Women Who Pioneered Oklahoma Analysis

The two women in the interviews came to Oklahoma under different circumstances. Katie Day, who was a Delaware Indian, was transferred to the Indian Territory along with the rest of her family during the Indian Relocation of the 1800s. Katie stated that her parents from originally from the east but were brought to Kansas and eventually forced to relocate to Oklahoma. In contrast to Katie Day’s family, who did not come to Oklahoma on their free will, Lula Starr Holden and her family chose to relocate to Greet County, Oklahoma, to secure land and build a home. Katie’s family receive an allotment of land, where they bought a house and lived for a while. Eventually they had money to build a larger house. Lula lived in a dugout, built by her husband and his brother. Lula lined the walls and ceilings with newspapers to prevent dirt from falling through the cracks and bugs from getting in. The dugout reminded me of the homes described in Women Who Pioneered Oklahoma.
Initially, I felt that the two women’s experiences were distinctly different because they talked about different things in their interviews; Katie mentioned outlaws and her schooling experience while Lula discussed the hardships she faced.
However, I did discover some similarities in their interviews. One thing I noticed was that despite their different reasons for coming to Oklahoma, I found that the two women’s lives in Oklahoma were quite similar. Life was difficult because of the scarce necessities such as clean water and groceries. The men in their families traveled for miles to obtain supplies, which they did a few times a year. Nonetheless, both women were content with their lives. Katie stated that she was happy despite the hardships in those das, and Lula “had good neighbors and enjoyed many
things.”.