Tribe's Story Told At Seminole Nation Museum In Wewoka

Oklahoma's small towns have rich and varied histories.  Local museums strive to keep those stories alive and relevant to each new generation.

Wewoka's Seminole Nation Museum tells the story of the Seminole people from their beginnings in the southeastern United States, but places an emphasis on the tribal history starting in Oklahoma. 

Museum curator Lewis Johnson has been with the museum for a large portion of its existence.  He told the story of how the museum came to house not only artifacts, but a large number of paintings.

"The artifacts, it came in slow as far as the objects themselves," said Johnson.  "But what we were surrounded with in this region was a tremendous amount of Native artists."

Currently only a small number of the museum's painting collection can be displayed at a time, but the museum is working to make more space available in order to display more.

The Seminole Nation Museum was established in 1974.