Plains Indians & Pioneers Museum

Plains Indians & Pioneers Museum is Woodward's designated tourism information center. It is our mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Northwest Oklahoma and share it with the world. We guarantee quality tours, professionalism in our services, and fun, because these are what our name stands for.

In order to fulfill its mission, the museum will:

• Serve as a permanent repository for such artifacts, written and oral records, photographs, and historical items, which interpret and depict Northwest Oklahoma history.
• Adequately store, care for, and preserve said items for the future.
• Develop and maintain Board and staff expertise required to identify significant aspects of Northwest Oklahoma history as well as interpret these aspects to the public.
• Maintain adequately trained staff to collect, care for, study, and exhibit items within the permanent collections.
• Interpret Northwest Oklahoma history to the public through semi-permanent and temporary exhibits utilizing items within the permanent collections.
• Serve as an educational institution for both children and adults through the use of in-house and outreach public programming and school-associated functions and projects.
• Serve as a resource/research center on Northwest Oklahoma history.
• Promote scholarly research and writing on and about Northwest Oklahoma.
• Play an ongoing role in the identification and preservation of significant buildings and sites in the Northwest Oklahoma area.

We offer a comprehensive story line on Northwest Oklahoma history in our semi-permanent exhibits, which were developed through Oklahoma Humanities Council planning and implementation matching grants. One of these, "Northwest Passages," received a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History in 1987. In 1993, the Oklahoma Historical Society named the museum the state's best local history museum. We also periodically offer regional and national touring exhibits on subjects relevant to our mission.

While the museum has grown over the years, programming has been added to suit the needs of the local and surrounding communities. We are in our second year of our third three-year grant as a Local Affiliate of the Oklahoma Humanities Council. We offer art shows, competitions, and workshops with the support of grants from the Oklahoma Arts Council and community partners. In the summer, we also offer an annual Teacher's Institute seminar in collaboration with Northwestern Oklahoma State University, entitled "Oklahoma Northwest," which provides professional development points to teachers and college credit to students.

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