Honorable Mention - High School
Attucks Alternative Academy, Vinita

Vinita is Our Town:
Cowboys & Indians Welcome

Vinita, the second oldest town in Oklahoma, was established in 1871 in Indian Territory at the junction of two major railroads. The town was named for internationally renowned ninteenth-century artist, sculptor, and early resident, Vinnie Ream. Her famous sculpture of Abraham Lincoln stands in the rotunda of our nation's capitol. We chose her portrait as the central image in our western-themed collage because her life of creativity and pioneerism became the inspiration behind our cooperative effort to research our heritage and represent it artistically.

As we began this Collage 2004 project, we researched aspects of our town and went on several trips to take pictures of everything from downtown scenes to spots of beauty and legend. We explored agricultural and industrial scenes, as well as the cemetery, churches, and schools. The completed project features our roots as a vital cultural and agricultural crossroads.

The green background of the collage signifies our region of the state known as Green Country. Vinita is situated at the intersection of Interstate 44, Highway 69, and historical Route 66. In fact, Route 66, the famed "Mother Road," forms the main street of our town. A 1900's black and white photo of a couple with their classic convertible underscores this intriguing aspect of our location.

The images assembled in our collage are literally tied together with a lasso belonging to an Attucks Alternative Academy student and together represent a story of our heritage. These include the back pocket of a pair of wranglers; the toe of an Indian moccasin; and two crosses: one made of boot leather and the other made of wood, both symbolizing the rich church life of our community.

Assorted photos of prominent institutions lend the collage much of its substance: the historical court house, the administration building of Eastern State Hospital, and the General Mills plant. Each of these photos is glued to the back of a cowboy's flannel shirt, emphasizing our "western" roots. At the bottom of the lasso, we have glued a group photo of early Vinita settlers. This image includes Oklahoma's prized comedian-politician, Will Rogers (third from the right). Will Rogers attended school in Vinita when he was a boy and continued lifelong friendships with the people in our town. Our annual Will Rogers Memorial Rodeo continues on the strength of Rogers' own suggestion. "Plan a rodeo here," he said, "and I'll be back next year." Unfortunately, he died in a now-infamous plane crash before he could return.

Above the picture of these early residents is a photo of contemporary Vinita personalities. The Native American woman potter represents our primarily Cherokee heritage. Anne Mitchell, a longtime resident of Vinita, is internationally acclaimed for single-handedly reviving the art of Cherokee pottery making. Included in the left loop of the lasso we tried to again reflect our cowboy, cattle, and ranching heritage with images of our famous rodeo and working cowboys, as well as our sale barn, which continues to be utilized by regional ranchers each week. The other images featured of today's Vinita include: the world's largest Calf Fry; a Vinita Hornets shirt logo; three logos from regional electric companies; a drawing of the old high-school; and a photo of the spooky and legendary "Crybaby Bridge."

Various other items, images, and textures round out our collage. Our name, "Vinita," is written in script made of leather; a horse silhouette is cut from a leather boot; and Wrangler leather logos are scattered throughout the collage. Along the base of the collage can be found a postcard from the world's largest McDonalds, images from the Work Project Administration (WPA) murals in the post office, assorted ranch logos, and a local winery brochure. The right side of the lasso again emphasizes our cowboy and Indian heritage through the glued bandanna, the feather, the Cherokee seal, the ranches, and the silhouette of a horse cut out of sand paper. Another image features an Indian family from Vinita pictured in full regalia. The "Get It!" sign and the key chain are both items from a favorite quick stop in Vinita. Finally, the book, Vinita, I.T.: The Story of a Frontier Town of the Cherokee Nation 1871-1907, by O.B. Campbell (local historian) is another central image. It is overlaid by the high school cornerstone logo and a view of our own school, Attucks Alternative Academy.

In the process of assembling this collage, we have learned much about ourselves and this place we call our "hometown." We are proud of the heritage we now know we share and even more proud of what we have accomplished together in working on this project. With the help of our local artist-in-residence, Carol Castor, each of us contributed ideas, images, and artwork to the collage. We came together as a team to design, select, and collaborate. This experience has inspired us to take a step further and create a collage of our school and its unique history. We hope to exhibit this second collage here and in the community to display our pride as Attucks Alternative Academy students. This pride is deepened by our new understanding of our roots in Vinita, "Our Town."