RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0710 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Part I

I had passed through Oklahoma City several times, but had never stopped at the Oklahoma Centennial Land Run Monument, so on my last trip, I stopped to see the sculptures.

Online pictures of the monument do not accurately convey the magnitude of this artwork. Seeing the sculptures in person was far more impressive than I expected. The monument is about 365 feet long, making it one of the largest bronze monuments in the world. There are 45 one-and-a-half-life-sized figures, with some figures that are over 16-feet tall. It took the artist over 20 years to build the figures.

Various parts of the monument are separated by the Bricktown Canal, which is filled with water from the Oklahoma River a few yards away.

The bronze sculptures depict the Land Run of April 22, 1889, when thousands of settlers raced across the Oklahoma plains to stake claims in what had been Indian Territory. Individual monument figures on horseback, in wagons, and on foot convey a sense of the chaos that existed at the start of the run. But what really amazed me was the incredible details in the individual sculptures.

What makes the Land Run event so impressive is that it opened nearly two million acres of land for settlement in a single day. By the end of the day, entire town sites were laid out, where only vacant land existed the day before. This is definitely a place I should have stopped on one of my previous visits to Oklahoma.

Not far away is the First Americans Museum (FAM) and the world's largest human-piled mound. The Mission of the Museum is "To serve as a dynamic center promoting awareness and educating the broader public about the unique cultures, diversity, history, contributions, and resilience of the First American Nations in Oklahoma today."

In front of the museum are Remembrance Walls and plaques that represent Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water.

Remembrance Walls: "These walls intentionally face the east to greet the morning sun. They are made of stone named for Mskwabek, a distinguished warrior among the Wabashni Potawatomi of Indiana. The name references the many colors highlighted at sunrise and sunset."

Earth: "The rattlesnake is an earthly symbol and the plants rooted and growing out of it are the Three Sisters - Corn, Beans and Squash."

Wind: "This design can be related to a whirlwind, whirlpool and even by a vine that grows upward encircling a sapling. It has been called the 'Strength of Life.'"

Fire: "The Sacred Fire was brought to us by grandmother water spider, Ceremonial Stomp Dances continue to be conducted around this eternal fire."

Water: "This is a stylized depiction of water with rain storm and aquatic creatures. Without clean water mankind can no longer exist."

The 12,000 sf museum was closed on the day I visited, but the lobby and grounds were open. Entrance to the grounds was through a massive glass semi-dome supported by ten columns of various stones. Published literature states: "Each column represents the ten miles traveled each day by Indigenous people during forced removal to Indian Territory, while the variation in stone represents the distinction of tribal groups that came to the area...[The] semi-circular earthen mound...pays tribute to the great mound-builder civilizations."

Mound Builder earthworks are found in various parts of the United States and were built from about 3500 BCE to 1500 CE. The 21st Century FAM Mound at the museum is circular in shape and follows the sun's path across the sky. Like ancestral mounds, it is oriented to the cosmos such that the summer solstice sunset aligns with the mound's 90-foot peak, and the winter solstice sun sets through the tunnel. A walking path is available to the top of the mound.

Tinker Air Force Base is located just to the southeast of the FAM and was named for Major General Clarence L. Tinker, the first Native American major general. Tinker is now the headquarters of the Air Force Materiel Command's Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) and is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software, avionics, and accessory components. The base has over 26,000 military and civilian employees and is the state of Oklahoma's largest single-site employer. Lieutenant General Stacey T. Hawkins is now the OC-ALC commander.

On September 29, 1957, Buddy Holly and The Crickets used the base to record "An Empty Cup," "Rock Me My Baby," "You've Got Love," and "Maybe Baby."

Also located at the base is the Charles B. Hall Memorial Air Park, which has a variety of planes. This is the first air museum I have visited where I have seen a B-1 Bomber.