Saturday, October 1 turned out to be a beautiful autumn day, husthtolq ummona, to take a stroll to The Capital of the Chickasaw Nation for the Chickasaw Annual Meeting. An event that might be called a grand family and friends’ reunion.
The Chickasaw Annual Festival is one of the most honorable events in the Chickasaw Nation and most everybody has heard of it. To participate many might consider to be an honor and somethingtheyholdnearand dear to their hearts.
The event included a variety of activities and demonstrations with Governor Bill Anoatubby’s State of the Nation Address held in the newly erected large meeting place - a 50,000-squarefoot facility on the Capital Grounds.
A stroll through the new pavilions carried the spectator on a magical journey through the avenue of art. The event included all forms of art, as art is the major time capsule for all the world’s history. To the Chickasaw, it is not only a preservation of the past but an avenue to the future.
As to the origin of the Chickasaw Annual Meeting, an actual date would include centuries of annual gatherings and meetings. Records show, “In 1960, more than 100 Chickasaw’s rallied to reestablish a tribal government at Seeley Chapel.” During the historical watershed event, the Chickasaw people discussed tribal business and the future of the Chickasaw Nation. The meeting progressed through the years and evolved into a social gathering event based on the belief that community involvement and support would sustain them.
In this era there is no better time than the present for a nation to share a culture and talent that has been passed on for generations. Not only to share this culture but to remind the world that this culturehasbeenandremains to be in existence and will continue through an infinite generation.