Oklahoma derived its name from a combination of two Choctaw words, "ukla" meaning person and "humá" meaning red. "Oklahoma" precisely would mean "red person." The name was suggested by Allen Wright, Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation from 1866 to 1870. Interestingly, the Choktaws translate "American people" to "Miliki okla."

Oklahoma has the largest Native American population of any state in the country. The state alone speaks more than 50 languages articulated by 55 distinct Indian tribes. Many of the 250,000 American Indians living in Oklahoma today descended from the 67 tribes who inhabited the Indian Territory.

Oklahoma is commonly called 'The Sooner State' with historical references to the "Sooners" – the name given to early settlers who occupy 'unassigned lands' and were in fact regarded as "cheaters." In 1908, the University of Oklahoma named its football team the "Sooners" and there started the impression of pride for anyone to bear such name.

Oklahoma is one of the six states on the Frontier Strip. Oklahoma's attraction is its very diverse natural terrain – oak and hickory mixed forests, post oak and blackjack oak savannahs, plains and semi-arid regions, and the panhandle. Oklahoma though lacks natural water formations hence there are more man-made lakes in Oklahoma than any other state.

What 'naturally' abounds in Oklahoma are thousands of oil and natural gas wells dotting its landscape. In fact, one operating oil well sits right on state capitol grounds, called Capitol Site Number One. This abundance makes Oklahoma one of the major fuel-producing states in America.

• The University of Oklahoma