Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Caddo County.

History

Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873. The designation came from the Nadaco Native Americans, a branch of the

Caddo Nation The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...

, and the "A" was added due to a clerical error.Carolyn Riffel and Betty Bell, "Anadarko." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed April 17, 2015. In 1871, the Wichita Agency was reestablished on the north bank of the Washita River after being destroyed in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. The Wichita Agency administered the affairs of the Wichita, Caddo and other tribes. In 1878, the

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...

Agency at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

was consolidated with the Wichita Agency. In 1901, the federal government allotted the lands of the Kiowa, Comanche and Arapaho Reservations, and opened the surplus land to white settlement. On August 6, 1901, an auction was held for homesteads and town lots. Around 5,000 people were living in "Rag Town" on the east edge of Anadarko awaiting the auction. Although 20,000 people were present for auction day, Anadarko's population dwindled to 2,190 in 1907. Agriculture has been the principal driver of the local economy, since the Washita Valley has been good for crops and livestock. The second pillar of the local economy has been Native American affairs.

Geography

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2020, there were 5,745 people living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 948.5 people per square mile (361.9/km). There were 2,800 housing units at an average density of 390.2 per square mile (150.7/km). The racial makeup of the city was 36%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 40.4% Native American, 6%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.1% Asian, 11.2% Hispanic or Lationo, and 14.7% from two or more races.

Culture

Native American significance

Anadarko, the self-titled "Indian Capital of the Nation." It is the capital of th
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
th
Delaware Nation
and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. The city houses the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians. Anadarko is named after the Nadaco, a Caddo band now affiliated with the

. In the Caddo language, ''Nadá-kuh'' means "bumblebee place".Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast''. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004: 630. . The Caddo are a federally recognized Native American tribe for which Caddo County is named. Caddo County is part of the former

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

of the Caddo, Wichita, and Delaware Nation, prior to allotment in the post-Dawes Allotment Era. Redskin Theater, Anadarko, Oklahoma

Culturally, Anadarko is rare among Oklahoma cities as Native Americans form a near-majority. Locals are often familiar with a few basic

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

words, such as ''haw-nay'',

for "no." Wichita and Apache words are sometimes employed in casual conversation as well, such as ''hangy'', ''ah-ho'', ''ebote'', and ''bocote''. Native American motifs are commonly used for design, art, and other aspects of daily life. Anadarko has a

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

office. The town is situated between the Wichita, Caddo, and Delaware reservations to the north, and the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache reservations to the south. These reservations were dismantled by the allotment of tribal lands to individual members, and the opening of the "excess" lands to settlement, in a series of land openings. The area surrounded by Anadarko was opened to settlement by a 1901 land lottery affecting the Kiowa, Comanche, Wichita and Caddo lands. The Anadarko area is home to Riverside Indian School, a Bureau of Indian Education boarding and day school for Native American students.

Education

Anadarko Public Schools consists of three elementary schools, Sunset Elementary, East Elementary, and Mission Elementary; a middle school; and a high school. There are approximately 1,950 students. Riverside Indian School is near Anadarko.

Notable people

* Richard Aitson (1953-2022), a

- Kiowa Apache bead artist, curator, and poet * Black Beaver (1806—1880),

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

Native American leader, scout, and rancher *

Blackbear Bosin Blackbear Bosin (June 5, 1921 – August 9, 1980) was a self-taught Comanche/Kiowa sculptor, painter, and commercial artist. He is also known by his Kiowa name, Tsate Kongia, which means "black bear." Bosin gained notoriety for his surreal and ...

(1921-1980),

artist * John Emhoolah Jr. (1929-2021),

educational activist * Ronald D. Godard, ambassador * Derrell Griffith (b. 1943), former Major League Baseball player * Ralph B. Hodges (1930-2013), former Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court * Genta H. Holmes (b. 1940), first

United States Ambassador to Namibia The United States ambassador to Namibia is the representative of the government of the United States in Namibia. The position was created the day Namibia became independent, which was also the day that Namibia-United States relations were est ...

* Butch Huskey (b. 1971), former Major League Baseball player * Charles Leonhard (1915-2002), music educator and academic *

Doris McLemore Doris Jean Lamar-McLemore (April 16, 1927 – August 30, 2016) was an American teacher who was the last native speaker of the Wichita language, a Caddoan language spoken by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, indigenous to the U.S. states of O ...

(1927–2016) last fluent speaker of the

Wichita language Wichita is an extinct Caddoan language once spoken in Oklahoma by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. The last fluent heritage speaker, Doris Lamar-McLemore, died in 2016, although in 2007 there were three first-language speakers alive.Rood, 2 ...

* Cal McLish (1925-2010),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

player *

Stephen Mopope Stephen Mopope (1898–1974) was a Kiowa painter, dancer, and Native American flute player from Oklahoma. He was the most prolific member of the group of artists known as the Kiowa Six.Watson, Mary JoMopope, Stephen (1898-1974). ''Oklahoma Histori ...

(1900-1974),

artist * Gary Nixon (1941-2011), national champion motorcycle racer * Ray Gene Smith (1928–2005), football player * Jim Thompson (1906-1977), author and screenwriter * Gene Tracy (1927–1979), comedian, emcee, and recording artist *

Louis Weller Louis "Rabbit" Weller (March 2, 1904 – April 17, 1979) was a professional football halfback with the Boston Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) in 1933. He was a Native American member of the Caddo tribe. He attended Haskell I ...

(1904-1979),

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

player

References

External links

City of Anadarko

Anadarko Chamber of Commerce

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Anadarko (Town)

"Daily Democrat" newspaper
hosted by th
Gateway to Oklahoma History
{{authority control Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Caddo County, Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma