Piecing History Together
Letters, a shawl, pottery, a family tale. While history books record facts about the past, personal items and recollections shape the heart of our stories and the lessons we hand down to our children.
The more time passes, the more fragmented these narratives become. Bits and pieces are often all we have to compose a story that delves into the legacies our ancestors left for us.
To reconstruct and perpetuate Choctaw history and culture, the Chahta Foundation continues to collect artifacts and keep them safely preserved.
When you visit the Choctaw Nation Capitol Museum in Tuskahoma, Oklahoma, you have the opportunity to see artifacts woven into a story. Baskets, an 1800s Lighthorsemen pistol, World War I paraphernalia, school books, Bibles, and hymnals. These seemingly disconnected pieces from history were once very real to the people who possessed them.
Brought together in one place, and with historical records, each section tells a story about our past. It’s like assembling a puzzle for the world to see a picture of who we were, and who we are. That is the wonder of museums around the world.
Think of a museum that has impacted you. Now consider the behind the scenes facilities where artifacts not on display are safely contained:
- The National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. holds more than the Declaration of Independence. Behind a white door in a highly secure room — next to the first acts of Congress — are the original copies of Choctaw treaties made with the United States.
- The Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland, is a life-size maze of vaults and rooms storing everything from one of the oldest carbon-dated rocks to Choctaw baskets hundreds of years old.
- The National Museum of the American Indian Cultural Resources Center is loaded with audio recordings, books, and vaults of Choctaw artifacts.
At the storehouse of U.S.Art in Dallas, Texas, are shelves upon shelves holding treasures in the care of the Chahta Foundation. U.S.Art is a worldwide fine art handling service with offices and affiliates around the globe. They are recognized for their high quality and innovative packing techniques and crate design, protecting Choctaw artifacts from damage and decay.
We understand the vital process of preserving these pieces, and appreciate the families who have generously shared their great-great-great-grandparents’ lives with us and our descendants.
If you have an artifact or collection of artifacts you want preserved for future generations, please contact us at the Chahta Foundation: 1.800.522.6170 ext. 2993. We can discuss options for donating, including you retaining ownership of the items.
Thank you for your contribution in preserving Choctaw history and culture!
Credit: Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer
