Native American Collections

One of the areas of strength in the McFarlin Library holdings is the work by and about Native Americans.

The following are just examples of the literary holdings in the collections:  Lynn Riggs, the author of Green Grow the Rushes which was adapted into the musical Oklahoma!, is well represented with signed first editions, letters, notes,  manuscripts, and photographs. N. Scott Momaday is collected in depth with such notable first editions present as The Journey of Tai-Me and the House Made of Dawn, and a mimeograph typescript of The Way to Rainy Mountain.  Alex Posey is represented as well.  Earlier figures include John Rollin Ridge with first editions, a manuscript, and a collection of nineteenth century periodical appearances.

Our Cherokee language and syllabary materials have been touched upon elsewhere, as have the Muskokee Gospels, Acts and Epistles.  There are thousands of pages of material, manuscript and printed, in Cherokee and Creek (Muskogee).  These include the [Minute book of Kee-Too-Wah society] records, 1860-1863; [Keetoowah record book] records, 1864-1866; [Keetoowah Society Resolutions] records 1860-1876; and the Creek letters of Ann Eliza Worcester Robertson, which have been partly digitized by William and Mary for the Pum Mvhayv Toyetskat: Creek Letters to Ann Eliza Worcester Robertson, 1878-1905.

The collections also hold a copy of the Euchee Language Archives and over a hundred reel-to-reel tapes of Osage and Ponca songs, some of which are available to researchers.