Qualla: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit W. R. Oswald, CC BY-SA 3.0. The name Tulsa derives from Tallasi, a Creek word meaning 'old town,' and there is something fitting about a city that has reinvented itself repeatedly while never quite escaping the gravitational pull of its origins. The Lochapoka band of Creek Native Americans settled here between 1828 and 1836, gathering beneath what became known as the Council Oak Tree. Most of Tulsa still sits within the territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Northwest Tulsa lies in the Osage Nation, while North Tulsa falls within the Cherokee Nation. Formally incorporated in 1898, the city exploded in the early twentieth century when oil gushed from the ground and money flooded in behind it. Today, with 413,066 residents as of the 2020 census, Tulsa is Oklahoma's second-largest city and the anchor of a metropolitan area home to more than a million people.

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Image: W. R. Oswald | CC BY-SA 3.0

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Black Gold and Art Deco Dreams

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Timdayf5, CC BY-SA 4.0. The United States Oil and Gas Association was founded in Tulsa on October 13, 1917, and for decades the city served as the undisputed headquarters of the American petroleum industry. Warren Petroleum, Skelly Oil, Getty Oil, and CITGO all called Tulsa home. The wealth that flowed ...

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Image: Timdayf5 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Tulsa, Oklahoma: The Greenwood Wound

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Caleb Long, CC BY-SA 2.5. No honest telling of Tulsa's story can avoid the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street for its thriving African American business community, was attacked by white mobs over two days beginning May 31. Homes, businesses, churches, and schoo...

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Image: Caleb Long | CC BY-SA 2.5

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Where Western Swing Was Born

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cain's Ballroom, a dance hall on North Main Street, earned its reputation as the birthplace of Western Swing when Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys made it their performance headquarters during the 1930s. The Tulsa Sound -- a genre blending rockabilly, country, rock and roll, and ...

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Image: Gorup de Besanez | CC BY-SA 4.0

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Coney Dogs, Chimchangas, and Oklahoma Tenderloin

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hobbes1234, CC BY-SA 3.0. Tulsa's food scene reflects its position at a cultural crossroads. Lebanese steakhouses, founded by Syrian and Lebanese families who immigrated before Oklahoma statehood, once served tabbouleh alongside smoked barbecue bologna -- the latter nicknamed 'Oklahoma tenderloin.' Greek ...

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Image: Hobbes1234 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Tulsa, Oklahoma: Gathering Place and the Green Country

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Colleenthegreat at en.wikipedia, Public domain. Tulsa manages 134 parks across the city, but Gathering Place has become the crown jewel since its opening. The park features playgrounds, a boathouse, splash grounds, sports courts, a skate park, wetland gardens, and an amphitheatre spread across its generous acreage. Along the A...

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Image: Colleenthegreat at en.wikipedia | Public domain