But, by and large, most moved west to Kansas or directly to Oklahoma. Most of the tribes which emigrated to Kansas in the 1830’s later moved on to Oklahoma about 1870. In some cases, the Cherokees who had southern sympathies during the Civil War had to give up part of their land to other tribes such as the Shawnees and Delawares.

However, I believe the luckiest Indians to get land in Oklahoma were the Osages. They got land which contained huge amounts of oil. Many Osages became instant millionaires early in the 20th century.

To the best on my knowledge the Federal Law prohibiting us from living east of the Mississippi has never been officially repealed.

The Air Museum, is that the one in the back of McConnell? That’s probably appropriate, but a terrible location for drawing visitors.

The City museum is nice and well-maintained, the Curator and the board do a fine job with it.

The row along the river of museums and other places (botanical gardens) is a prime spot and has huge potential in becoming a world class location to visit. It will take vision though and long term investment.

So you don’t need your supply of war paint any longer.

In Kansas Indian history, the main Plains Indian tribes were the Kansa, Osage, Pawnee and Wichita. Of course, other Plains Indian tribes roamed across the plains on hunting expeditions.

In the 1830’s, the Eastern Woodland tribes began emigrating to eastern Kansas, including the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandotte, Ottawa, Sac and Fox, Iowa and other tribes. Most of these tribes acculturated with their anglo-European (white folks) and lived relatively peacefully, with disruptions by the the Civil War violence in the early 1860’s.

By the 1870’s, both the Plains and former Eastern Woodland Indian tribes generally moved on to “Indian territory” which eventually became the State of Oklahoma in about 1907.

Incidentally, the term “Indian Nation” which generally refered to Indian nations existing within the nation of U.S. (remember Indian treaties?) became obsolete when all American Indians were made U.S. citizens in the late 1800’s.

Today, the Cherokee Indian tribe is the largest Indian tribal organization in the U.S. headquartered in Talaquah, Oklahoma. I believe Chad Smith, an Oklahoma attorney, remains the Chief of the Cherokees.

Back to Wichita’s Mid-America All Indian Center, tribal flags are displayed by perhaps a couple hundred Indian tribes. My guess is without counting far more “Emigrant” Indian tribes are represented than mid-western Plains Indian tribes but today the line between them has largely evaporated.

Best wishes to the Wichita Indian center’s future success.