Grant Foreman
Grant Foreman
“History, to Foreman, means something vital – a record of man’s achievements, successes, failures – the whole drama of human life from which wise men of any age may derive benefit."
Biography
Nationally renowned historian Grant Foreman was born in Michigan and became a lawyer in Illinois when he joined the Dawes Commission, created to allot land to members of the Five Civilized Tribes. In 1903, he ended his service with the commission and began practicing law in Muskogee.
He and his wife, Carolyn, were among Oklahoma’s most astute students of history and together wrote numerous articles and books on the subject of the Five Civilized Tribes. Mr. Foreman’s first book, Pioneer Days in the Early Southwest, was published in 1925. The University of Oklahoma Press calls his book, Indian Removal (1932), “the definitive book in its field” and was released on the 100th anniversary of the arrival in Oklahoma of the first Indians as a result of the United States government’s relocation of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Fun fact
On his 80th birthday, the Grant Foreman Fund was established to provide awards of merit to young men and women of Native American descent who excelled in the world of arts and sciences.
Oklahoma connections
Foreman came to Oklahoma in 1899 as a member of the commission to the Five Civilized Tribes.