Chickasaw veterans gather for annual conference at WinStar

This article appeared in the August 2023 edition of the Chickasaw Times

THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Governor Bill Anoatubby told veterans service, selflessness and sovereignty of the Chickasaw Nation are of vital importance to continuing the success of the tribe and providing benefits and aid to military veterans of Chickasaw heritage.

Gov. Anoatubby made his remarks during the sixth annual Chickasaw Veterans Conference, June 14 at the WinStar Resort and Convention Center in Thackerville.
It marks the first time in several years veterans have been able to come together in person since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020.

“As Chickasaws, we have a deep and abiding respect for our warriors,” Gov. Anoatubby said. “Our traditions, our history, our very way of life, have always placed great value on the role of the warrior.

“We recognize the strength, courage and honor it takes to don a uniform, pledge yourself in service of others and to lay your life on the line in defense of our freedoms and our country. You, our veterans, embody these principles.”

Gov. Anoatubby stressed Chickasaws, and particularly Chickasaw warriors, are known worldwide as being unconquerable and unconquered. According to world historians, Chickasaw warriors have never suffered the sting of defeat in battle.

To illustrate his point, Gov. Anoatubby said he visited with Emma Nicholson, Baroness of Winterbourne and a member of the United Kingdom’s Parliament, who attended the annual Sovereignty Symposium in Oklahoma City.

“She talked a lot about Chickasaws,” Gov. Anoatubby said. “The Chickasaw Nation has an agreement with her where she will help recover all the documents that have anything to do with Chickasaws that (the British) government has in its archives. The documents date back to the 1600s and 1700s.”

Gov. Anoatubby recounted Nicholson commenting on the “unconquered and unconquerable Chickasaws and how we were war-like and never lost a battle,” he said. “Great Britain and the Chickasaw Nation had a pact that we would support Great Britain” and historians give credit to Chickasaw Nation warriors for English being the language of America instead of French.

“Your service, your sacrifices and your stories are woven into the fabric of this great tribe of ours, the Chickasaw Nation,” Gov. Anoatubby said in honoring the men and women who have served. “You hold a distinction that deserves our utmost admiration. You are part of the most powerful military force in the world. You are the reasons we fly our flags and build our monuments. You are a testament to the thousands of men and women who have sacrificed their comfort, safety and even their lives so that we may be free.

“You are important to our country, and you are important to our tribe.”