Governor Bill AnoatubbyOur tribe continues to adapt as change comes at faster pace
Change seems to be the one constant which we can reliably assume will continue to occur.
In our modern age, it often seems we are just getting comfortable with some process or reality when change marches in to alter everything! Nowhere is this situation as obvious as in technology and communication. Those of us who work with information – whether in the form of words, numbers, images or other – are constantly challenged with change. Modern software, hardware, programs, processes and all the rest are simply occurring at a faster and faster rate.
The Chickasaw Nation and the Chickasaw people are no strangers to change. Throughout our history we have been confronted with obstacles that would have defeated most people.
We were originally a warrior nation with a sophisticated system of government. Our lands spread throughout the Southeast and our communities were prosperous and well-defended.
Then, of course, our people were Removed from our homelands and sent to a new and challenging territory. For the next 125 years, we were challenged by not just the land and the scarcity of resources, but also the intrusions of other entities bent on erasing our tribe from history.
We have persevered and are once again prosperous – and that is precisely the point. Change is a constant the Chickasaw Nation and the Chickasaw people have faced with courage and success.
For the generations long past, the skills of war and hunting were the most essential. Later, Chickasaws realized they would have to learn new skills in order to adapt to the ever-changing environment.
Today, Chickasaws are succeeding in the modern world principally through education. An ever-growing number of Chickasaws are professionals, trades journeymen, artists, scientists, soldiers and so much more. Chickasaws are succeeding in these disciplines because we have recognized the changes in American society and stayed current with those changes.
Could Chickasaws a century ago have imagined what Chickasaws today are achieving? The Chickasaw Nation of 1911 looked much different than today. The people were maintaining their families, for the most part, at subsistence levels. There was virtually no opportunity for Chickasaws. The changes that had swept through virtually all of Indian country had created tremendous hardship and challenge.
But the people persevered and, slowly at first, Chickasaws adapted to the changes and learned how to survive and even engage in new dimensions of work, family and life.
Today, the changes we experience are not so fundamental and earth-shaking, but the changes come at us much faster. For Chickasaw people, balancing the demands of modern work and society with the traditions that define us has become the toughest test. We cherish our families and our relationships even as we are tugged by the seven-day, 24-hour demands of our careers and our world.
Even success has its challenges. Those are the challenges that today's Chickasaws will meet and overcome, as we always have.
From our tribe of warriors and hunters we have evolved into a modern tribe of wonderful variety and aspiration. We now live in countless places, we work in a myriad of careers, and we are tugged by the changes the world continues to throw at us.
And, as always, we will remember our culture and heritage that is close to all Chickasaw hearts. We will care for each other; treasure our families; be upright, strong and proud to be Chickasaw!
