Employment and Cherokee Outlet History in Enid OK
A Good Place to Live
Enid, Oklahoma in Garfield County has been recognized as a good place to live by many organizations, In January 2006 ABC's Good Morning America named the city in the Top 5 Up and Coming Areas in the USA. In 2007 and 2008, Enid made the list of Top 25 Best Small Cities for Jobs and Business in America, noted by Money Magazine and Expansion Management. In addition to all of this, Enid is also recommended as a superior retirement community.
Enid is the largest retail trade hub in Northwest Oklahoma and Southwest Kansas, serving over 200,000 customers or more. Agriculture and Oil have been mainstays of the local economy in the past; however, Natural Gas is coming more to the fore in the 21st century. Retail Trade, Service Industries, and Healthcare also major players in the Enid area economy.
Like much of the western US, Enid grew up among “cowboys and Indians” and the railroad. The Cherokee Strip Museum and the Railroad Museum of Oklahoma in Enid both commemorate related events in Enid. Further, a reconstructed Government Springs Park offers a heritage village next to the Cherokee Strip Museum.
Enid, Oklahoma
Located about 140 miles west of Will Rogers birthplace, Oologah, in Rogers County; both near the former Cherokee Outlet.
Cherokee People and Politics
Cherokee Nation's Move To and From Oklahoma
The US Government had previously given the Cherokee Nation 8,000,000+ acres of land via the 1828 and 1835 treaties between the United States and the Native Americans.
The US Federal Government guaranteed the tribe that the multimillion acres created a permanent outlet to the West for traveling between native hunting grounds. This outlet or gateway was 60 miles wide and 225 miles long, in roughly the area of a rectangle.
However, the Cherokees fought in the Civil War for the Confederate States of America, who lost. Therefore, after the war, the US ("the North") insisted on a new treaty with the Cherokee Nation that cut the original eight million+ acres and required friendly tribes to move to the eastern end of the Outlet, at their own expense. This was in 1866.
Some Cherokee rented their lands to ranchers or cattle drives for grazing for a time, but eventually, the US bought back the entire Outlet from the Cherokees for less than $1.50 per acre.
In 1893, the Cherokee Outlet was opened to US citizens in a land run in which people drove quickly into the eight million+ acres and claimed plots of land for farms and ranches. Most of the Cherokee moved on to other places, having already moved into Oklahoma from the Carolinas (they were related to the Iroquois Confederation in the Eastern Woodlands groups)..
The Cherokee Strip
The Cherokee Strip
The Cherokee Strip was a part of the Cherokee Outlet gateway to the western hunting grounds, mentioned above. Actually, the strip was a two-mile wide section of land that extended all along the north border of the Cherokee Outlet. It came into existence, because of a surveying error.
Today, the Cherokee Strip and the Cherokee Nation are commemorated with the Strip's own museum in Perry, Oklahoma.
The Cherokee claimed the strip when it was given to them in the original survey, which was accurate. Kansas claimed the land at the same time, because of Federal Law governing a subsequent survey.
After the turmoil of land redistribution (a reduction of lands in Cherokee Territory) after the American Civil War and various leasing, the strip finally ended up in a Land Rush. White settlers stormed the land and claimed parcels of it for their own, while the Cherokee were displaced.
Visit the interesting online exhibits at the museum web site at Cherokee Strip Museum, Perry OK.
Some Of the Top Hiring Companies
- Swift Transportation
- Integris Health (see section below)
- Pacific Architects and Engineers
- Koch Nitrogen Company
- Schlumberger
- ABM Industries
- INVISTA S.a.r.l
- Koch Industries
- Qualified Associates
- AT&T
Higher Education
- Northern Oklahoma College
- Northwestern Oklahoma State University - JOB LINE.
- Phillips University
Top 10 High Demand Jobs
Despite economic fluctuations, Enid OK provides increasing employment opportunities.In Spring 2014, 1,500+ job openings were listed for the area, compared with 880 jobs during the same time in 2008.
Most of the highest demand work pays a salary between $40,000 and $60,000 per year.
The Top 10 Jobs in the Greater Enid Area encompass Healthcare, Education, Accounting, and computer based Information Technology.
- Registered Nurses (RNs) - includes Travel Nursing
- Mainstream Pre-School Teachers
- Nursing and Vocational Instructors and Teachers
- Occupational and Physical Therapists
- Physician and Dental Assistants
- Computer Software Engineers
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators and Analysts.
- Accountants and Auditors
- Special Education Teachers for Kindergarten and Pre-School
- Mainstream Elementary School Teachers
INTEGRIS Bass Health Center
This American/Candian healthcare system is the largest non-profit healthcare system in the State of Oklahoma. The Bass Baptist Health Center in Enid offers a specialized Heart Center and a state-of-the-art Birthing Center.
The Heart Center is affiliates with Oklahoma Heart Center in Oklahoma City and the first hospital in NW Oklahoma to provide Open Heart Surgery. IN addition, the Cardiac Cath Lab assists cardiac patients 24/7 and requires many staff people. Particularly interesting is that the center's Dr. David Vanhooser uses “Beating Heart” technology - a specialized instrument stops only the part of the heart needing repair, not the entire heart. This is only one of the doctor's innovative treatments.
The Birthing Center is almost better than being at home. Patients and families find fully furnished suites with a birthing bed, dinette, sleeper chair, bassinet, and entertainment center with a CD player and TV/VCR. Each suite also has a private Jacuzzi. In addition, alternative therapies include the labor support chair, birthing balls to allow the baby to descend into the pelvis, aroma therapy, music therapy, and nurses trained in labor support. Volunteer Doulas are also available.
Other medical services are avaiable inthis hospital/medical center and Bass Baptist Health Center contributes to the communiy in its service to dozens of local orgnaizations and free public health classes to the community.
Largest Employers
- Vance Air Force Base - United States Air Force. This is the Undergraduate Pilot Training Base.
- Advance Food Company - Breaded Meats
- CSC, Vance Infrastructure Support - Contractor for Aircraft & Airbase Maintenance
- Enid Board of Education
- INTEGRIS Bass Health Center - Regional Health Center; Job Hotline: 580-548-1400 - comprehensive benefits package.
- St. Mary's Medical Center - Regional Health Center. Job Listings Online.
- StarTek, Inc. - In-bound Call Center, computer based oeprations.
- NORCE - Institutionalized Care Services
- City of Enid - City Government
Sports Opportunities
- Enid Majors - American Legion Baseball.
- Enid Amateur Boxing Club
- Enid Golf Courses
- Enid Speedway Park
- Philips University Haymakers
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Northern Oklahoma College - Enid Jets
- Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers
- Youth Hunter Education Challenge
