One hundred thirty-seven years ago, the outcasts, foreigners, weirdos, and those with a good horse trekked their way to a spot in the central part of the country known as Guthrie.
Guthrie would serve as the starting line. From there, people would race all over what we now know as Central Oklahoma. Their goal: find and mark 160 acres. If they could manage to keep it and improve it, they would have a home. And, in the process, they would become some of the first Oklahomans.
The Land Run of 1889 would open about two million acres of unassigned land to settlers. It also led to the creation of a thriving town known as Guthrie – the territorial capital – and its competition, Oklahoma City.
Two years later, the second run took place. This one, which occurred on Sept. 22, 1891, and opened lands of the Iowa, Sac & Fox, Pottawatomi and Shawnee tribes to settlement.
Seven months later, on April 19, 1892, the third run opened the lands of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes to settlement.
And two years after that, the run known as the Cherokee Strip Land Run, occurred. This run – the largest of the five that helped settle Oklahoma – took place on Sept. 16, 1893, opening 6.3 million acres.
The fifth and final run, on May 23, 1895, opened the Kickapoo lands for settlement.
Twelve years later, in 1907, Oklahoma finally became a state – but even then, it took the merging of Oklahoma Territory with Indian Territory to get the federal government to agree and allow Oklahoma to become an official member of the United States.
So, what have we accomplished since then?
In some ways, we have done great things. We’ve led the charts in early agricultural and oil and gas exploration, helped with women’s suffrage, and even became a major player in the transportation industry.
Oh yeah, we’re pretty good at football, too.
But while almost all our original population were immigrants – most of them legal, though a few had questionable back stories – today Oklahoma still doesn’t seem to understand its immigrant past.
Even now, there are many in the state Legislature seeking to vilify those who come from a different place with legislation that demonizes immigrants and those seeking to escape their own country to pursue a better life here.
Somehow, the story of the past 137 years has been forgotten – or ignored.
It’s time for the Oklahoma Legislature to embrace the idea that being an immigrant is not a negative. It’s time to realize the Sooner State has a long history of providing a home for those from a different place.
Our history is not negative. In many ways, it’s a terrific example of doing the right thing; of sharing and of embracing those who seek to make their lives better.
Think this idea is questionable? Ask a Native American, because they occupied this land long before the rest of us.
M. Scott Carter is an award-winning political and investigative reporter with more than 45 years of experience covering federal and state government and politics in Oklahoma. He can be reached at scott.carter@swoknews.com