Thanksgiving celebration

A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as recommended by President George Washington and approved by Congress. On November 26, 1941 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

The image below, courtesy of Western Waters Digital Library, depicts in “sign language” (or pictographs) how Thanksgiving day is celebrated by the American Indians. Theodore Lambie, young Sioux, created this picture for the readers of “Indians at Work,” official publication of the Indian service, in 1937.

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Oklahoma, 46th U.S. state

On November 16, 1907, Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory became Oklahoma state and were admitted as the 46th U.S. state.

Cultural heritage institutions of Oklahoma state (libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, etc.) contributed 17 digital collections to the Opening History aggregation:
100 Years of Oklahoma Governors collection,
Ada Lois Sipuel v. Board of Regents University of Oklahoma, 1948- collection,
Chronicles of Oklahoma collection,
Doris Duke Collection of American Indian Oral History,
Federal Publications about Oklahoma collection,
From Warrior to Saint: The Journey of David Pendleton Oakerhater collection,
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties collection,
Indian-Pioneer Papers Collection,
Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project collection,
Native American Manuscript Collections,
Oklahoma Authors collection,
Oklahoma Crossroads collection,
Oklahoma Image collection,
Oklahoma Resources collection,
Oklahoma State Government Publications collection,
Tulsa Race Riot Documents collection, and
Western History Collections Photographic Archives collection.

The photograph below, courtesy of From Warrior to Saint: The Journey of David Pendleton Oakerhater collection, pictures four students of Carlisle Indian School in 1880 — Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Comanche — including David Pendleton Oakerhater himself (second left).

Students at Carlisle Indian School, 1880

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Alaska Day

On October 18, 1867, United States took possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. This day is celebrated annually as Alaska Day.

Two men seated on shore in front of Russian Orthodox church, Unalaska, ca. 1899

The photograph above, courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, King County Snapshots digital collection, pictures Alaskan city Unalaska in 1899. On this photograph, two men are sitting on shore in front of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension of Christ built in 1825. Another photograph (below), courtesy of Western Waters Digital Library collection, pictures Russian and Eskimo kids in 1906 in Karluk, Alaska.

Russian and Native boys leaning up against a barabara, Karluk, Alaska, June 1906

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Founding of Los Angeles

On September 4, 1781, Spanish governor of California, Felipe de Neve, founded Los Angeles (originally named El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles, or the Town of the Queen of the Angels) near the site of the Indian village of Yang-na.

View of a statue depicting the Governor Felipe de Neve, in Los Angeles Plaza, 1920-1939

The photograph above, courtesy of California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960, pictures statue of Governor Felipe de Neve, in Los Angeles Plaza, in 1930s.

The drawing below, courtesy of California Historical Society Digital Archive collection, pictures the Yang-na Indian village.

Drawing depicting a straw hut village of the Yang-na Indians

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