In September 1950, U.S. Senator Robert S. Kerr (D-Oklahoma) wrote to Indian leaders across the country in order to “make some determination with regard to whether or not we are going to have an early winter and whether or not we may expect a hard winter.” Even though he had access to U.S. Weather Bureau predictions and other scientific data, Kerr and his Administrative Assistant, Ben Dwight, a Choctaw Indian and onetime Principal Chief of that tribe, wrote that they had a “high regard for the old Indian ways of determining such things – because they are practical and have always been able to make some very accurate predictions.” Several responses were received.

This presentation will examine the letters and responses, and explore the possible policy (and political) motivations of Sen. Kerr (an influential man born in the Indian Territory in 1896) and Mr. Dwight in seeking this information. Based on the results of their 1950 inquiry, a follow-up letter-writing campaign was made in autumn 1951 for the upcoming winter, producing several more responses. This research, using original historical documents, is done as a prelude to a broader investigation involving field work that seeks Oklahoma tribal knowledge of weather and how it may have been used, including as a livelihood strategy, and whether this knowledge is living today.