said she would like the state's schools to teach history of the tribes in Oklahoma differently.

A start would be to remove the annual land run celebrations, in which various lands assigned to American Indians were opened for white settlement, she said.

"It's demeaning to American Indians for that to be re-enacted annually,” she said. "I just tell my children go sit in the middle of the lawn and let the kids run over you because that's what happened to us.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Indians to March in Oklahoma.