Making Oklahoma: A History is guided by the expertise of our advisory board. The individuals who serve on the board were always available to discuss content, the Oklahoma Academic Standards, and share their expertise with us. A special thank you to Kim Pennington, PhD, Professor of Educational Sciences, Foundations, and Research, and Assistant Dean in the College of Education and Professional Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma, for the ancillary materials and insights she brought to this project. Thank you, Brad Watkins, PhD, Professor of Geography at the University of Oklahoma, for creating new maps for Making Oklahoma. We appreciate the helpful feedback we received from peer reviewers, including Jennifer Holland, PhD, Michelle McCargish, PhD, Brett Stokes, and Sunu Kodumthara, PhD. Thank you to Noël Ingram, PhD, an exceptional researcher and educator, who first introduced us to the importance of Lexile level and reader engagement in the early stages of the project. We also thank the Oklahoma State Department of Education, especially Brenda M. Beymer-Chapman, JD, Director of Social Studies Education, and the Oklahoma Council for History Education. We are grateful to Anne Hyde, PhD, for her support and encouragement.

Essential funding for design and implementation comes from Cameron University, Friends of the Oklahoma History Center, Kirkpatrick Family Fund, Lewis-Houghton Civics and Democracy Initiative, Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Partner Program, National Council for History Education Great Plains Region, and the University of Central Oklahoma. Thank you to the incredible team at Ghost, especially Bethany Scott, Haley Sandell, Nick Robinson, Sarah Rogers, and Matthew Pickett, for designing such an innovative project for the people of Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) has been a steadfast partner in this project, and we appreciate the opportunity to feature many images from OHS collections. A special thank you to Trait Thompson, OHS Executive Director; former OHS Executive Director Bob Blackburn, PhD; and Chad Williams, OHS Director of the Research Division; and OHS board members Barbara Thompson and Jonita Mullins. Special thanks are also due to Saidy Herrera, Mallory Covington, Evelyn Moxley, Jim Meeks, and Carrie Fox at the Oklahoma Historical Society for sharing their expertise with us. In addition, we have also relied on hundreds of images and documents through the online repository Gateway to Oklahoma History and the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, both OHS projects. Colorful and engaging artworks from the Oklahoma State Capitol Arts Collection and the State Arts Collection managed by the Oklahoma Arts Council under the direction of Executive Director Amber Sharples, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Judicial Art Collection, especially Justice Yvonne Kauger and photographer Neil Chapman, offer wonderful teaching and learning opportunities for students throughout the project’s sixteen chapters. Linda Lynn at the Oklahoman provided us with images to help us share stories from the recent past.

During the research and writing stages of the book project, we have hosted a series of teacher workshops at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the First Americans Museum, and the Oklahoma Historical Society. We thank Gretchen Jeane, Director of Education and Special Projects, and John Lodge, School and Family Programs Coordinator, of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum; Adrienne Lalli Hills (Wyandotte Nation citizen), Director of Learning and Community Engagement, First Americans Museum; Kathy Dickson, former Director of Museums and Historic Sites Division, and Elizabeth Bass, PhD, former Director of Publications, Oklahoma Historical Society; and Shelly Lemons, PhD, Professor of History at McKendree University. In addition, we have benefited from valuable discussions with colleagues at conferences including the Western History Association, Oklahoma Council for History Education, Oklahoma Research Day, and Berkshire Conference on Women’s History.

Academic administrators at the University of Central Oklahoma offered sustained support and encouragement for the project, especially funding for research assistants, through a series of grants from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Central Oklahoma. A special thank you to Todd G. Lamb, JD, President; Charlotte Simmons, PhD, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; Greg Wilson, PhD, Assistant Vice President, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs; Gina Gordon, PhD, Director, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs; Elizabeth Maier, PhD, Dean, College of Liberal Arts; Marc Goulding, PhD, Chair, and Katrina Lacher, PhD, former Chair, Department of History and Geography, and colleagues Natalie Panther (Cherokee Nation), PhD, Associate Professor of History, and Chelsea Ball, PhD, Assistant Professor of History, and Maria Diaz Montejo, PhD, Lecturer. Research assistants from the University of Central Oklahoma included Tanner Cargill, Chrissy Carlson, Sandi Colby, Cait Clymer, Logan Flake, Ytzel Gonzalez, Lauryn Hunt, Esther Kim, Meghan Nguyen, Logan Ray, Maria Raygoza, Adison Simpson, Emma Stewart, and Benjamin Winterscheidt.

Cameron University provided important support for this project. We are deeply indebted to interim President Jari Askins. Her help and guidance made this project possible. She is a lifelong public servant from Duncan, Oklahoma, who has championed the importance of education throughout her career. President Shane Hunt, PhD, has also offered valuable support for this project. We thank him for his enthusiasm and commitment to improving the educational opportunities for Oklahoma students. We would also like to thank Vice President for Academic Affairs Marge Kingsley, PhD; Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Lance Janda, PhD; Dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies Krystal Brue, PhD; and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences Edris Montalvo, PhD, for their support and for funding research assistants. Doug Catterall, PhD, and Travis Childs provided important encouragement and support as we worked to bring this project to fruition. We would also like to thank former Vice President for University Advancement Albert Johnson, Jr. for sharing his father’s stories, Chris Keller, PhD, for his help with images, and Chad Kirchen, former Principal of Lawton High School, for sharing his experiences with us. We thank Hope Cunningham and Ozias Diaz for their stellar work as research assistants on this project. We would also like to thank Heather Clemmer, PhD, Professor of History and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Nazarene University, for her feedback and support throughout the process of writing this book. We also offer special thanks to Sydney Janda. As a high school student, she read early drafts of many chapters and provided us with invaluable perspective and feedback.

We thank our students, colleagues, and families for their patience, support, and enthusiasm during all the stages of this collaborative Oklahoma history project. Our families, Lance and Sydney Janda, and Mike, Owen, and Bryce Logan, have been great sources of strength and support throughout the project’s development and publication.