Cameron Professor Co-Authors New Oklahoma History Book, With a Free Digital Version for Teachers

Oklahoma history has a new textbook, and it was co-written right here in Lawton. Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda, a history professor at Cameron University, teamed up with Dr. Patricia Loughlin of the University of Central Oklahoma on“Oklahoma Reconsidered: A History,”released in September by the University of Nebraska Press. The book spans the 1700s through 2025, with stops at 1907 statehood, the growth of Oklahoma’s Latino communities, the rise of the OKC Thunder and the 2020 McGirt Supreme Court decision. Former Lt. Gov. Jari Askins wrote the foreword.

The best part for local schools is the price tag on the companion project.“Making Oklahoma: A History”is a free, open-access version available at makingoklahoma.org, and it comes with more than 250 photos and maps plus teacher supplemental materials built by Dr. Kim Pennington of UCO. Doctors Janda says teachers across the state, including many in this region, have already told her they are using it in their classrooms.

Both books are now under review by the state textbook adoption committee, meaning they could soon appear in schools statewide. For a community anchored by Fort Sill, the Comanche Nation and the Wichita Mountains, seeing a Lawton professor help write Oklahoma’s story for the next generation is a genuine point of local pride. Have you taken a look at the free version yet, and what Oklahoma story do you think belongs in the book?