About

Welcome to the Mapping Tahlequah History Project

Mapping Tahlequah History was initiated in 2018 by Drs. Farina King and John McIntosh with the goal of engaging students through immersive learning experiences and providing a platform for students and community members to disseminate original local historical research by featuring NSU students’ original research on historic sites in the area.

Mapping Tahlequah History is a project based at Northeastern State University (NSU) that supports student immersive learning and development of a public educational digital humanities interactive map and accompanying database focused on local history. The map and database help make local historical information more accessible by providing students and other users with links to documents and other resources such as videos and pictures. The project highlights Cherokee and diverse regional histories of Tahlequah and surrounding areas of what is known as Green Country in Northeastern Oklahoma.

With Mapping Tahlequah History, we are growing our team to concentrate on the intersections of race, ethnicity, and Cherokee and Indigenous studies through place-based historical research. This community-centered work focuses on Indigenous and racial histories, historic sites and landscapes, and Indigenous place names and languages that layer the map and knowledge of our area. This project brings together NSU scholars of humanities in geography, history, linguistics, and Cherokee and Indigenous studies to sustain engaging curriculum and immersive and service-oriented learning that upholds the interconnectedness of higher education and regional relationships.

Dr.Farina King Co-Project Director: Farina King (Diné), Ph.D. Bilagáanaa niliigo’ dóó Kinyaa’áanii yásh’chíín. Bilagáanaa dabicheii dóó Tsinaajinii dabinálí. Ákót’éego diné asdzá̹á̹ nilí̹. Farina King is Bilagáanaa (Euro-American), born for Kinyaa’áanii (the Towering House Clan) of the Diné (Navajo). Her maternal grandfather was Euro-American, and her paternal grandfather was Tsinaajinii (Black-streaked Woods People Clan) of the Diné. Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is the Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture and Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University in History. King specializes in twentieth-century Native American Studies, especially Indigenous experiences in boarding schools. She is the current President of the Southwest Oral History Association. Previously, between 2016 and 2022, she was Associate Professor of History and affiliated faculty of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies at Northeastern State University. She also directed and founded the NSU Center for Indigenous Community Engagement. She started the Mapping Tahlequah History project at NSU with Dr. John McIntosh in 2018, involving her students in history courses and community members.

Dr. Dave Corcoran Co-Project Director: Dave Corcoran, Ph.D. is a faculty member in the Department of History. His courses center on the histories of the United States and Latin America as well as historical methods. As Coordinator of Social Studies Education at NSU, Dave mentors teacher-in-training, and supports the new generation of history, geography, civics and social science teachers in Green Country and beyond. His responsibilities in MTH include educational applications and outreach, content development and review, and project administration.

Dr.John McIntosh Co-Project Director: John McIntosh, Ph.D. A faculty member of the Department of Geography and Political Science. He is a broadly trained human geographer with expertise in geographic information systems. His primary responsibilities are project management, managing the database and web page, developing data protocols, and training.

Justin McBride NSU Faculty Associate: Justin T. McBride (Cherokee Nation citizen), Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Northeastern State University's Department of Languages and Literature and the coordinator for the TESOL option of the English BA. Since 2015 he has taught courses in composition, grammar, linguistics, and second language acquisition on the Broken Arrow campus and has offered weekend seminars in Native American combat narratives and constructed languages. As the former Language Director for the Kaw Nation, Dr. McBride has been actively involved in Native American language revitalization efforts since 2001 and has served as a language consultant for numerous tribal organizations and independent language scholars. His work in this area has involved extensive Siouan language research, teaching, materials development, and curriculum planning. In addition, he completed an ethnographic and sociolinguistic survey of Native American English varieties in Oklahoma. Dr. McBride was born in Pawhuska and currently resides in Collinsville with his wife, two children, cat, and dog.

Joseph Cloud Student Research Assistant: Joseph Cloud, a citizen of Cherokee Nation, is originally from Chelsea, OK, and has been living in Miami, FL for the past 20 years. As a non-traditional student at NSU he is completing a Batchelor of Arts in Cherokee Cultural Studies with plans to immediately enter graduate studies. He hopes to continue to be inquisitive and curious and instill the things he has learned to lift up well-informed Cherokee citizens for a bright Indigenous future!

Past Contributors

Ia Bull External Research Associate: ᎠᏴ ᎢᏯ ᎪᎳᏄ ᏦᏓᎳᏁᎯ ᏓᏆᏙᎠ, ᏥᏄᏓᎴ ᏥᏎᎩᏳᏍᏗ ᏥᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᏥᎾᏥᏃ. ᏌᎶᎵ ᎤᎾᏓᏢ ᏂᎦᏘᏲ ᎠᏆᎨᎵ ᎠᏂᏌᎰᏂ ᎨᏟᏙᎯᏃ. ᏓᏫᏍᎦᎵᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎭᎸᏂᎯ ᏧᏂᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᏎᏃ ᏓᎵᏆ ᎠᏆᏛᏏᏙᎸᎢ. Ia Bull is a queer information scholar, a member of Natchez and Gaduwagi indigenous communities, and of Tabajara, Shawnee, and Catawba decent. They are the lead designer of the Natchez Indigital community archive, assistant archivist for the Gilcrease Museum, and a collaborator with the Mapping Tahlequah History project. Ia finished their MLIS from OU and BA at NSU, and is an incoming Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland iSchool.

Amaiya Bearpaw.jpg Student Research Assistant: Siyo nigad, wadulisi daquado. Hello everyone, my name is Amaiya Bearpaw. I am a Cherokee Nation citizen and I am also a member of the Choctaw Nation. I am majoring in Geography and Sustainability Studies with a GIS Certification and minoring in Cherokee Language. I serve on the council for three student organizations. I am the President for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the Cultural Advocate for the Native American Student Association (NASA), and the Treasurer for the Alpha Pi Omega Sorority - Theta Chapter.

Student Research Assistant: Hannah Cowan is currently a Sophomore majoring in both Creative Writing and Media Studies at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah. She has worked on the Mapping Tahlequah History Project since June of 2021 and some of her duties thus far include: taking pictures of various historical sites around Tahlequah, research of those sites, taking part in oral history interviews, design ideas for and assistance in populating the website, and creating 360 tours with the Ricoh Theta Z1 360 camera. She is currently Vice President of the First Generation Student Organization and recently won the NSU Fall 2021 Creative Writing Contest, as well as having her work featured in Volume 6 of the Talon Literary Journal.

Crispin Klinger Student Research Assistant: A life-long resident of Tahlequah and an aspiring writer and historian from sixth grade, Crispin Klinger joined Mapping Tahlequah History in early 2022. Helping with the project through a daily two-hour internship from Tahlequah High School, he mainly helped with the research, editing, and updating of the historical sites, along with some other miscellaneous tasks.

Sarah Wood Student Research Assistant: Sarah Wood is a senior at NSU, majoring in American Indian Studies and minoring in History and Social Science. Sarah will graduate in May, and begin her master’s program in American Studies at NSU in the Fall. Sarah is also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and resides in Tahlequah, OK. She is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority as well as the history club.

We acknowledge and respect that the campuses of Northeastern State University, ᎤᏴᏢᎢ ᎧᎸᎬ ᎢᏗᏜ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᏗᏕᏠᏆᏍᏗᎢ, are on the ancestral homelands of diverse Indigenous peoples, including, but not limited to, Caddos, Osages, Wichitas, Kickapoos, Lakotas, Quapaws, Cherokees, and Muscogees.

The NSU-Tahlequah, ᏓᎵᏆ, campus shares space with the headquarters and homelands of ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, the Cherokee Nation, and ᎠᏂᎩᏚᏩᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. The NSU campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow are within the Muscogee Nation, homelands of Este Mvskokvlke Paksvnke, Mucv-Nettv, Pakse, Muscogee People, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

NSU originates from the Cherokee National Female Seminary founded by the Cherokee Nation in the nineteenth century. We commit to continually learn about Cherokee and Indigenous peoples and issues and build relationships with all beings in these lands. We encourage you to further explore the First Peoples of lands in which you dwell.

	Co-Project Director: Farina King (Diné), Ph.D. Bilagáanaa niliigo’ dóó Kinyaa’áanii yásh’chíín. Bilagáanaa dabicheii dóó Tsinaajinii dabinálí. Ákót’éego diné asdzá̹á̹ nilí̹. Farina King is Bilagáanaa (Euro-American), born for Kinyaa’áanii (the Towering House Clan) of the Diné (Navajo). Her maternal grandfather was Euro-American, and her paternal grandfather was Tsinaajinii (Black-streaked Woods People Clan) of the Diné. Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is the Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture and Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University in History. King specializes in twentieth-century Native American Studies, especially Indigenous experiences in boarding schools. She is the current President of the Southwest Oral History Association. Previously, between 2016 and 2022, she was Associate Professor of History and affiliated faculty of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies at Northeastern State University. She also directed and founded the NSU Center for Indigenous Community Engagement. She started the Mapping Tahlequah History project at NSU with Dr. John McIntosh in 2018, involving her students in history courses and community members.
	Co-Project Director: Dave Corcoran, Ph.D. is a faculty member in the Department of History. His courses center on the histories of the United States and Latin America as well as historical methods. As Coordinator of Social Studies Education at NSU, Dave mentors teacher-in-training, and supports the new generation of history, geography, civics and social science teachers in Green Country and beyond. His responsibilities in MTH include educational applications and outreach, content development and review, and project administration.
	Co-Project Director: John McIntosh, Ph.D. A faculty member of the Department of Geography and Political Science. He is a broadly trained human geographer with expertise in geographic information systems. His primary responsibilities are project management, managing the database and web page, developing data protocols, and training.
	NSU Faculty Associate: Justin T. McBride (Cherokee Nation citizen), Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Northeastern State University's Department of Languages and Literature and the coordinator for the TESOL option of the English BA. Since 2015 he has taught courses in composition, grammar, linguistics, and second language acquisition on the Broken Arrow campus and has offered weekend seminars in Native American combat narratives and constructed languages. As the former Language Director for the Kaw Nation, Dr. McBride has been actively involved in Native American language revitalization efforts since 2001 and has served as a language consultant for numerous tribal organizations and independent language scholars. His work in this area has involved extensive Siouan language research, teaching, materials development, and curriculum planning. In addition, he completed an ethnographic and sociolinguistic survey of Native American English varieties in Oklahoma. Dr. McBride was born in Pawhuska and currently resides in Collinsville with his wife, two children, cat, and dog.
	Student Research Assistant: Joseph Cloud, a citizen of Cherokee Nation, is originally from Chelsea, OK, and has been living in Miami, FL for the past 20 years. As a non-traditional student at NSU he is completing a Batchelor of Arts in Cherokee Cultural Studies with plans to immediately enter graduate studies. He hopes to continue to be inquisitive and curious and instill the things he has learned to lift up well-informed Cherokee citizens for a bright Indigenous future!
Past Contributors
	External Research Associate: ᎠᏴ ᎢᏯ ᎪᎳᏄ ᏦᏓᎳᏁᎯ ᏓᏆᏙᎠ, ᏥᏄᏓᎴ ᏥᏎᎩᏳᏍᏗ ᏥᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᏥᎾᏥᏃ. ᏌᎶᎵ ᎤᎾᏓᏢ ᏂᎦᏘᏲ ᎠᏆᎨᎵ ᎠᏂᏌᎰᏂ ᎨᏟᏙᎯᏃ. ᏓᏫᏍᎦᎵᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎭᎸᏂᎯ ᏧᏂᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᏎᏃ ᏓᎵᏆ ᎠᏆᏛᏏᏙᎸᎢ. Ia Bull is a queer information scholar, a member of Natchez and Gaduwagi indigenous communities, and of Tabajara, Shawnee, and Catawba decent. They are the lead designer of the Natchez Indigital community archive, assistant archivist for the Gilcrease Museum, and a collaborator with the Mapping Tahlequah History project. Ia finished their MLIS from OU and BA at NSU, and is an incoming Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland iSchool.
	Student Research Assistant: Siyo nigad, wadulisi daquado. Hello everyone, my name is Amaiya Bearpaw. I am a Cherokee Nation citizen and I am also a member of the Choctaw Nation. I am majoring in Geography and Sustainability Studies with a GIS Certification and minoring in Cherokee Language. I serve on the council for three student organizations. I am the President for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the Cultural Advocate for the Native American Student Association (NASA), and the Treasurer for the Alpha Pi Omega Sorority - Theta Chapter.
	Student Research Assistant: Hannah Cowan is currently a Sophomore majoring in both Creative Writing and Media Studies at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah. She has worked on the Mapping Tahlequah History Project since June of 2021 and some of her duties thus far include: taking pictures of various historical sites around Tahlequah, research of those sites, taking part in oral history interviews, design ideas for and assistance in populating the website, and creating 360 tours with the Ricoh Theta Z1 360 camera. She is currently Vice President of the First Generation Student Organization and recently won the NSU Fall 2021 Creative Writing Contest, as well as having her work featured in Volume 6 of the Talon Literary Journal.
	Student Research Assistant: A life-long resident of Tahlequah and an aspiring writer and historian from sixth grade, Crispin Klinger joined Mapping Tahlequah History in early 2022. Helping with the project through a daily two-hour internship from Tahlequah High School, he mainly helped with the research, editing, and updating of the historical sites, along with some other miscellaneous tasks.
	Student Research Assistant: Sarah Wood is a senior at NSU, majoring in American Indian Studies and minoring in History and Social Science. Sarah will graduate in May, and begin her master’s program in American Studies at NSU in the Fall. Sarah is also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and resides in Tahlequah, OK. She is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority as well as the history club.