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Washita

(Encyclopedia)Washita wŏshˈĭtô [key], river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in the Texas Panhandle near the Okla. line and flowing generally SE across Oklahoma to Lake Texoma or the Red River. The Native Americ...

Villella, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Villella, Edward, 1936–, American ballet dancer, b. Long Island, N.Y. Villella studied at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet, joining the New York City Ballet in 1957. He soon became a pr...

Shawnee, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Shawnee shôˈwənō [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their earliest known hom...

Osage, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Osage ōˈsāj, ōsājˈ [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In prehistoric time...

Sun Belt

(Encyclopedia)Sun Belt or Sunbelt, southern tier of the United States, focused on Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, and extending as far north as Virginia. The term gained wide use in the 1970s, when the eco...

Stillwater

(Encyclopedia)Stillwater. 1 City (1990 pop. 13,822), seat of Washington co., E Minn., on the St. Croix River; inc. 1854. Boats, metal products, signs, computer supplies, molding and tools, and electronic goods are ...

Five Civilized Tribes

(Encyclopedia)Five Civilized Tribes, inclusive term used since mid-19th cent. for the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes of E Oklahoma. By 1850 some 60,000 members of these tribes were settled...

Ellsworth, Henry Leavitt

(Encyclopedia)Ellsworth, Henry Leavitt, 1791–1858, American agriculturist, b. Windsor, Conn., grad. Yale, 1810. His interests were varied. He was a lawyer, businessman, and farming enthusiast. In 1832 he made a t...

Rocky Mountain spotted fever

(Encyclopedia)Rocky Mountain spotted fever, infectious disease caused by a rickettsia. The bacterium is harbored by wild rodents and other animals and is carried by infected ticks of several species that attach the...

Brough, Louise

(Encyclopedia)Brough, Louise (Louise Brough Clapp) brŭf [key], 1923–2014, American tennis player, b. Oklahoma City. A champion in the 1940s and 50s, renowned for her powerful serve-and-volley game and crushing t...