As attention on Tulsa grows through the creation of world class attractions such as “The Gathering Place,” so does concern over a lack of recognition for the crimes committed to achieve its greatness.

Tulsa, the second largest city in Oklahoma, was known as the Oil Capital of the World during the 1900s. Much of that oil came from land swindled away from Native American people, who were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands and relocated to what is now Oklahoma beginning in the 1830s.

In August 2022, Verified News Network (VNN) teamed up with Lucinda Hickory Research Institute (LHRI) to produce “Stealing Tvlse,” a new series to spotlight crimes committed against Mvskoke people during the Allotment Era and how those crimes still permeate the reservation today.

This summer, VNN and LHRI are traveling around the country to locate and make public evidence of Allotment Era injustice that exists only in paper form.

We will travel to the National Archives in Fort Worth, the National Archives in Kansas City, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to research untold stories of Oklahoma’s Indigenous history.

Your support will help fund our research and reporting of Allotment Era crime and injustice and ensure these stories do not stay buried.

Visit https://verifiednews.network/stealing-tvlse/ to learn more.

The Stealing Tvlse project spotlights Allotment Era crimes against Mvskoke people and the impact of those crimes on Muscogee people today. Donations to Local Media Foundation for this project are tax-deductible to the extent of the law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for contributions. Please consult a tax advisor for details. The program is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36‐4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.

Stealing Tvlse - an investigative series by VNN and LRHI

Funding storytelling that has remained buried for more than 100 years is no easy feat, but through collaboration and innovation Tulsa’s Allotment Era stories are now on their way to a national audience.

Team Members