I’m a proud member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, but, like many Oklahomans I’m sure, I’m not as connected to that part of my heritage and ancestry as I’d like to be. Several generations back, my ancestors chose not to affiliate with our tribe, and while I don’t know the exact reasoning, I can guess that during a time of forced assimilation when their ancestry and cultural ways were maligned and dehumanized, it may have felt easier to them to disassociate from our tribe, though that realization and the consequential breech in the passing down of our history and heritage breaks my heart. Along with my mother, my family is on a journey to reconnect to our rich culture and teach my children the history lessons I didn’t learn in school so they can take proud ownership and be good stewards of their Choctaw heritage.
In addition to learning together at home with curriculum prepared by Oklahoma City Public Schools’ Native American Student Services, we recently ventured to two brand new facilities to experience our tribe and the 38 other diverse tribal nations that now call Oklahoma home.
NEAR
First Americans Museum, OKC
Decades in the making, Oklahoma City’s First Americans Museum opened in September 2021 to celebrate and share the cultural diversity, authentic history and contributions of the 39 tribal nations in Oklahoma today. From the first-hand accounts told by Native people in film and immersive experiences throughout the museum to an entirely Indigenous curatorial staff, the intentionality in Native people telling their own stories, from 500 A.D. to today, is apparent throughout the space.
I was especially impressed by the variety of hands-on and high-tech experiences that drew my kids in throughout the galleries. And I also appreciated that areas in the galleries with content potentially over the heads or upsetting to small children were marked clearly. For our family, this helped me to know where my kids would likely need to process what they experienced with me.
These were my kids’ favorite spots:
- Origins Theater. This larger-than-life, 320 degree theater begins the visitor experience. As animations, sound and stories encircle you, you truly feel connected to and part of the four origins stories told in this space, all scripted, narrated and animated by Native community members. My kids were intrigued with the high-tech space but also by the stories told.
- Moving Fire audio pods. Throughout the OKLA HOMMA gallery, three circular pods, with a glowing center resembling a fire, beckon visitors in to sit and listen to stories that honor oral histories. In one pod, we learned an origin story of a bison, in another the hard truths about family members who were lost along the Trail of Tears and the quest to remember and honor them and in the third we heard how song and dance are used to portray emotions.
- Powwow Van. Climbing inside a van to take a tour of powwows across the state was the highlight for my three. After sitting down on squishy van seats (you can even buckle your seat belt!), with an entire wall beside you showing the sights and sounds of a powwow, a lively narrator takes you on a road trip to see how various tribes celebrate their heritage in Oklahoma today. We loved seeing the different customs and traditions, all with the undercurrent of a deep sense of pride.
- Immersive Video Games. Two stations allow visitors to play virtual games in which you need your whole body to participate. One involves a guessing game and the other playing Chunkey, a traditional game requiring great strength and agility.
WINIKO: Life of an Object. On the second floor of FAM, this exhibit features selections from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. The culturally significant objects were collected from tribes in Oklahoma in the early 1900s, when non-Native institutions were gathering materials from tribal nations. The exhibit takes a hard look at the ways in which non-Native scholars and collectors have often mis-represented cultures throughout the years and then contrasts that with Indigenous perspective. This was a very unique and meaningful way to experience tribal history and better understand the value in Indigenous people sharing their own stories.
Coming soon: The FAMily Discovery Center is not open just yet but will be coming soon to FAM. The space will be a pop-up book world, fostering critical thinking and collaboration through First Americans’ storytelling. Animal guides will help kids (and their grownups!) explore values-based activities and find hidden clues and messages in scavenger hunts.
FAM is open every day except Tuesdays and has educational programming, family fun days and more planned during Native Heritage Month and beyond. Admission is $15 for adults, with discounts available to tribal members, seniors, active-duty military and students. Kids ages 4 through 12 are $5 and 3 & under are free. Tickets may be purchased online ahead of your visit.
FAR
Choctaw Cultural Center, Durant
About 3 hours southeast of OKC
The new Choctaw Cultural Center opened in 2021, with a mission to tell the 14,000-year history of the Chahta people after more than 10 years of work creating the space. The opportunity to be fully immersed in our Native heritage in one facility was incredibly moving, particularly to hear of both the historic and modern-day vibrancy through tribal members. The center is truly one of the most top-notch museums I’ve ever visited (and I’m a museum junkie!) in terms of the quality and creativity of presentation in the exhibits, artifacts, film and interactive technology. The abiding themes of compassion, courage and faith are apparent as visitors are guided on a timeline from the rich history of our mound-building ancestors to the struggle against the destruction of colonizers to the triumph of the Nation in modern times.
My kids were entirely enthralled for the duration of our 2 hour visit. Here are their favorite parts:
- Luksi Activity Center. A giant luksi (turtle in Choctaw) is center stage in this kid-friendly space. Inside the luksi are comfy benches perfect for reading provided storybooks. Plus, kids can enjoy playing in two home structures as well as a lookout and slide. Kid-size tables and chairs offer coloring sheets of animals with their names in Choctaw and English, activity books and toys like magnatiles.
- Orientation Gallery. Just the past the lobby, a short corridor is lined with murals of 12 Choctaw people, representing the 12 Choctaw districts. The uniqueness represented in their histories, interests and cultural manifestations are a beautiful tribute to the diversity of the Choctaw people, all with a common love for their heritage and perfectly capturing the vibrancy of tribal members today. Next, an Orientation Theater features a short video about Choctaw culture. This introduction to the museum helps all visitors, Native and non-Native, feel connected to the Choctaw spirit.
- Chahta Pia (We Are Choctaw). We walked through a tribal village to see a vignette of ancestors preparing foods from a harvest and into a log home structure, learning about the original
Mississippi homelands of the Choctaw people. My kids loved pivoting touchscreens they could direct into the forest, capturing various animals on the screen to learn the animal’s name in Choctaw and hear a Choctaw story about each one.
- Moving Fires. Beginning with a film about the Choctaw people’s relationship with the United States government, this section is tough to bear witness to the hardships the tribe endured at the hand of government leaders. The film and a walking timeline take visitors through the series of treaties and negotiations, which led to the Trail of Tears. Smaller rooms along the way feature heartbreaking accounts of what families endured during the forced removal from Mississippi to Oklahoma. The hardships the Choctaw people faced once they arrived in Oklahoma are also documented, from being swindled out of their money for land that was never bequeathed by money-hungry individuals to being locked in a warehouse without adequate food and medical care. While my kids have learned this history, experiencing it in this way was new and a little overwhelming for them, but we took our time in this space to process what we were learning and continued to do so after our visit as well.
- Oklahoma. The largest and final of the four landscapes in the main galleries shares the story of the Choctaw people in Oklahoma, from the early years of the 1830s to the modern Choctaw Nation. Traveling through the vignettes of a schoolhouse, church, stickball field and home, guests learn about the policies of land allotment, Choctaw schools and education and stickball, as well as ways the Choctaw Nation continues to invest in tribal members and their communities. My kids especially loved watching a game of
stickball, learning more about the history behind the game and why today’s tribal members love to play.
Bonus: Because it was raining the day we visited, we did not get to experience the outdoor Living Village, but that just means we’ll have to go back soon! The village is situated along a walking path and includes traditional Choctaw dwellings, a garden and a mound, reflecting the rich moundbuilding culture of the Choctaw people. Tours are self-guided and occasionally guests can enjoy dance, stickball and other demonstrations.
Also, don’t miss the Champuli Cafe, serving traditional Choctaw fare with recipes passed down through generations, as well as modern offerings. Our kids enjoyed woodfired pizzas while the grownups loved the grilled salmon with a honey chipotle glaze, Choctaw sweet potato squash and roasted broccolini.
The Center is open Wednesday through Sunday. Adult admission is $12 and children ages 4 to 12 is $6. Admission is free for Choctaw tribal members and children 3 and under, and discounts are given for active military, veterans, seniors, college students and citizens of other federally recognized tribes.
Looking for more opportunities to experience Native culture? Take an art-cation to enjoy Native public art throughout the state. Plan your trip here.
Erin Page is managing editor of MetroFamily Magazine Oklahoma City, an award-winning writer, wife to Jordan and mom to Addie, Hutch and Weston. In addition to exploring the state with her family, Erin enjoys running, cooking and hiding from her kids to eat chocolate.