Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

Above: Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was the first European known to have entered what is now Oklahoma,
crossing the state in its northwestern corner. He was in search of cities of gold, which of course he did not find.
In 1936 the Colonial Dames of America erected a stone monument at a roadside pullover in Beaver County
in the Panhandle to mark the passage of Coronado. Later, in the 1700s, the French replaced the Spanish in
exploring Oklahoma. Bernard de la Harpe left behind a detailed journal describing the Indian villages he
visited. The French were not searching for the cities of gold. They wanted to open trade relations with the
American Indians who were then living in the territory that became Oklahoma. It was in 1803 that the
United States purchased from the French the area known as the Louisiana Purchase that included Oklahoma.
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was the
first European visitor in 1541, crossing the
present Oklahoma Panhandle in search of
cities of gold. The French replaced the Spanish
in exploring Oklahoma in the early 1700s.
Bernard de la Harpe visited Indian villages
along the Canadian and Arkansas rivers
and left behind a journal of immense detail.
The French sought to open trade relations
with American Indians living in Oklahoma.
Shortly after the United States purchased
Louisiana from the French in 1803,
President Thomas Jefferson envisioned
voluntary removal of American Indians from
the southeast part of the nation to satisfy
the land hunger of white settlers. Voluntary
removal was not successful, so in 1825, with
increased pressure to move the Indians
westward, Congress set aside a wide swath
of land as Indian Territory.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LOU ANN MURPHY.
Right: French traders among the Osage
are shown in this detail from Charles
Banks Wilson’s mural in the state capitol.
French coureurs du bois explored the
region seeking furs and opening trading
posts among the Native Americans. Unlike
the Spanish, the French were willing to
trade guns and gunpowder to the Indians,
touching off a clash between the two
European powers for control of the area
that was not settled until 1800.
COURTESY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
AND RECREATION; PHOTOGRAPH BY FRED MARVEL.
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e
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