Editing Arkansas (section)

==Culture==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2022}}
{{Main|Culture of Arkansas}}
[[File:Van Buren Confederate Monument 001.jpg|thumb|188x188px|[[Van Buren Confederate Monument]] at the [[Crawford County, Arkansas|Crawford County]] Courthouse in [[Van Buren, Arkansas]]]]
The culture of Arkansas includes distinct cuisine, dialect, and traditional festivals. Sports are also very important to the culture, including football, baseball, basketball, hunting, and fishing. Perhaps the best-known aspect of Arkansas's culture is the stereotype that its citizens are shiftless hillbillies.<ref>Arnold et al. 2002, p. 115.</ref> The reputation began when early explorers characterized the state as a savage wilderness full of outlaws and thieves.<ref>Blevins 2009, p. 15.</ref> The most enduring icon of Arkansas's hillbilly reputation is ''[[Edward Washburn|The Arkansas Traveller]]'', a painted depiction of a folk tale from the 1840s.<ref>Blevins 2009, p. 30.</ref> Though intended to represent the divide between rich southeastern plantation Arkansas planters and the poor northwestern hill country, the meaning was twisted to represent a Northerner lost in the Ozarks on a white horse asking a backwoods Arkansan for directions.<ref>Sutherlin 1996, p. 20.</ref> The state also suffers from the racial stigma common to former Confederate states, with historical events such as the [[Little Rock Nine]] adding to Arkansas's enduring image.<ref>Sutherlin 1996, p. 17.</ref>

Art and history museums display pieces of cultural value for Arkansans and tourists to enjoy. [[Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art]] in [[Bentonville, Arkansas|Bentonville]] was visited by 604,000 people in 2012, its first year.<ref>{{cite web |title=600K visitors later, Crystal Bridges turns 1 |last=Bartels |first=Chuck |url=http://www.newsok.com/article/feed/461683 |date=November 12, 2012 |access-date=June 18, 2017 |publisher=News Ok }}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The museum includes walking trails and educational opportunities in addition to displaying over 450 works covering five centuries of American art.<ref>{{cite news |title= Crystal Bridges art museum is reshaping Wal-Mart's hometown |last= Reynolds |first= Chris |newspaper= Chicago Tribune |url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/la-tr-arkansas-20121014,0,3925043.story?page=2 |date= October 14, 2012 |access-date= November 18, 2012 }}</ref> Several historic town sites have been restored as Arkansas [[List of Arkansas state parks|state parks]], including [[Historic Washington State Park]], [[Powhatan Historic State Park]], and [[Davidsonville Historic State Park]].

Arkansas features a variety of native music across the state, ranging from the [[blues]] heritage of [[West Memphis, Arkansas|West Memphis]], [[Pine Bluff, Arkansas|Pine Bluff]], [[Helena–West Helena, Arkansas|Helena–West Helena]] to [[rockabilly]], [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]], and folk music from the Ozarks. Festivals such as the [[King Biscuit Blues Festival]] and [[Bikes, Blues, and BBQ]] pay homage to the history of blues in the state. The Ozark Folk Festival in [[Mountain View, Arkansas|Mountain View]] is a celebration of Ozark culture and often features folk and bluegrass musicians. Literature set in Arkansas such as ''[[I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings]]'' by [[Maya Angelou]] and ''[[A Painted House]]'' by [[John Grisham]] describe the culture at various time periods.

===Sports and recreation===
[[File:Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge Crittenden County AR 052.jpg|thumb|The flooded, forested [[Upland and lowland (freshwater ecology)#Lowland|bottomlands]] of east Arkansas attract wintering waterfowl.]]
Team sports and especially collegiate football are important to Arkansans. College football in Arkansas began from humble beginnings, when the [[University of Arkansas]] first fielded a team in [[1894 Arkansas Cardinals football team|1894]]. Over the years, many Arkansans have looked to [[Arkansas Razorbacks football]] as the public image of the state.<ref>{{ cite web |title= Retirement of an Arkansas Newsmaker |first=John |last=Brummett |date= January 13, 2008 |publisher= Arkansas News Bureau |work=Pine Bluff Commercial |location= Pine Bluff, Arkansas |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/11E2C4D6FB3F6F48 |access-date= January 16, 2021 |via=Newsbank }}</ref> Although the University of Arkansas is based in [[Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville]], the Razorbacks have always played at least one game per season at [[War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas)|War Memorial Stadium]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]] in an effort to keep fan support in central and south Arkansas.

[[Arkansas State University]] became the second [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS) (then known as Division I-A) team in the state in 1992 after playing in lower divisions for nearly two decades. The two schools have never played each other, due to the University of Arkansas's policy of not playing intrastate games.<ref>{{cite news |title= Arkansas matchup is not likely soon |publisher= [[Sun Herald]] |date= July 20, 2003 |page= 9B }}</ref> Two other campuses of the [[University of Arkansas System]] are Division I members. The [[University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff]] is a member of the [[Southwestern Athletic Conference]], a league whose members all play football in the second-level [[Football Championship Subdivision]] (FCS). The [[University of Arkansas at Little Rock]], known for sports purposes as Little Rock, joined the [[Ohio Valley Conference]] in 2022 after playing in the [[Sun Belt Conference]]; unlike many other OVC members, it does not field [[List of NCAA Division I non-football programs|a football program]]. The state's other Division{{spaces}}I member is the [[University of Central Arkansas]] (UCA), which joined the [[ASUN Conference]] in 2021 after leaving the FCS [[Southland Conference]]. Because the ASUN does not plan to start FCS football competition until at least 2022, UCA football is competing in the [[Western Athletic Conference]] as part of a formal football partnership between the two leagues. Seven of Arkansas's smaller colleges play in [[NCAA Division&nbsp;II]], with six in the [[Great American Conference]] and one in the [[Lone Star Conference]]. Two other small Arkansas colleges compete in [[NCAA Division&nbsp;III]], in which [[athletic scholarship]]s are prohibited. High school football also began to grow in Arkansas in the early 20th century.

Baseball runs deep in Arkansas and was popular before the state hosted [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) [[spring training]] in [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]] from 1886 to the 1920s. Two [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] teams are based in the state. The [[Arkansas Travelers]] play at [[Dickey–Stephens Park]] in [[North Little Rock, Arkansas|North Little Rock]], and the [[Northwest Arkansas Naturals]] play in [[Arvest Ballpark]] in [[Springdale, Arkansas|Springdale]]. Both teams compete in [[Double-A Central]].

Hunting continues in the state. The state created the [[Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]] in 1915 to regulate hunting.<ref>{{cite web |last= Griffee |first= Carol |title= Odyssey of Survival, A History of the Arkansas Conservation Sales Tax |page= 10 |url= http://www.teaming.com/sites/default/files/REPORT%20Odyssey%20of%20Survival-%20A%20History%20of%20the%20AR%20Conservation%20Sales%20Tax.pdf |access-date= September 16, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130117082707/http://www.teaming.com/sites/default/files/REPORT%20Odyssey%20of%20Survival-%20A%20History%20of%20the%20AR%20Conservation%20Sales%20Tax.pdf |archive-date= January 17, 2013 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Today a significant portion of Arkansas's population participates in hunting [[duck]] in the [[Mississippi flyway]] and [[deer]] across the state.<ref name="Sutherlin 1996, p. 164">Sutherlin 1996, p. 164.</ref> [[Ducks Unlimited]] has called [[Stuttgart, Arkansas]], "the epicenter of the duck universe".<ref>{{ cite journal |last=Bourne |first=Hampton |title= Calling Accents |url=https://www.ducks.org/hunting/duck-calling/calling-accents |date=September–October 2022 |page= 76 |journal= [[Ducks Unlimited]] |location= Memphis, Tennessee |oclc=1774718 |issn=0012-6950 |access-date= September 12, 2022 }}</ref> Millions of acres of public land are available for both bow and modern gun hunters.<ref name="Sutherlin 1996, p. 164"/>

Fishing has always been popular in Arkansas,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hanggi |first=Sam |date=2024-03-15 |title=What I Learned Fishing in Arkansas |url=https://www.wired2fish.com/fishing-tips/what-i-learned-fishing-in-arkansas |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=Wired2Fish |language=en-US}}</ref> and the sport and the state have benefited from the creation of reservoirs across the state. Following the completion of [[Norfork Dam]], the [[Norfork Tailwater]] and the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]] have become a destination for [[trout]] fishers. Several smaller retirement communities such as [[Bull Shoals, Arkansas|Bull Shoals]], [[Hot Springs Village, Arkansas|Hot Springs Village]], and [[Fairfield Bay, Arkansas|Fairfield Bay]] have flourished due to their position on a fishing lake. The [[National Park Service]] has preserved the [[Buffalo National River]] in its natural state and fly fishers visit it annually.