The Oklahoma PortalOklahoma (/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ ( The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which increased European-American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory. Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16, 1907. With ancient mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers, and the U.S. Interior Highlands, all regions prone to severe weather. Oklahoma is on a confluence of three major American cultural regions and historically served as a route for cattle drives, a destination for Southern settlers, and a government-sanctioned territory for Native Americans. Twenty-five Native American languages are spoken in Oklahoma. A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas. (Full article...) Selected article The University of Oklahoma, often called OU or Oklahoma, is a coeducational public research university located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The university was founded in 1890. It currently enrolls 30,447 students (with a vast majority of those located at its main campus in Norman, Oklahoma), has over 2,000 full-time faculty members, and offers 153 baccalaureate programs, 152 master's programs, 75 doctorates, 20 majors at the first professional level, and 18 graduate certificates. David Boren is the president of OU, a position he accepted in 1994. The Princeton Review recently named OU as one of its "Best Value" colleges. OU is also number one per capita among public universities in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled. and in the top five among all public universities in the graduation of Rhodes Scholars. OU is home to the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, considered to be second in prestige only to the Nobel Prize and often referred to as the "American Nobel." (Read more...) Spotlight city Jenks is a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, and a suburb of Tulsa, in the northeastern part of the state. It is situated between the Arkansas River and U.S. Route 75. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,557, but it was estimated at 14,123 in 2006. Popular tourist draws include the Oklahoma Aquarium (the state's only freestanding aquarium) and the Riverwalk Crossing shopping/walking district along the Arkansas River. A pedestrian bridge links the Jenks riverfront area with the Tulsa Riverparks walking trail on the East side of the river. Another one of Jenks main attractions is the High School Football Team who has won 12 state championships, 6 of those are in a row 96-01. (Read more...) Selected image Credit: User:Logawi A replica of Oklahoma aviator Wiley Post's Winnie Mae hanging in the atrium of the Oklahoma History Center. Did you know...
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Featured lists: Oklahoma birds • Tallest buildings in Tulsa • List of tallest buildings in Oklahoma City • List of birds of Oklahoma • List of Oklahoma Sooners football seasons • List of Oklahoma Sooners head football coaches • List of Oklahoma Sooners in the NFL Draft State facts Oklahoma State Capitol building
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Selected biography James Garner, born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma, is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades. These included his roles as Bret Maverick, in the popular 1950s western-comedy series, Maverick; Jim Rockford, in the popular 1970s detective drama, The Rockford Files; and the father of Katey Sagal's character on 8 Simple Rules following the death of John Ritter. He has starred in more than fifty movies, including The Great Escape (1963), Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964), Blake Edwards' Victor Victoria (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, and The Notebook (2004). (Read more...) Categories▼ Oklahoma Wikiprojects
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