Oklahoma Passage Telecourse #110

August 23, 1991

This episode of the Oklahoma Passage Telecourse #110 is hosted by Dean Lewis, Mary Jo Watson, Byron Price, and Dr. Nudie Williams. This lesson looks at culture and the arts in Oklahoma during the period of the Land Run on what many considered rough pioneering conditions. A look at the type of housing structures and food is covered in this opening scene of the docudrama. It begins with a scene from the Oklahoma Docudrama Oklahoma Passage. Within this docudrama, which dramatizes 150 years of Oklahoma history, we see the Oklahoma passage of the Benton family which focuses on six generations beginning with Abraham Benton, a mixed-blood Cherokee printer who immigrates to Indian Territory in the mid-1830s with this episode covering the passage into statehood. This lesson covers culture and the arts by examining the landscape and the people that represents Oklahoma. Native American art and culture is examined with a look back to the prehistoric people and the art they produced. It looks at the Spiro people of Eastern Oklahoma between approximately 800 A.D. until 1450 A.D. and art as well as architectural earthen mounds found at this site. It looks at the different Native American contributions to the arts and culture of Oklahoma. Western Art or Cowboy Art began in the early 19th century is also examined. The products of these artists provided the rest of the United States with images and tales of the expeditions of the West. It examines the reinterpretation of the West through art, looking at the painters, sculptors, and performers such as the early motion picture stars and television personalities such as Tom Mix. Will Rogers is considered one of Oklahoma?s Native Sons who was a box office hit, public speaker, writer, and comedian who captured the essence of America and brought to Oklahoma a pride that some think has never been equaled. The Oklahoma experience effects artists and ?Black Jazz? is considered one of the great products of this experience and diversity. A look at the Jazz artists who are from Oklahoma City is detailed. The spirit of Oklahoma is driven by the diverse past and people of this resilient state.