Press Release
March 28, 2023
Contact: Nicole Harvey
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-5202
nicole.harvey@history.ok.gov
www.okhistory.org/grants
Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band Awarded Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is proud to announce that the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band has been awarded a grant through the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program.
“It is pleasing to hear that the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedom Band was a recipient of the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant and that the funds will help to continue educating the citizens of Oklahoma,” said Sen. Darrell Weaver, Moore. “It is exciting to know that this grant will help fund a traveling exhibit with displays detailing soldiers’ military careers during the Civil War in Indian Territory and their freedom ancestry.”
“This is going to be an amazing display that highlights the importance of the historic contributions of the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band to our state,” said Rep. Mark McBride, Moore. “As a Native American, I’m grateful to the Oklahoma Historical Society for this grant funding that will make this project a reality.”
Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band received $12,157 for a project titled “The Unsung Heroes of the Civil War: Freedmen of Indian Territory Exhibit,” which will help fund a traveling exhibit with 15 displays detailing soldiers’ military careers during the Civil War in Indian Territory and their freedmen ancestry.
“We’re grateful to receive this generous grant through the OHS,” said Rhonda Grayson, chairwoman of Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band. “This grant will help further the mission of the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band, which is to educate the public on the unique history and the essential roles of the Freedmen of Indian Territory. This historically significant project honoring our Civil War heroes will bring more awareness to this extraordinary history and people who lived and thrived in the Muscogee Creek Nation and other Nations.”
The OHS will distribute over $575,000 in grant funds, with projects ranging from collections care and strategic planning to exhibit development and educational programming.
“These grant funds continue to empower local communities to collect, preserve and share their history for future generations of Oklahomans with over 150 projects funded to date,” said Nicole Harvey, director of strategic initiatives and grants administrator for the OHS.
The Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant Program is a grants-in-aid program offered by the Oklahoma Historical Society to encourage the collection, preservation and sharing of Oklahoma history at the grassroots level in all parts of the state. Open to tribal and municipal governments and not-for-profit historical organizations located in Oklahoma and registered with the Oklahoma secretary of state, this grants program offers funding ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 for projects focused on collections, exhibits and programming. Applications for this annual program open in the fall and award announcements are made in January. For more information visit www.okhistory.org/grants.
The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit okhistory.org.
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