Want to know more about your house? Here are some guidelines for researching your home in Oklahoma County. Some of the resources will be helpful for you even if your home is not here in central Oklahoma. It will depend on what records are available for your county. (more…)
Dennis Wolf Bushyhead was born in the Cherokee Nation east in 1826. The eldest son of Rev. Jessie Bushyhead he removed to the Cherokee Nation west in the early 1830s. At the age of 20, he was lured to the gold fields of California where he remained until 1868 upon which he returned to the Cherokee Nation settling at Fort Gibson.
By 1871, he entered the political realm whereby he was elected as Treasurer of the nation. In 1879, Bushyhead was elected Principal Chief and was reelected in 1883.
This proclamation was executed during his second and final term as Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
The end of November marks two tragic events in our pre-statehood era. November 29th, 1864 in southeastern Colorado, Chief Black Kettle’s band of peaceful Cheyenne’s were brutally attacked by the 1st Colorado Volunteers lead by Colonel John Chivington. Though told to fly the American flag as a sign of peace, Black Kettle’s camp was nearly all massacred by the men under Chivington’s command.
Sadly, nearly four years to the day on November 27th, 1868 another massacre took place at Washita in northwestern Oklahoma in what is Roger Mills County near Cheyenne, Oklahoma. A mix of Cheyenne’s under Black Kettle, Arapaho’s and some Kiowa’s were suddenly attacked by General George Custer in what must be considered one of the most cowardly military attacks second only to Sand Creek. This time, Peace Chief Black Kettle was killed with his family.
The members of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Kiowa’s still mourn their loss to this day. For more information about these historical incidents please see The Sand Creek Massacre and The Battle of the Washita authored by Stan Hoig.
The Ned Hockman Collection [2009.100] is one of great fascination, spanning four decades and numerous pursuits of this notable Oklahoma filmmaker. The materials include film scripts, correspondence regarding filmmaking, and teaching materials from Hockman’s tenure as a professor in the University of Oklahoma’s Journalism/Motion Picture Production program.
Ned Hockman was always interested in communication. During his term as a student at the University of Oklahoma, he worked as an announcer and writer for the OU educational radio station WNAD. During World War II, Hockman received motion picture production training with the Air Corp at the Hal Roach Studios in Hollywood, California, under the tutelage of Frank Lloyd and William Keeley. He served as a service correspondent with the Air Corp in India, Burma, and China. He filmed the first B-29 raid in that region and was with the Wingate-Cochran glider invasion of Burma filming combat motion picture coverage. When World War II ended Hockman returned to the University of Oklahoma and established the Motion Picture Production program. When the Korean War broke out, Hockman was recalled to duty on February 15, 1951, by the Air Force. He was an officer in charge for the Korean detachment of the second photographic squadron. His responsibilities were to write scripts, take motion pictures, and shoot still photo coverage of Air Force activities. His stint covered action on the ground and in the air. He covered the Peace Conference, air attacks, ground support and rescue missions behind enemy lines. These films were used for staff reports, information, and educational services.
In July of 1952, Hockman returned to the United States where he edited and produced three films for the Air Force in Washington D.C. before being released from duty on August 31, 1952. On September 1, 1952, Hockman returned to his position as Supervisor of Motion Picture Productions at the University of Oklahoma where he covered all the “Big Red” football games, and where he became the director and cinematographer of the nationally televised Bud Wilkinson sport shows, “Inside Sports,” “Inside Football,” and “Inside Basketball.” At that same time he began to teach film production and provide contract work through the University for companies such as the Lowe Runkle Company. From 1949 to 1987, Hockman taught film direction, script writing, and other journalism courses.
Hockman worked as a producer, director, cameraman, and film editor for over 200 non-theatrical motion pictures. In 1962, he worked as a director/editor and co-producer for the theatrical film “Stark Fear” starring Beverly Garland. Recognized by the National Press Photographers Association, he was given an award for his contributions to film and photography in 1971. Hockman understood filming and was a delegate to the Cannes Film Festival and other important film festivals held in Mannheim, Germany, Warsaw, Poland and at Berkley, California.
