Press Release
March 4, 2025
Contact: Jessica Brogdon
Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-0780
jessica.brogdon@history.ok.gov
www.okhistory.org/awardsbanquet
Tahlequah Woman to Receive Award for New Book at Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet
OKLAHOMA CITY — Rebecca Nagle, a Cherokee Nation citizen and award-winning writer who lives in Tahlequah, will be honored with the E.E. Dale Award at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s annual awards banquet on Thursday, March 20, at 6 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. This award honors an outstanding book exploring a topic in Oklahoma history. Nagle will be honored for her book, “By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land,” published by HarperCollins in 2024.
“By the Fire We Carry” chronicles the decades-long struggle for tribal land and sovereignty in eastern Oklahoma. It highlights contemporary legal battles and historic Indigenous resistance, revealing the nation’s wrongs and the ongoing fight for justice led by Native communities.
The award is named for Dr. E.E. Dale, a Harvard graduate who joined the history faculty at the University of Oklahoma in 1924. He wrote several history books, including “The Range Cattle Industry, Cow Country, History of Oklahoma”and “The Indians of the Southwest: A Century of Development Under the United States.” From 1930 to 1972, Dale served on the Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors. He retired from the university in 1952 but continued to research and write Oklahoma history, as well as authoring poetry and two autobiographical books. He died in 1972, and in 1994, the OHS inducted Dale into the Historians Hall of Fame posthumously.
Nagle will receive a plaque of recognition at the Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet. Tickets can be purchased online. Guests are asked to RSVP by Monday, March 10. Dr. AJ Griffin will be the keynote speaker. Griffin spent six years in the Oklahoma State Senate and is now the CEO of the Potts Family Foundation. Joe Dorman, a former state representative and current CEO of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, will serve as emcee for this event.
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 www.okhistory.org.
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