Okie Collection (#6)

MIGRANT CAMP, 1939. Automobile of a family camped by the roadside near Spiro, Oklahoma, while they did agricultural day labor on their way westward to California

SQUATTERs CAMP, 1939. A child of a family of squatters at their camp near Spiro, Oklahoma. Photographed by Russell Lee, June 1939

MIGRANT WORKER CAMP, 1935. A group of children playing in front of their tent in a migrant worker camp, rural California. Photographed in March, 1935 by Dorothea Lange

MIGRANT WORKER CAMP, 1935. Women using water pump in migrant worker camp, rural California. Photographed in March 1935 by Dorothea Lange

MIGRANT WORKER CAMP, 1935. Mother and child using a wash basin in a rehabilitation camp for migrant workers and families in California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, March 1935

MIGRANT MOTHER. A mother holding her baby in front of her shack in the rural South during the 1930s

MOTHER AND CHILD, 1935. Mother and child from a destitute family in the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas: photographed, 1935, by Ben Shahn

MIGRANT WORKER, 1935. Migrant women looking at a map for a route to California from Oklahoma. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1935

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1935. Drought refugees from Oklahoma looking for work in the pea fields of California. Photograph, March 1935

MIGRANT CAMP, 1939. Family from Oklahoma with eleven children. Father, eldest daughter and eldest son working during pea harvest, Imperial County, California

AUTOMOBILE, 1939. Detail of an automobile of a migrant family, with a sack of salt on the running board and leather-laced tires. Photograph, June 1939, at Fort Gibson Oklahoma Administration

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1936. Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside on their way to California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, February 1939

MIGRANT CHILDREN, 1939. Migrant children in the back seat of their family car, east of Fort Gibson, Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Photograph by Russell Lee, June, 1939

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1939. The lunch of a migrant family with a map as a tablecloth, east of Fort Gibson, Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Photograph by Russell Lee, June 1939

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1937. A migrant family from Missouri halts on a California highway, February 1937. Photographed by Dorothea Lange

MIGRANT WORKERS, c1930. A family of fruit pickers from Oklahoma en route to Arkansas. Photograph, c1930

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1940. Wife of migrant worker from Arkansas preparing a meal at a roadside camp for migrant workers in rural California. Photograph, 1940 by Dorothea Lange

MIGRANT WORKER, 1939. A migrant workers shack in a shanty town, near Canal Point, Florida. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, 1939

FARMER MOVING, 1937. A tenant farmer moving his household goods to a new farm in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Photographed by Arthur Rothstein, 1937

Three members of a Texas family of seven camped near Exeter, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, November 1936
DROUGHT REFUGEE, 1936. Three members of a Texas family of seven camped near Exeter, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, November 1936

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1937. The family of a Tennessee migrant fruit worker at their camp in a field near a fruit-packing house in Winter Haven, Florida. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein, January 1937

MIGRANT CHILDREN, 1939. Bean pickers children in Marin County, California, originally from Kansas, California, South Dakota, Oregon, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1939

MIGRANT WORKER, 1940. A Migrant Texan farm worker at Belcross, North Carolina, July 1940

MIGRANT WORKERS, 1939. Beet field workers in Adams County, Colorado, October 1939

MIGRANT WORKERS, 1934. Migrant workers farming. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1934

MIGRANT CAMP, 1939. A laundry unit at a mobile camp for migrant workers in Merrill, Klamath County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

ROADSIDE CAMP, 1939. Migrant worker playing his guitar at a roadside camp for migrant workers, Lincoln County, Oklahoma. Photograph by Russell Lee, 1939

COTTON PICKERS, 1937. Cotton hoers in Memphis, Tennessee, preparing to depart for a days work in Arkansas. Photographed by Dorothea Lange, June 1937

MIGRANT WORKER, 1930s. Migrant strawberry picker in Berrien County, Michigan: photographed by John Vachon in the 1930s

MIGRANT MOTHER, c1930. A mother holding her baby in front of her shack in the rural South. Photograph, c1930

MIGRANT WORKER, 1940. A migrant worker in the windowless cabin where she lives with her husband in Berrien County, Michigan, July 1940

MIGRANT WORKERS, 1936. Migrant workers on the road in Crittenden County, Arkansas. Photographed by Carl Mydans, 1936

MIGRANT FARM WORKERS. Florence Thompson, a 32-year-old migrant worker, photographed with her children in Nipomo, California. Photograph part of the Migrant Mother series by Dorothea Lange, 1936

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1936. A mother and children at a migrant worker camp on U.S. 70 near the Tennessee River. Photographed in March 1936 by Carl Mydans

TEXAS FAMILY, 1936. A Texas family on their way to the cotton fields of the Arkansas Delta. Photograph, August, 1936 by Dorothea Lange

MIGRANT WORKERS, 1936. Migrant workers arriving in California from drought-striken Texas. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1936

ARKANSAS MOTHER, 1935. Mother and child from an Ozark Mountains, Arkansas family. Oil over a photograph taken, 1935, by Ben Shahn

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1936. Florence Thompson, a 32-year-old migrant worker, with her children at a migrant workers camp in Nipomo, California. Oil over a photograph by Dorothea Lange, March 1936

MIGRANT WOMAN, 1937. A mother in California who, with her family, will be returned
MIGRANT WOMAN, 1937. A mother in California who, with family, will be returned to Oklahoma by the Relief Administration. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, March 1937, digitally colored by Granger

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"Okie: Capturing the Resilience and Struggles of Migrant Workers in 1930s America" In the midst of the Great Depression, Florence Thompson, a 32-year-old mother of seven, found herself at a camp for migrant workers in Nipomo, California. Dorothea Lange's iconic photograph "Migrant Mother" immortalized her strength and determination to provide for her family. Meanwhile, in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, life went on with moments of joy amidst hardship. Square dances brought communities together as they sought solace and connection through music and dance. Russell Lee's photographs captured scenes from these lively gatherings - couples twirling around the dance floor and an orchestra playing during intermission. But not all Okies were able to find respite within their own communities. The cotton strike near Shafter, California forced families from Oklahoma into further uncertainty. Dorothea Lange documented their struggle as they fought for fair working conditions while being uprooted from their homes. Lange also shed light on the harsh realities faced by migratory families living in labor camps across California's Imperial Valley. In Calpatria and Brawley, she photographed children growing up amidst poverty and uncertainty - daughters helping their families survive in FSA labor camps or grandmothers toiling away in pea fields. These images serve as a reminder of both the resilience and vulnerability that defined this era. The Okies' journey was marked by perseverance against adversity - whether it be seeking work thousands of miles away from home or fighting for better treatment amid challenging circumstances. The photographs taken by Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee capture a chapter in American history that should never be forgotten; one that reminds us of the strength found within individuals facing unimaginable challenges. Through these images, we gain insight into the lives led by those labeled "Okies, " shedding light on their struggles but also celebrating their unwavering spirit.