From the early nineteenth century onward, indigenous nations were offered small land grants in Indian Territory in exchange for seized or ceded land east of the Mississippi River. This forcible resettlement of native peoples coincided with increased missionization efforts, resulting in the publication of mid-to-late nineteenth-century collections of Christian hymns issued by both native converts and Anglo-American missionaries in diverse native languages, including Siouan, Muskogean, and even Algonquian. White settlement of the area began en masse with the land rush of 1889, leading to the eventual incorporation of Oklahoma in 1907. Early white settlers brought singing schools, normal schools, and the seven-shape notation system from neighboring Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas. Over time, this musical infrastructure supported outfits specializing in sacred music, like the Eureka Publishing Company in Stigler, Oklahoma, founded in 1905. Oklahoma was also home to German and Volga German settlers who published music for their congregations, especially in the Anabaptist denominations.

—Erin Fulton