Chickasaw Cultural Heritage Center Essay

Tucked away in a rural area of Oklahoma is a place that is working to preserve a piece of early Native American culture. The Chickasaw Cultural Heritage center has beautiful landscape, architecture, and pieces of a culture’s deep history. The center has a friendly and family-oriented atmosphere. On its grounds it has the Holisso Research Center, a theatre, a museum, and a replica of a Chickasaw village. The Chickasaw Cultural Heritage center is set up so anyone can enjoy themselves and learn a lot at the same time. I was immediately impressed by the landscape of the Heritage center. On the grounds there were various monument that were dedicated to people or events that were important to the Chickasaw’s history. One of the first things that you can see is a plaque marking a time capsule that contain photos, poems, genealogy records, letters to future generations, and pieces of art. This made me think about how important preserving history is to the Chickasaw’s. Another monument was a replica of the leaning pole. I was excited to see it and I was able to recall the legend behind it. The third monument was an eternal flame. This was made to be a representation of a sacred flame that was lit annually by the Chickasaw ancestors to celebrate the green corn ceremony.

There were several pieces of arrow heads, pots, and animal furs. I had the opportunity to talk to one of the workers about one of the fish traps. One of the more interesting displays was a replica of a forest. As you walked you could hear various pieces of information, such as how a new born baby boy would be wrapped in a cougar’s hide while a girl was wrapped in a fawn’s. As you exited that part of the museum there was a circular room with holographic images of a group of Chickasaws dancing around a fire. I might have felt a little silly running around it with my