United States, Oklahoma
More than 50 languages are spoken in the state of Oklahoma. There are 55 distinct Indian tribes that make the state their home, and each of these tribes has its own language or dialect. The colorful history of the state includes Indians, cowboys, battles, oil discoveries, dust storms, settlements initiated by offers of free land, and forced resettlements of entire tribes.
Oklahoma's Indian heritage is honored in its official state seal and flag. At the center of the seal is a star, and within each of the five arms of the star are symbols representing each of the five tribes (the "Five Civilized Tribes") that were forcefully resettled into the territory of Oklahoma. The tribes depicted on the seal are the Creeks, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Cherokee, and the Seminoles. The present Oklahoma state flag depicts an Indian war shield, stars, eagle feathers, and an Indian peace pipe, as well as a white man's symbol for peace, an olive branch.
Oklahoma is a word that was made up by the native American missionary Allen Wright. He combined two Choctaw words, "ukla" meaning person and "humá" meaning red to form the word that first appears in a 1866 Choctaw treaty. Oklahoma means "red person."
