Governor Bill AnoatubbyOur artistic roots reflect Chickasaw appreciation of beauty
For many generations the Chickasaw Nation has served as a leader in a wide array of disciplines.
In the centuries prior to our Removal from the original homelands, Chickasaw warriors were renowned and feared for their skill, bravery and ferocity. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1541 discovered what could occur upon enraging Chickasaw fighters.
The Chickasaw Nation was known for its highly-organized and successful government structure. Chickasaw government oversaw and directed the establishment and protection of our communities, our formation of alliances with other tribes and nations, and our efficient hunting and gathering pursuits.
Yes, the Chickasaw Nation was at the forefront of most important endeavors prior to – and after – Removal. One endeavor that has survived and flourished is our tradition of Chickasaw art.
Our culture is one that has consistently realized the importance of art in our heritage. Early Chickasaw artists were masters of design and scale. We are all familiar with the many motifs and images our ancestors created to represent water, earth, sun and more. They are beautiful and engaging. And there is so much more, beginning with Chickasaw architecture.
The Chickasaw Village recreation at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur tells an amazing story. Hundreds of years ago, Chickasaws were designing and building useful, sizeable structures for Chickasaw people, as well as for essential supplies.
Designing and building a council house, a winter house or summer house, was not a simple task. Chickasaw builders had to calculate the strength of various materials, how those materials would fit together, and how the structure would withstand environmental challenges.
Not only did our ancestral builders meet all those challenges, they made the buildings an art form, as well. Chickasaw buildings have traditionally been not only functional, but beautiful as well! Our modern Chickasaw architecture honors our predecessors with benefit of modern materials.
We can see our culture presented through the work of our many exceptional sculptors and potters. Chickasaw work in clay and related media is unique, beautiful and steeped in history. Hundreds of years ago, our artists created pottery for daily use in Chickasaw homes. Our pottery had, and has, a distinct and beguiling style that is regularly noted for its gentle beauty and celebration of our natural environment.
Storytelling, our verbal tradition, has transcended time and passed along beautiful, engaging stories that communicate long held moral truths. Our art of oil, watercolor and pen on canvas has many accomplished purveyors who are true to Chickasaw artistic models.
Chickasaws, both young and not so young, are achieving exceptional status as writers, bead workers, musicians, bow makers, performing artists, playwrights, leather workers, designers, photographers and much more. The Chickasaw Nation is home to a tremendously diverse group of artists who are sharing portions of Chickasaw history across the country and around the world.
We confirmed many years ago that we would nurture our artistic traditions and would pass those traditions along to our children. We determined it was important to provide outlets for our young artists and artisans to train, to grow and to express their spirits. That is as fundamentally Chickasaw as anything we do.
We are committed to assisting our artists, supporting their work, and celebrating their many successes.
A great nation unfailingly supports its artistic traditions, and its artists. Art is an expression of feelings, a reflection of people, places and things, and a key to the joy all people find in creations of beauty.
It may be words, music composition, paint, wood, stone, multimedia, images or any of a countless number of elements that the artist shapes into art. All of it defines beauty, spirit and endless possibilities. All of it is undeniably Chickasaw.
