Oklahoma Land of Many Nations
History and Culture of First Americans
7 Days | Spring | Summer | Fall
Starting At $Custom
Oklahoma is considered the “Land of Many Nations,” home to over 60 tribal nations. On this trip, discover the rich history and cultures of these diverse Native American people. Plus, enjoy live country music at the restaurants of Country Music Legends.
Only a few Tribal Nations are indigenous to Oklahoma. All others were removed from their ancestral homelands and relocated here – it was called Indian Territory. The state’s name comes from two Choctaw words “Okla” and “Homma” meaning Red People.
Highlights
Tour Highlights:
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Tour Inclusions:
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U S Tours Flexible Pricing:
- Customizable Comps
- Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
- Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tour Managers are available
Whatever you want, U S Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs. Just let us know!
Itinerary
Day 1 – Oklahoma City – Dinner at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar
Today, arrive in Oklahoma City, OK where you spend the next two nights at a hotel located in Bricktown. Dinner is included this evening at Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar” Restaurant. Named for the country singer’s hit single, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill offers a down-home dining and entertainment experience right in the middle of OKC’s historic Bricktown. Come as you are for daily beer specials and good, old-fashioned country favorites like chicken fried steak, pork chops topped with homemade jalapeño peach jam – even calf fries! (D)
Day 2 – First Americans Museum – American Banjo Museum with Lunch – Oklahoma History Center & Living History Performance – National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum – Date with the Duke
This morning visit the new First Americans Museum. In one place, you will experience the collective histories of 39 distinctive First American Nations in Oklahoma today. First Americans Museum will share the cultural diversity, history, and contributions of the First Americans.
Only a few tribal Nations were indigenous to what is now the State of Oklahoma. All others were removed from homelands across the contiguous U.S. to Indian Territory. In 1907 Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. The state’s name comes from two Choctaw words “Okla” and “Homma” meaning Red People.
Next, visit the American Banjo Museum, housing the largest collection of banjos on public display in the world and is the only museum dedicated to just the banjo. Enjoy a self-guided tour through banjo history from its humble African roots through its heyday during the roaring ’20s to its present-day voice in bluegrass, folk, jazz and world music. Then, take a seat in the performance venue modeled after one of the wildly popular banjo nightclubs of the 1960s, known as Your Father’s Mustache, to enjoy lunch followed with a banjo performance.
This afternoon, visit the Oklahoma History Center, an eighteen-acre, 215,000 square-foot learning center exploring Oklahoma’s unique history of Native culture, pioneers, aviation, commerce, and more. The Oklahoma History Center is a Smithsonian Affiliate and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Also included with your visit to the Oklahoma History Center is a Living History Performance. A local historian will provide an “in character” experience of an individual from a particular era, including period dress, personal history and history for that time period.
Then head to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum for a guided tour. From Albert Bierstadt’s glowing landscape, Emigrants Crossing the Plains, to Native American art, see some of the finest Western art in the country. The Museum features a superb collection of classic and contemporary Western art, including works by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, as well as sculptor James Earle Fraser’s magnificent work, The End of the Trail.
Round out the tour with a look at the evolution of the working cowboy to their portrayal in film and pop culture. The Museum’s Hall of Great Western Performers includes musicians (and Oklahoma native) Gene Autry, Vince Gill and Reba McEntire.
Included this evening with your visit to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is “A Date with the Duke.” Enjoy a BBQ dinner, and a private screening of the John Wayne Movie “The Cowboys” in the Museum’s Dub & Mozelle Richardson Theater. (B,L,D)
Day 3 – Choctaw Cultural Center – Lunch at Reba’s Place – Cherokee National Tour – Bartlesville, OK
This morning, visit the Choctaw Cultural Center in Durant, OK. The exhibits are immersive and told from the Choctaw perspective – honoring the physical and spiritual journey of the Choctaw people, the “Chahta Nowvt Aya.” The Center includes living exhibitions, a vast Living Village, a theater and more.
Next, stop in Atoka, OK at the NEW Reba’s Place Restaurant for lunch. Reba’s Place is a combination restaurant, bar, live music venue and retail store brought to life by country music superstar Reba McEntire. Constructed in a century old Masonic Temple, Reba’s place features two stories of dining space that open to a central stage which will regularly host live music performances. The menu includes scratch made versions of many of the dishes most popular in the region alongside favorites from other areas including Nashville, New Orleans and Mexico.
The afternoon features a Cherokee Nation Tour in Tahlequah, OK. The Cherokee people were forced from their homes by the U.S. Government in 1836 starting what many would call “The Trail of Tears”. After walking over 5,ooo miles and crossing 9 states, the Cherokee were relocated to Oklahoma along with hundreds of other indigenous tribes. Today, the Cherokee Nation is alive & well and welcome visitors from all over the world to learn and experience their culture! Your tour today includes visits to the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum which showcases the history of the Cherokee judicial system, written language and the evolution of Cherokee journalism. The Cherokee National History Museum, tells the Cherokee story through immersive exhibits and augmented reality.
End the day in Bartlesville, OK for three nights lodging, with dinner at local restaurant. (B,L,D)
Day 4 – Wooly Beast & Black Gold Tour – Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve & Lunch – Bartlesville’s Buffalo Tour – Farm-to-Table Dinner
Today’s touring features sights in and around nearby Bartlesville, OK related to the discovery of Oil and the magnificence of the American Buffalo. In this small town, we will witness a Gusher as the Nellie Johnstone #1 (Oklahoma’s 1st Oil Well 1897) blows water into the sky replicating oil. Then we discover Bartlesville’s Buffalo Art, there are more than 30 life-size painted buffalo statues scattered about town.
One of today’s highlights will be the 3700-acre Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve. Will Rogers said, “Of all the places in the U. S. Woolaroc is the most unique.” It was the country estate of oil baron Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum Company. Its name comes from the woods, lakes and rocks. This rustic environment served as a one-of-a-kind entertainment venue. ‘Uncle Frank’ hosted U.S. Presidents, well known business titans, dignitaries, Indians, movie stars, lawmen and outlaws alike on this sprawling ranch.
On the grounds you will find a museum with one of the world’s greatest collections of western art, relics and exhibits. It tells an alluring story of the American West. You will also find an 1840’s Mountain Man Camp, the Woolaroc Animal Barn, and a herd of Buffalo roaming across the prairie with grasses blowing in the breeze, prairie flowers in bloom.
Then enjoy a stroll through the vibrant Downtown District for an artful tour of the many beautifully designed and painted buffalo throughout town. What started as a fundraiser for a local charity has become a favorite scavenger hunt for young and old alike. D
This evening, enjoy a great farm-to-table dinner at the Painted Horse. (B,D)
Day 5 – Pawhuska, OK – Ree Drummond Mercantile – The Osage Nation Museum -The Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum
You will spend this day in Pawhuska, OK, the Official Headquarters of The Osage Nation. This tribe of Native Americans has a history similar to most tribes during America’s Westward Migration, but with one startling unique chapter. Oil was discovered on their land in the 1894 and they quickly became the wealthiest group of people in America. This is a Cinderella story that eventually turns tragic as told in “Killers of The Flower Moon” a best-selling novel that is soon to be a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
You are in for a treat today when you visit the Pioneer Woman Mercantile, owned by Food Network TV show host Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, this shop is a must-see destination. The Pioneer Woman Mercantile began in 1910 as Osage Mercantile and was a place for trading goods and browsing. Ree and family wanted to honor The Merc’s legacy by creating a shopping experience that hints to an earlier time in small town America. It takes time to see it all, so stop in and stay awhile!
Also included on this Tour Package will be a copy of Ree Drummond’s newest book. What ever the title is that is published closest to your tour’s departure date.
Shopping at The Merc is a treasure hunt, with surprises everywhere you turn. Come explore the glorious cabinets, browse the abundant shelves, and peek in all the drawers! There is also a Deli and a Bakery where you can enjoy comfort food classics and hand-crafted bakery items. The offerings are endlessly delicious.
You will also have free time to explore downtown Pawhuska a spot that celebrates its rich history. The town was founded in 1872, and 86 buildings in the downtown area are on the National Register of Historic Places. Many were restored to their 1920 appearance for the movie filming this past year. There are plenty of shopping opportunities in this pretty town everything from antiques and collectibles to fine art.
This afternoon you will visit the Osage Nation Museum devoted to history, art, and culture. Highlights include an extensive photograph collection of artifacts, plus traditional and contemporary art. Founded in 1938, this is the oldest tribally owned museum in the U. S.
Oklahoma’s western film history is also on display at the Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum. Dedicated to the Oscar-winning actor, this amazing collection features notable Osage County cowboys, cowgirls and western heritage. If you like world-class art, this museum has the largest collection of John D. Free original paintings and bronzes on-site. Also, while you’re here, find out more about the iconic Drummond family; they’ve been ranching in Osage County for over 100 years.
Dinner is included tonight at a local restaurant. (B,D)
Day 6 – Stockyards City – Lunch at Cattlemen’s – Centennial Land Run Monument – Oklahoma Dinner with Cooking Demo & Craft Brew Tasting
After breakfast, return to Oklahoma City to visit Stockyards City, where Oklahoma’s Western Heritage lives on – virtually untouched since the middle of the 20th century. Home to a number of shops specializing in all things western, you can outfit an entire ranch (cattle included) or just find a new pair of boots. Its home to the Oklahoma National Stockyards, the world’s largest feeder and stocker cattle market, where live cattle auctions take place every Monday and Tuesday and are open to the public.
Lunch is included today at Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Oklahoma City. This world-famous restaurant was won in a craps game in 1945. It has since grown into one of the best steakhouses in the state with features in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Man vs. Food, plus countless publications. The menu is known for its steaks, lamb fries, homemade desserts, dinner rolls and the Cattlemen’s House Salad Dressing.
This afternoon stop at the Centennial Land Run Monument, commemorating the opening of the Unassigned Land in Oklahoma Territory with the Land Run of 1889. The frenzied energy and emotion from one instant during the run is captured in bronze by artist Paul Moore. It is one of the world’s largest bronze sculptures featuring 45 heroic figures of land run participants, frozen in motion as they race to claim new homesteads.
Also included with your visit, is dinner, a cooking demonstration and craft brew tasting. Sit back and relax with a cooking demonstration where a local chef prepares your meal and receive recipe cards as well. Then learn about how beer is made and taste craft beers brewed right here in OKC. (B,L,D)
Day 7 – Oklahoma City Memorial – Depart for Home
After breakfast, visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial, dedicated to the victims of the bombing in Oklahoma City of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial stands on the now-sacred ground where the events of April 19, 1995, unfolded. What was once the footprint of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Fifth Street, the Athenian Building and Oklahoma Water Resources Board are now the Field of Empty Chairs, Reflecting Pool and Rescuers’ Orchard.
Following your visit, depart for home. (B)