Oklahoma’s nickname, The Sooner State, comes from settlers who claimed land in Unassigned Lands before it was legal. The term “sooner” originally had a negative connotation but improved when the University of Oklahoma adopted it in 1908. The land was initially prohibited from settlement, but lobbying efforts and the interest of the Santa Fe Railroad Company forced the government to open it up. The University of Oklahoma’s football team naming themselves The Sooners started the change in the term’s meaning from looter to opportunist.
Oklahoma, one of the central states of the United States, has the nickname of The Sooner State. Oklahoma’s Sooner State nickname refers to a group of people who claimed land in a tract of land known as Unassigned Lands before it was considered legal to lay claims. These people were called first, a name derived directly from the first clause in the Indian Appropriation Act of March 2, 1889. This clause revoked the land rights of any settler who entered Oklahoma Territory before the area was legally open. Originally, the term first carried a negative connotation of a lawless thief, but the derogatory meaning has gradually improved since the University of Oklahoma football team adopted this name in 1908.
The history of Oklahoma’s Sooner State nickname began with the Indian Territories, an area of land that included two of the core states of the United States: Arkansas and Oklahoma. Most of the Indian Territory was occupied by displaced Indian tribes, but some lands were unoccupied and open to settlement and became known as Unassigned Lands. Flowing with numerous rivers, abundant farms and pastures, as well as the dense forested areas necessary for settlement, this immense region was an attractive potential area for colonization.
Settlement of the unallocated lands, however, was prohibited by the government and this angered many citizens who eventually banded together and drove into this territory only to be evicted by the US Army. These evictions became known as the boomer raids and the raiders became known as the “boomers”. Eventually the raids, the lobbying efforts of many citizens, and the interest of the Santa Fe Railroad Company in this land forced the government to open up this area, which then came to be known as the Oklahoma Territory.
Large tracts of Oklahoma Territory were divided up among settlers in a land rush on April 22, 1889, when many thousands of people rushed, at a prearranged time, to the area to claim ownership. The people who hid inside the area ahead of time to illegally claim prime land became known earlier. Unfortunately, lumped under this name and later also denied their claims were soldiers, US Marshals and employees of the Santa Fe Railroad who were given permission to settle the territory beforehand to control boom raids and explore the land for the railway development.
In 1908, the University of Oklahoma named its football team The Sooners. This move started the gradual change in the meaning of the term before. Originally connoted as a looter, the term first has instead become an opportunist. While Oklahoma has long been known as The Sooner State, this nickname is now more readily and proudly accepted by its citizens.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
