I have always thought of Oklahoma as a western state”
You may want to change your thinking. Oklahoma is part of the original southern or Dixie states.
“Oklahoma is part of the original southern or Dixie states.”
Wow! Now that’s what I call a Sooner!
Sorry, but I grew up in the south right on the NC border and the dress, food, culture in Oklahama is not southern. They do appear more western imo.
The southeastern part of the state has a little southern flair but the further west and north you go..it is gone.
OK did not become a state until 1907. It is partly southern and partly midwestern in orientation. It was part of AR Territory prior to 1834. It is more like TX than any of its other neighbors.
I guess OK is what the people who live there think it is.
It depends on your frame of reference. When you are playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’, Oklahoma is a western state. If you are coming from a Civil War POV, you get a different answer. If you are looking at are looking at it geographically, you get a third answer.
That is why there are so many disparate opinions.