Annual Meeting & Festival set to kick off Sept. 23

This article appeared in the September 2022 edition of the Chickasaw Times

A time of reunion, fellowship and culture, the Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival gets underway Sept. 23 and continues through Oct. 1.

Each year, friends and family from across the country attend the weeklong event. The week is highlighted by Governor Bill Anoatubby’s State of the Nation address, 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 1.

In 1960, more than 100 Chickasaw people met at Seeley Chapel near Connerville, Okla. There they discussed the state of their nation and a vision for the future. Annually, the Chickasaw Nation pays tribute to this historic event by celebrating Chickasaw pride and progress during the Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival.

The week features the coronation of tribal princesses, stickball, 1-mile fun walk and 5K run, archery, horseshoes, senior and junior Olympics, golf tournament, coed slow-pitch softball and artists of Southeastern tribes displaying their work at the Southeastern Art Show and Market (SEASAM), and much more.

Venues in the Tishomingo, Ada and Sulphur areas will host activities throughout the week, beginning with a social game of stickball and stomp dance at Kullihoma, 7 p.m. to midnight. Kullihoma cultural grounds are seven miles east of Ada on State Highway 1.

Several activities are planned in Tishomingo, including the 1-mile fun walk and 5K run, coed softball tournament, golf tournament, museum tours, junior Olympics and a stickball tournament.

Three young ladies will be crowned Chickasaw Princess, Little Miss Chickasaw and Chickasaw Junior Princess during the Chickasaw Princess Pageant 6 p.m., Monday, Sept. 26 at the Ada High School Cougar Activity Center. New princesses will serve for one year as ambassadors of the Chickasaw Nation at events around the state and across the nation.

Chickasaw Cultural Evening is set for 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur. The event will include artists, Chickasaw Press authors and a traditional meal of pashofa, grape dumplings, pork and fry bread.

The hub of activity is the Chickasaw National Capitol in Tishomingo. You can learn to play stickball, test your archery skills, tour historic Chickasaw Nation buildings, stomp dance and learn techniques in ancient arts and crafts during the week.

SEASAM takes place at the historic capitol grounds in Tishomingo. The show is open to all artists of Southeastern and Woodland tribes.

Other events include a parade, arts and crafts vendors, cultural demonstrators, food booths, a health fair, horseshoe tournament, children’s activities, entertainment, a parent/child fishing tournament, storytelling, and stomp dance and stickball demonstrations.

A complete listing of events, locations and schedules is available online at AnnualMeeting.Chickasaw.net. Event schedule is subject to change. Please visit often for the latest event updates.

Follow Chickasaw Nation social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.

For more information, call (580) 371-2040 or (800) 593-3356.