About the DVD Indians, Outlaws, and Angie Debo

Background

In spring 2011, all Oklahoma public, school, tribal, and academic libraries will receive a free copy of the DVD Indians, Outlaws, and Angie Debo, part of the acclaimed WGBH American Experience series. Written and directed by Oklahoma native Martha Sandlin and produced by Barbara Abrash, the DVD features Angie Debo together with Nancy Allen and Rhonda Coullet. Originally broadcast to a national audience on PBS in 1988, the 58-minute documentary is structured around interviews with Debo in her nineties and chronicles her life and career. Highlights include an examination of the controversy surrounding her book And Still the Waters Run, which revealed the way Oklahoma Indians were systematically defrauded of their land.

Raised in Indian Territory, Debo rose above poverty and sexism to become a teacher, revered author, and distinguished historian of the American West. Among her many accolades, she was honored as the first woman to have her portrait hung in the Oklahoma capitol and the first woman to receive the Award for Scholarly Distinction from the American Historical Association. This project is sponsored by the Women’s Archives at Oklahoma State University, home to the Angie Debo Papers. The accompanying pages on this companion website feature downloadable curricula and additional resources to help teachers easily adopt the DVD for classroom use.

Distribution

The distribution of this DVD has been limited by an agreement with PBS, so copies are not available upon request. Under this agreement, and with support provided by the Angie Debo Fund and The Women's Archives at Oklahoma State University, the OSU Library has been able to present approximately 3,000 copies of Indians, Outlaws, and Angie Debo to libraries throughout Oklahoma. The DVD may be available through interlibrary loan, so contact the ILL office of your local library. (To ensure that you receive the DVD copy, please be sure to specify the DVD format!) Please direct e-mail inquiries regarding distribution to david.peters@okstate.edu