Chickasaw Nation Annual Meeting, Festival scheduled for Sept. 26 – Oct. 4 in Tishomingo

This article appeared in the September 2014 edition of the Chickasaw Times

TISHOMINGO, Okla. - Chickasaw heritage, customs and unconquerable spirit will come to life as people from across the globe gather in Chickasaw Country for the 2014 Chickasaw Nation Annual Meeting and Festival, Sept. 26 - Oct. 4.

“Honor, Tradition, Courage – Our People” is the theme for this year’s 54th Annual Meeting of the Chickasaw Nation and 26th Chickasaw Festival.

Numerous activities and events celebrating Chickasaw heritage, history and customs will be featured at different venues throughout the Chickasaw Nation, including the cities of Tishomingo, Emet and Ada, the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur and Kullihoma.

Activities begin Friday, Sept. 26, and culminate Saturday, Oct. 4.

Annual Meeting

The 54th Annual Meeting of the Chickasaw Nation is highlighted by Gov. Bill Anoatubby’s “State of the Nation” Address. Annual Meeting begins at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 4, at Fletcher Auditorium on the campus of Murray State College in Tishomingo.

A live video and audio stream of the Annual Meeting and State of the Nation address by Gov. Anoatubby will be available on the Chickasaw Nation website and KCNP Radio. Live broadcast on KCNP Radio and the Chickasaw Nation website will begin at 8:30 a.m.

A live webcast can be accessed by logging on to www.chickasaw.net/annualmeeting on any mobile device and clicking on the State of the Nation web stream link. An audio broadcast can be accessed at www.kcnpradio.org, or on KCNP 89.5 FM in the Ada, Oklahoma, area.

Immediately following Gov. Anoatubby’s “State of the Nation” address, Tishomingo’s Main Street will be the scene of the Festival Parade.

A wide variety of exciting events and activities will be conducted throughout Tishomingo Oct. 4, including tours of the historic Chickasaw Capitol and Chickasaw White House in Emet, children’s activities, a parent/child fishing tournament, and horseshoe tournament and live entertainment in Pennington Park, a health fair and traditional meal at Murray State College campus, fast pitch softball tournament at Johnston County Sports Complex, and numerous cultural demonstrations, storytelling, a stickball tournament, and living history vignettes at the Capitol grounds.

The Southeastern Art Show and Market opens at 9 a.m., Friday, Oct. 3, and 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, on the south side of the Capitol grounds.

Numerous traditional events, including the Chickasaw Princess Pageant, Cultural Evening, Arts and Cultural Awards, children’s activities and more are planned for the weeklong homecoming that celebrates Chickasaw heritage, culture, spirit and traditions.

Schedule of Events

A traditional Stomp Dance from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday, Sept. 26, at Kullihoma opens the festivities.

Several events are planned in Tishomingo, Kullihoma and the Chickasaw Cultural Center Saturday, Sept. 27, including a traditional corn stalk shoot, a golf tournament, a 5K run, Junior Olympics, fry bread making class, movies nights and a coed softball tournament.

Sunday, Sept. 28, activities include living history vignettes, a Dugout Canoe exhibit and Native Dance exhibition at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.

A Chickasaw History Challenge Bowl is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.

The Chickasaw Princess Pageant will be at 6 p.m., Sept., 29, in Ada.

Young ladies will vie for one of three titles: Chickasaw Princess, Chickasaw Junior Princess and Little Miss Chickasaw.

Contestants will be judged on traditional Chickasaw dress, poise, talent and random questioning.

The newly- crowned royalty will have the honor and privilege of serving as ambassadors of the Chickasaw Nation at various functions and events throughout the region.

Arts and Culture Awards, Cultural Evening

The Arts and Culture Awards will be at 6:30 p.m. p.m., Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Chickasaw Cultural Center, in conjunction with Cultural Evening, which begins at 4 p.m.

Cultural tours for schools will be conducted in Tishomingo and tours of the Chickasaw White House, in Emet, will be available Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A complete listing of events, locations and schedules is available online at www.chickasaw.net/annualmeeting. For more information, call (580) 371-2040 or 1 (800) 593-3356 or visit the Chickasaw Nation Facebook page at facebook.com/TheChickasawNation or twitter.com/ChickasawNation.