59th Chickasaw Annual Meeting, 31st Annual Festival set for Sept. 27-Oct. 5

This article appeared in the September 2019 edition of the Chickasaw Times

A time of reunion, fellowship and cultural pride, the Chickasaw Nation Annual Meeting and Festival gets underway Sept. 27 and continues through Oct. 5.

This year marks the 59th Annual Meeting of the Chickasaw Nation and 31st Annual Chickasaw Festival. Each year, friends and family from across the country attend the weeklong event, which is highlighted by Governor Bill Anoatubby’s State of the Nation Address Saturday, Oct. 5.

In 1960, more than 100 Chickasaws met at Seeley Chapel near Connerville, Okla., to discuss 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 Nation Annual Meeting and Festival.

The week features the coronation of tribal princesses, stickball, fun runs, archery, horseshoes, senior and junior Olympics, golf tournament, coed slow-pitch softball and artists of Southeastern tribes displaying their wares at the Southeastern Art Show and Market.

Venues in the Tishomingo, Ada and Sulphur areas will host activities throughout the week, beginning with a social game of stickball, stomp dance and a traditional cornstalk shoot at Kullihoma, seven miles east of Ada on State Highway 1.

Several activities are planned in Tishomingo, including a one-mile fun walk and 5K run, co-ed softball tournament, a golf tournament, museum tours, Junior Olympics and a stickball tournament.

Three young ladies will be crowned Chickasaw Princess, Chickasaw Junior Princess and Little Miss Chickasaw during the Chickasaw Princess Pageant at the Ada High School Cougar Activity Center. New princesses will serve the remainder of 2019 and into autumn 2020 as ambassadors of the Chickasaw Nation at events around the state and across the nation.

Chickasaw Cultural Evening will include artists, Chickasaw Press authors, a traditional meal of pashofa, grape dumplings, pork and fry bread at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.

Chickasaw Nation Arts and Culture Awards, conducted on the Cultural Center campus will honor the Silver Feather Award recipient and name the Dynamic Chickasaw Woman of the Year.

The hub of activity will be the Chickasaw National Capitol in Tishomingo. Attendees learn to play stickball, try their hand at archery, tour historic Chickasaw Nation buildings, stomp dance and learn techniques in ancient arts and crafts during the week.

The Southeastern Art Show and Market takes place on the historic capitol grounds in Tishomingo. The show is open to all artists of Southeast and Woodlands 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 1 (800) 593-3356.