Health and Tradition Initiatives Keep the Knowledge Flowing

HEALTH
2019 Nihi Hokchi Edible Schoolyard: Little gardeners at the Choctaw Nation Durant Child Development Center showed off their knowledge during this year’s program. The older ones, who have done the garden a few years now, happily exhibited their skills. They remembered the correct way to plant, water, and harvest the fruits of their labor. Teaching them where their food comes from and how it reaches their table are crucial components to the future health and wellness of our people.
Choctaw Nation Labor Day Youth Fitness Challenge: With the alarming increase of sedentary lifestyles in young people, they need someone to offer motivation and the courage to tackle challenges they thought were beyond their reach. This year’s Youth Fitness Challenge at the Choctaw Labor Day Festival sparked interest in the participants, especially when the younger kids won the tug of war competition. Defying the odds and encouraged by Chahta Foundation staff and volunteers throughout the obstacle course empowered these young people to push past their boundaries and strengthen them physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Durant Seniors at the Community Center Butterfly Garden and Plant Swap: As our people age, the temptation for inactivity grows. Through the Durant Community Center, though, seniors have the opportunity to participate in several events. We had the privilege of helping with the annual plant swap and, with a truckload of supplies donated by the Choctaw Nation, partnered with the Community Center to install a large butterfly garden for everyone to get out and enjoy.
Medical Scholarships: As we look toward the next 300 years of the Choctaw Nation, having qualified, caring healthcare providers is essential. Medical-related scholarships awarded through the Chahta Foundation, many of them donor-supported, pave a pathway for Choctaw students to pursue careers in the medical field. This year, we received a payback scholar to the Choctaw Nation, the first of many who will return to serve their people with excellent patient care.
TRADITION
NextGen Talks: “A people who don’t retreat.” Seth Fairchild recently presented at NextGen Talks, held at the Oklahoma City Community College Visual & Performing Arts Center. Based on the Choctaw words for people (okla) and red (homma), he reached deep into the Choctaw roots of Oklahoma. He offered a historical variation on the meaning of “homma,” how it was given to the bravest warriors returning from battle. If they didn’t run, didn’t retreat, the word “homma” was added to the end of their name. Seth carried this forward through examples of the many times Choctaws and, later, Oklahomans, were not ones who retreated. They walked the Trail of Tears during the forced Removal from our homelands. They ran toward the bombed building in Oklahoma City. They stayed fast in the tornados that devastated Moore. “What does it mean to be an Oklahoman?” Seth summarized this question in the name of the state itself—a people who don’t retreat.
The Choctaw Story Living Within Artifacts: With ancient and modern Choctaw baskets that represent traditional lifeways, to copies of the “Hello Choctaw” newspaper in the 1970s that played a role in saving our Nation, hundreds of artifacts are entrusted to the safekeeping of the Chahta Foundation. You can read more about the individual and groups of items that make the Choctaw story come to life on our blog: https://chahtafoundation.com/initiatives/newsblog/. Please feel free to share these stories, keeping the knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors flowing.

Credit: Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer