Milam Family Marks 140th Cherokee Thanksgiving Tradition, One of the Oldest in the Cherokee Nation

CLAREMORE, Okla. — A Cherokee family tradition that began along the Old Texas Road in 1886 will mark its 140th gathering this month, making it one of the longest-running Thanksgiving celebrations in the Cherokee Nation. The Milam family — whose descendants trace their Cherokee lineage through Mary Elizabeth (Milam) Hunter — will reunite on Nov. 27 at the Claremore Elks Lodge, continuing a tradition that has survived frontier hardship, two world wars, and a global pandemic.

The roots of the gathering go back to William Guinn Milam and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth (Couch) Milam, who traveled by wagon from Alabama into Texas and north into the Cooweescoowee District of the Cherokee Nation in 1886. Both had lost parents early in life and been taken in by others , experiences that shaped their commitment to raising their children with deep gratitude, stability, and a strong sense of Cherokee family identity.

A year after arriving in Indian Territory, they hosted the first Milam Thanksgiving in 1887. The event was intended to teach their children thankfulness and the strength of kinship , values that remain central to Cherokee families across generations. Their daughters kept the gathering alive long after William and Sarah passed.

The importance of the Milam reunion is reflected in family correspondence during World War I. While most soldiers wrote home longing for Christmas, the Milam brothers wrote about Thanksgiving. In letters exchanged between Bartley Milam and his younger brother Charles, who was serving in France, the two closed not with Christmas wishes but with excitement about the family’s Thanksgiving gathering back home in the Cherokee Nation. Bartley even sent money in 1918 and 1919 to help supply the meal while Charles was abroad. When their brother Edwin returned from service, the annual tradition was already firmly embedded in the family's Cherokee identity.

As the family grew, the gathering migrated from the original homestead near Chelsea to larger spaces — first the Methodist Church in Chelsea, then the mezzanine of the Will Rogers Hotel in Claremore, and finally Claremore’s Elks Lodge. The lodge holds special significance: a descendant by marriage, State Sen. Bob Milam, helped found the Claremore Elks Lodge and later served as vice president of its reading and lodge association.

The reunion expanded even further in the last decade, with relatives adding a Saturday potluck to extend their time together. Today, the Milam family spans six generations — from the earliest descendants raised in Indian Territory to members of Generation Alpha. Former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Chief Justice Philip Viles Jr., whose grandmother Mary Elizabeth (Milam) Hunter carried the family's Cherokee lineage, has served as president of the reunion for many years.

Family members will travel from 14 states in 2026, with the farthest coming more than 1,560 miles from Massachusetts and the closest living just minutes away in Oklahoma. The tradition predates Oklahoma statehood by 21 years and has only been interrupted three times , once during World War II and twice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 140th Milam Family Reunion is scheduled for Nov. 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Claremore Elks Lodge, 1820 Summit Drive.

For the Milam family, this gathering remains more than a holiday meal , it is a Cherokee family tradition rooted in gratitude, resilience, and the enduring strength of kinship across generations.