The city 's name comes from an old Creek community in Alabama . Members of that community were expelled from Alabama by the United States government , along the Trail of Tears in the 1830s . The Creek founded a new community in the Indian Territory , and named it after their old settlement in Alabama . The town 's Creek name was Rekackv ( pronounced thlee-Kawtch-kuh ) , meaning broken arrow . The new Creek settlement was located several miles south of present-day downtown Broken Arrow
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma