The Big White Dog and the Sacred Pole

When we crossed into Oklahoma from Texas on I-35 we passed by a huge casino - WinStar World Casino. The facade is incredible, a portion is the Tower of London, another the Roman Colosseum, the Empire State Building, the Brandenburg Gate and so on, around what claims to be the biggest casino in the World. When we stopped at the Welcome Center 5 miles into OK, it was run by the Chickasaw Nation. The woman at the counter of the Center told us about a chocolate factory about 45 miles down the road. It turns out, these are all run by the Chickasaw Nation and they appear to be doing very well economically. 

Today we visited the Chickasaw Cultural Center located 5 miles from our campground. It opened in 2010 and the stunning, 109-acre, campus boasts an Art Gallery, Exhibit Center, Traditional Village, Amphitheater with an IMAX-size screen, Theater, The Center for Study of Chickasaw History and Culture and an Honor Garden. It is staffed by cheerful, welcoming and helpful people. 

We met Steve yesterday when we stopped at the gate on our way home and realized that the hour we had until closing time would be nowhere near enough time to visit. So we told Steve we would come back and when we entered the Exhibit Center this morning at 10 a.m., he was there and remembered us and gave us a personal tour of the exhibits.

At 11 a.m. every day there is a Stomp Dance Demonstration in the Theater before the big screen that showed a wildlife film during the dance. They performed two dances, the Warrior and the Friendship dance. After the initial performance the audience was invited to join the dance and of course Frederick and I did along with six other people. The men do the chanting during the dance and the women make the "music" by stomping their feet. By stomping their feet they created a musical sound because strapped to their lower legs are containers of small stones or dried beans, I don't know which, and the sound was bell-like. 

After the dancing, there was a performance on the flute, drum and rattle. The show lasted 1/2 hour.

Since we wanted to get in a good hike today we left at this time and drove to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area and hiked around Veterans Lake and took the Antelope and Buffalo Springs Trail.

Along the Veterans Lake Trail (yes, it was paved the whole way) the were lots of redbud trees...

and turtles. I love the way they all line up, and even overlap, on a log. There were eight turtles on this log. 

A major feature at Chickasaw is Little Niagara but, as you can see, someone turned off the water and left this dry falls. We read that the stream the goes over the falls is fed by several springs and that during time of drought in the 40 mile surrounding countryside, the springs dry up. 

When we reached Buffalo Spring it too had dried up. Nice stonework by the CCC.

After hiking we returned to the Cultural Center.

This 9-foot bronze sculpture - "The Warrior" - stands before the Exhibit Center.

In the Courtyard of the Exhibit Center is a Leaning Pole.

A plaque by the Pole presents the oral tradition of a great migration of the Chickasaw and Choctaw people from a land west of the Great River to their Mississippi homelands and how the Chickasaw and Choctaw came to be separate tribes.

In a time long since past, there lived in the west a tribe of Indians constantly attacked by enemies. The people appealed to their elders for a solution through guidance from Aba' Binni' Li', The Creator of all things.  The prophets determined to seek a new home. Kohta' Falaya' (Long Pole), made sacred by Aba' Binni' Li' would lead by leaning in the direction of travel. When the Pole stood straight it would be a sign from Aba' Binni' Li' that their journey was over. The people set out, following the Sacred Pole, led by the brothers Chikasha and Chahta toward the east. In front ranged a large white dog, Ofi' Tohbi' Ishto', guarding against danger. Travel was difficult. Many died from warfare and sickness. At the crossing of the Mighty River, the Great White Dog was lost. The people continued eastward, following the Kohta' Falaya'. At the place called Nanih Waiya the Pole wobbled around crazily. The two brothers - Chikasha and Chahta - disagreed on the meaning of this sign. Chahta believed they stood on the promised land while Chikasha believed it lay toward the east. Chikasha, leading his people, pulled the sacred Long Pole from the ground and continued east. This is the origin of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations. Chikasha's followers, who were relatively few, were called Chickasaws and those who stayed with Chahta were called Choctaws. After leading the Chickasaws farther eastward the Kohta' Falaya' reversed its direction and guided the people westward to the area of present-day Pontotoc and Tupelo, Mississippi; and there the Kohta' Falaya' stood straight as an arrow. The Chickasaw people then knew they had found their new homeland: the long Journey was at an end.

The exhibits and history of the Chickasaw Nation in the Exhibit Center are extremely well done and extensive. In Chickasaw tradition they, as well as dozens of tribes, are the direct descendants of Mississippian civilization, which was active from about AD 900 to 1700. Their ancestors were the moundbuilders of the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. Mounds were constructed from 500 to over 2,000 years ago in this region.

Over the years, as the mounds were abandoned and the Mississippian civilization declined, the Chickasaws formed villages. They were farmers, their main crops were corn, beans and squash, know as the Three Sisters. Their first contact with Europeans was with DeSoto. The first winter the Chickasaws fed DeSoto and his men, but in the spring, when he demanded slaves, the Chickasaws attacked and killed many of the Europeans, but not all, so that they could return to Europe with tales of these warriors. There was no more contact for 150 years, but eventually they established trade with the British and joined in alliance with the British against the French and Spanish. 

To their credit, the exhibits tell a seemingly straightforward story. In fact, for the first time we learned, from the exhibits, that Indians who were captured during conflicts were adopted by the tribe or killed. Under European influence, the Chickasaw sold Indian captives to traders who offered incentives for Indian slaves. As an English ally, the Chickasaws initiated wars with other tribes in order to capture slaves and trade them for the guns and ammunition they needed to successfully defend themselves. The slave trade went into decline after 1715. 

 The main theme of the exhibits, indeed of the whole Cultural Center, is independence and sovereignty. They have their own constitution and elected Governor. They have developed a variety of social, educational, financial, and healthcare programs and services for Chickasaws living in the Chickasaw Nation. The 1983 revisions to their constitution settled many disagreements over issues such as voter eligibility. Now with their casino income, they are strengthening their independence and seem to be highly successful. Now a major focus is the survival of Chickasaw culture through each succeeding generation. They believe that the Chickasaw language is the most fundamental part of their culture, it is what makes them unique.

A  beautiful feather cape on exhibit.

Their current Governor - since 1987. Steve told us that he has a degree in economics and is the power behind their current success.

In the Aaittafama' Room, adjacent to the Exhibit Center, there was a special exhibit on dugout canoes.

There was a recent finding in Florida of buried canoes over 500 year old.

A diorama showing the crafting of a canoe.

If you took off your shoes you could get into this dugout canoe and experience how difficult it is to handle.

This is a recently hand-crafted canoe from the northwest.

Showing how the interior of a tree is burned and scraped.

Artistic presentation of canoe paddles - some from South America - Peru and Boliva.

This is a beaded collar worn by women over a white blouse and a woven belt worn by men during a stomp dance.

Once again we ran out of time and had to dash through the Art Gallery and just view the traditional village from the Sky Terrace the overlooks theVillage.

In the Art Gallery was this beautiful dugout canoe made from a single bald cypress tree, circa 1500 -1600. It was found in the Delta in Steele Bayou, Swan Lake, Mississippi. 

In the Traditional Village, the large white structure is the council house. It was a large communal structure built for public assemblies, dances, and served as a civic and social center of the town. The two smaller buildings with cone-shoed roofs are summer houses and the rectangle building is a winter house.

At the rear of the open area is a mound, a reconstruction of a "temple mound." A structure or temple housing the sacred fire occupied the flat summit of the mound.

This sculpture is call "The Arrival" and depicts generations of a Chickasaw family as they arrive in Indian Territory after being "removed" from their traditional homeland in Mississippi.

One figure in the sculpture is facing backward, toward her homeland.