SULPHUR, OK. Educators,
linguists, historic preservationists and artists were among those
honored during the Chickasaw Nation Arts & Culture Award ceremony
Oct. 4 at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.
Dynamic Woman
of the Year - Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham
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Amanda
Cobb-Greetham, center, receives the 2018 Dynamic Woman of
the Year award from Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby,
right, and Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel. Cobb-Greetham was honored
with the award Oct. 4 during the Chickasaw Nation Arts &
Culture Awards ceremony at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.
Photo by Marcy Gray.
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Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham
was named the 2018 Dynamic Chickasaw Woman of the Year by Chickasaw
Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby.
She is Chair of the Department
of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma (OU).
Her efforts at OU contributed
to the elevation of Native American Studies from a program to a
department, as well as the establishment of the newly endowed Native
Nations Center.
This award recognizes
and honors a Chickasaw woman who inspires, gives hope to others
and through her example opens opportunities for others, said
Governor Anoatubby. Dr. Cobb-Greetham exemplifies the character,
strength and values of the Chickasaw Nation and its people: honor,
integrity, perseverance, visionary leadership and a commitment to
family and community.
Dr. Cobb-Greethams
professional career includes her work as an educator, researcher,
author and Chickasaw Nation employee.
She earned her bachelor's
degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, her master's
degree from the University of North Texas and a doctorate in English
from the University of Oklahoma.
She maintained professorships
at the University of New Mexico and Oklahoma State University. In
her research, she has focused on tribal history and culture in Indian
Territory, in addition to issues of Native American representation
and cultural production.
Dr. Cobb-Greetham served
the Chickasaw Nation from 2007-2012 as Administrator of the Division
of History and Culture.
She worked closely with
Governor Anoatubby to launch the Chickasaw Cultural Center and to
direct the Chickasaw Press. She considers service to her tribe central
to her identity as a scholar and professional.
Dr. Cobb-Greetham received
the American Book Award for her book Listening to Our Grandmothers
Stories: The Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw Females. She
is the co-editor of The National Museum of the American Indian:
Critical Conversations with Amy Lonetree. She has published
numerous articles and served for nine years as the editor of American
Indian Quarterly.
She serves on the board
of trustees of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian,
the board of governors of Harvard Universitys Honoring Nations
Project and the board of directors of Americans for Indian Opportunity.
She is the daughter of
a proud Chickasaw family. Dr. Cobb-Greetham is the daughter of John
and Pat Cobb, granddaughter of Ida Mae Pratt (Dinah), great-granddaughter
of original enrollee Robert Pratt, and direct descendant of Edmund
Pickens, a celebrated Chickasaw leader following removal to Indian
Territory.
I have never met
a Chickasaw woman who is not dynamic, who is not hardworking, who
does not have the perseverance to overcome adversity, who does not
forge ahead with whatever weve got -- in times of health and
vitality, challenge or despair, whatever day of the week it is.
Chickasaw women are dynamic, Dr. Cobb-Greetham said.
This is the most
special recognition I ever could imagine and ever could receive.
And its happening here on an evening which is near and dear
to my heart: the Cultural Evening of the Chickasaw Annual Meeting
and Festival, she said.
She closed her speech
by asking all women in attendance to stand and be honored.
Established in 2006,
the Dynamic Chickasaw Woman of the Year Award honors Chickasaw women
who have made significant contributions to the Nation, serve as
role models to other Chickasaw women and who have made a difference
in the lives of Chickasaws and other citizens, enriching their communities
and society at large.
Silver Feather
- Pauline Brown
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Pauline
Brown, center, was honored with the prestigious Silver Feather
Award. Brown received the award from Chickasaw Nation Governor
Bill Anoatubby, right, and Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel Oct. 4
during the Chickasaw Nation Arts & Culture Awards ceremony
at the Chickasaw Cultural Center. Photo by Marcy Gray.
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Pauline Brown, 2007 Chickasaw
Nation Hall of Fame inductee, received the prestigious 2018 Silver
Feather Award.
This evening, we
present the 2018 Silver Feather Award to an individual who works
tirelessly to help others learn and continue our language and culture,
said Governor Anoatubby. Its really difficult to overestimate
her support and contribution to the preservation of the Chickasaw
language and culture. It is through these efforts that she hopes
to ensure the language is spoken fluently by our people throughout
the Chickasaw Nation.
Ms. Brown is a fluent
speaker of the Chickasaw language, having grown up as the eldest
of six children in a household with a mother who spoke the language.
She was born in Fillmore,
Oklahoma, in 1931, and spent her childhood in the country on her
mothers allotment land. She was educated at Goodland Indian
Orphanage.
In 1952, she graduated
and began training as a nurse at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma
City, becoming a licensed practical nurse. She worked at Valley
View Regional Hospital and Carl Albert Indian Health Facility, both
in Ada, as well as the Tishomingo Health Clinic. Elders who spoke
Chickasaw relied on her to communicate with doctors and staff.
Ms. Brown is a notable
historian of the Chickasaw culture. She serves on the Chickasaw
Language Committee, the Chickasaw Nation Historical Society and
the tribal election board. One highlight of Ms. Browns career
was portraying Widow Harjo in the award-winning, feature-length
film, Pearl, produced by the Chickasaw Nation.
She is a consultant to
Wickliffe Mounds Archeological Site in Kentucky, the Union County
Historical and Genealogical Museum in Mississippi, and The Old Post
Office Museum, also located in Mississippi.
Ms. Brown can often be
found volunteering at Chickasaw senior sites, and she is known for
handcrafting Chickasaw dolls, traditional dresses and ribbon shirts.
Thanks, its
good that you guys are here, Ms. Brown said, speaking Chickasaw
and accepting the Silver Feather Award. Im happy for
this gift.
I think her greatest
desire for the Chickasaw Nation is to remember their culture, because
it is the culture that gives us our identity as Chickasaw people,
said LaDonna Brown, her daughter and director of research and cultural
interpretation for the Chickasaw Nation.
Created in 1999, the
Silver Feather Award honors Chickasaws who have committed their
lives to the preservation and revitalization of Chickasaw culture,
language and life tradition.
Chickasaw Historical
Society Service award - Debbie Jackson and Chenena Roach
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Debbie
Jackson, center, was honored with a Chickasaw Historical Society
Service award by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby,
right, and Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel. Photo by Marcy Gray.
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Debbie Jackson and the
late Chenena Roach were both honored with a Chickasaw Historical
Society Service award.
The Chickasaw Historical
Society was established by tribal law April 15, 1994. Since that
time, the historical society and society members have worked toward
the mission statement of promoting, preserving and protecting Chickasaw
culture and family traditions.
Someone once said
that if you love what you do, youll never work a day in your
life, Ms. Jackson said, accepting the award. Well, I
can say that was true for me. I loved what I did; I loved sharing
our history and culture with patients at the hospital, visitors,
whomever I came across.
Ms. Jackson began her
service as an employee of the Chickasaw Nation in 1975, when there
were only a few dozen employees, and tribal headquarters was located
in Sulphur.
She has since served
in many capacities and in many areas, including executive officer
of Chikasha House and patient resources, director of customer relations
for the department of health, in the office of Native American programs,
department of education and department of housing. Ms. Jackson also
managed chaplain services at the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center.
She fondly remembers
several milestones in Chickasaw Nation history, including the move
to the new tribal headquarters in Ada, dedication ceremony of the
Carl Albert Indian Health Facility and construction of the Chickasaw
Nation Medical Center.
She earned her bachelors
degree in literature from East Central University in 1991.
Ms. Jackson proudly represents
the tribe as a citizen and a former Chickasaw Princess.
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DeDe
Williams, center, accepted a Chickasaw Historical Society
Service award on behalf of her mother Chenena Roach, presented
by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, right, and Lt.
Gov. Jefferson Keel. Photo by Marcy Gray.
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Ms. Roach, a 2003 Chickasaw
Hall of Fame inductee, was a driving force behind the preservation
of Chickasaw culture and history. She was also the sister of Overton
James, previous Governor of the Chickasaw Nation.
She persuaded her mother
and stepfather to aid in her work of creating a written translation
to preserve the Chickasaw language. In 1973, the first Chickasaw
language dictionary was printed as a result of Ms. Roachs
hard work. She also compiled audio recordings of her mother pronouncing
over 700 commonly spoken Chickasaw words and phrases.
Ms. Roach served on the
board of directors of the Chickasaw Historical Society, preserving
historical information and sites.
She obtained a bachelors
of science from Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked
for the state of Oklahoma as an administrative accountant.
Ms. Roachs daughter,
DeDe Williams, accepted the award on her behalf.
She said she regretted
her mother not being able to see the completion of the Chickasaw
Cultural Center.
She was so excited.
She just couldnt wait. She knew it was going to be wonderful,
Ms. Williams said. I can just imagine her meeting someone
and saying, Hi, Im Chenena Roach and Im a Chickasaw.
Have you been to our cultural center? Well, it is down in Sulphur,
it is magnificent and you must go there. Because always, always
she was proud to be Chickasaw.
SEASAM winners
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Kelley
Lunsfords woven cane art piece called Ko-da Kro-mah
was named 2018 Southeastern Art Show and Market Best
of Show. Lunsford, center, was awarded the honor by
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, right, and Lt. Gov.
Jefferson Keel Oct. 4 during the Chickasaw Nation Arts &
Culture Awards
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Awards were also presented
to winners of the Southeastern Art Show and Market, a juried event
where artists enter up to four pieces of artwork in the categories
of two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art, cultural art and
miniature art.
Submitted artworks included
paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, jewelry, pottery,
textiles, baskets, regalia and more.
The top winners in each
category were:
Best in Show Kelley
Lunsford, Chickasaw
Best in Division, Cultural
Tyra Shackleford, Chickasaw
Best in Division, 3D
art Troy Jackson, Cherokee
Best in Division, 2D
art Bryan Waytula, Cherokee
The show is open to all
artists of Southeastern and Woodlands tribes. The winning artworks,
as well as works from all other participating artists, will be showcased
Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5-6 at Chickasaw Nation Capitol grounds
in Tishomingo during the 2018 Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival.
New Chickasaw
Press and White Dog Press publications
New Chickasaw Press and
White Dog Press publications were also released during the awards
ceremony.
New releases from Chickasaw
Press included A Chickasaw Historical Atlas written
by Stanley Nelson, Never Give Up! The Life of Pearl Carter
Scott (Collectors Edition) by Paul F. Lambert and Chickasaw
Basic Language: Workbook II created by Michelle Cooke and
the Chickasaw Nation Language Committee.
An app was also part
of the Chickasaw Press releases. The Choctaw Hymns app - produced
in partnership with the Choctaw Nation and derived from the print
version of the Choctaw Hymnal - is available for download free of
charge at the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.
The Chickasaw Press imprint,
White Dog Press, released Chula the Fox by Anthony Perry
and Little Loksi by Trey Hays and Eli Corbin. Also made
available was a coloring book titled C is for Chickasaw
created by Wiley Barnes and Aaron K. Long to accompany the softcover
book with the same name.
Adventures of the
Three Little Shokhoshis is a rendition of The Three Little
Pigs produced by 2017 Ikbi Holisso (Book Creation) Camp students.
It incorporates Chickasaw language and cultural elements, and is
illustrated with textured, cartoon-style cutouts crafted by the
students.
For more information
on the books and other Chickasaw Press publications, please visit
www.ChickasawPress.com
Chickasaw
Press
Created in response to the basic need of the Chickasaws to own their
history, Chickasaw Pressthe first Native American tribal press
of its kindwas established as an entity of the Chickasaw Nation
in 2006...
https://chickasawpress.com/home.aspx
White
Dog Press
The addition of White Dog Press as a secondary imprint under the
Chickasaw Press, allows Chickasaw Press to build upon its vision
of preserving, perpetuating and providing an awareness of
Chickasaw history and culture by embracing popular genres
and creative projects that do not fit under the umbrella of research
and scholarship the primary focus of projects currently published
under the Chickasaw Press label.
https://chickasawpress.com/About/White-Dog-Press.aspx
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