On Tuesday, June 30, the Oklahoma History Center will host an event titled "Black Towns Then ... Black Towns Now," sponsored by the Coltrane Group. The panel discussion is also the public's last chance to see the Coltrane Group's exhibit, "Colored Memories: Historic Colorized Photos of Life in 'The Crown Jewel.'" The event is free and the doors open at 6 p.m., with the event beginning at 7 p.m.

The moderator for the panel discussion will be Oklahoma State Representative George Young. Panelists will include a mixture of All-Black Town government representatives and scholars. The scholars include authors Hannibal Johnson and Dr. Linda Reese, Dr. Harold Aldridge and Judge Henrietta Hicks. The participating civic leaders are Grayson Mayor Leon Anderson, Langston Trustee Alonzo Peterson, Rentiesville Mayor Mildred Burkhalter, Taft "Citizens for Progress" Chair Dr. Sam Craig, and Tullahassee Mayor Keisha Gaines-Currin.

The group will discuss the rise of the All-Black Towns in the 19th century and their unique history. The panelists also will talk about the opportunities and challenges that these towns face. The mayors and scholars will share why these villages lost population in the mid-20th century and what is happening now in the towns. This will be an interesting evening for Oklahomans to come and learn about the unique history of Oklahoma's All-Black Towns.

The Coltrane Group/History in Progress was founded by Chief Executive Officer André L. Head and his wife, Chief Operating Officer Jessilyn Hall-Head, with the mission of preserving the heritage and rich legacy of Oklahoma's historic All-Black Towns. Head also has produced and directed a series of documentaries on the All-Black Towns of Oklahoma, another project about which they are extremely passionate. For detailed information about the "Colored Memories" exhibit and the endeavors of the Coltrane Group, contact the group at 405-568-7700 or andreh@thecoltranegroup.org.

The George M. Murrell Home Historic Site in Park Hill will host a workshop on Saturday, June 27, 2015, on how to make a nineteenth-century floorcloth. A floorcloth is a decorative, water-resistant floor mat that is used in areas with high foot traffic. At this educational workshop, participants will learn the history of floorcloths and their uses. Participants will make a sample mat and be able to make their own stencils at home for future projects.

The workshop will be held from 10:00am-3:00pm, with a one-hour break for lunch on your own. Cost for the workshop is $35 per person, and all materials are included. For reservations, call 918-456-2751. Space is limited to eight participants. Major credit cards are accepted.

An original signed copy of what is known as the "Watie Treaty" is currently in Northeastern State University's Archives and is considered to be one of three known copies of the last treaty signed by the last Confederate general during the American Civil War. 

Officials from NSU, Oklahoma Historical Society, Cherokee Nation and the Helmerich Center for American Research at the Gilcrease Museum gathered at the Oklahoma History Center on June 23 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and to view facsimiles of several documents, including a three-page original signed copy of the treaty. Copies of the "Watie Treaty," a historical narrative by NSU professor Dr. Brad Agnew and other documents will be on display at the Oklahoma History Center through July 10.

On June 23, 1865, Gen. Stand Watie, a member of the Cherokee Nation and brigadier general of the First Indian Brigade of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, surrendered to Union forces at Doaksville in the Choctaw Nation, near the Texas border.

With his signature upon the cease-fire treaty, Watie became the last Confederate general in the field to surrender during the war. 

Blain McLain, the archives assistant who uncovered NSU's signed copy of the treaty last November, said the document was a significant find for the university, community and country.

"This is the last, formal surrender of a general in the Civil War, which is probably, by all accounts, the most influential war in American history. It shaped the country's future more than any other war has," McLain said.

Even though history recorded the official end of the war on April 9, 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses Grant in Appomattox, Va., it was more so the end of fearing for the Union's demise, said McLain. It was not the end of the struggle. Several months later in June, Watie was the final general to capitulate to the Union.  

Watie signed the surrender treaty alongside two commissioners for the Union, Lt. Col. Asa C. Matthews and William H. Vance. Two additional signed treaty copies are located in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Gilcrease Archive Collection at the Helmerich Center for American Research.    

The 150th anniversary of its signing was June 23, 2015.

For more information please visit, www.nsuok.edu/WatieTreaty.