Dead Warrior Lake, sometimes known by its prior name of Dead Indian Lake,[1] is located about 3 miles south of Roll, Oklahoma,[2] and 11 miles north of Cheyenne in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, on US Route 283.[3] The lake and the adjacent Black Kettle Recreation Area[4] are all part of the Black Kettle National Grassland,[5] [6] which is managed by the Cibola National Forest.[7]
The lake is about 80 acres in size.[3] Popular species of fish caught here include flathead catfish, black drum, and blue catfish.[8] The surroundings include amenities such as picnic tables, fireplaces, fishing piers, a boat ramp, docks, and a nature trail.[3] Primitive camp sites are also available.[3]
A watercourse called at that time Dead Indian Creek was dammed in the 1950s to create the lake, and the Dead Indian Lake name followed.[1] Early settlers in the area gave the creek that name after discovering a Cheyenne burial site. Both the creek and the lake were rechristened in June 2006 to use the "Dead Warrior" name.[1] This came about by a decision of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names which resolved almost a decade of controversy about whether the prior titles were offensive to Native Americans.[1] The creek starts west-southwest of Roll,[9] and proceeds generally southeast[10] before becoming a tributary of the Washita River west-northwest of Strong City, Oklahoma.[11]