JOHNSTON COUNTY, Okla.— More than a dozen Chickasaw Head Start students cultivated a legacy as they helped plant trees at the Oka' Yanahli (flowing water) Preserve along the banks of the Blue River Oct. 7.
The students gathered on the brisk autumn morning with Chickasaw Nation Office of Natural Resources, Environmental Health and Safety, Chickasaw Nation Fish and Wildlife Services and the Office of Land Sustainability and Services along with representatives from The Nature Conservancy and Oklahoma Forestry Services for the tree planting event.
The Oka' Yanahli Preserve is 3,600 acres of native prairie, which protects two miles of the Blue River and the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer. The Nature Conservancy, the Chickasaw Nation and private donors partnered to purchase the initial acreage in 2012. The site where the new trees were planted was once Chickasaw allotment land.
The Chickasaw Nation was awarded a grant for the trees, which will help with carbon conservation and climate, from the Oklahoma Forestry Services.
“We are planting 25 trees to honor our tradition of cultural resiliency and to establish a livingw classroom for our youth to come and learn,” said Jennie Mosely, director of the Chickasaw Nation Office of Land Sustainability and Services.
Planting trees and the preserve’s location are also important to Chickasaw culture, heritage and tradition, Mosely said. The significant site is located on the Blue River and less than a mile from the historic Seeley Chapel.
The selected trees are native to the area and include burr oak, pecan, black walnut and others.
“When we plant trees, we honor where we were and where we are going. These are all trees the Chickasaw people used to survive when we first came to Indian Territory from our Homeland,” Mosely said.
Teaching the youth the importance of trees is more than an environmental lesson; it is an opportunity to pass down the values of land stewardship rooted in Chickasaw culture, Mosely said.
“As we walk with the students through the trees and along the Blue River, we show them how trees provide shelter, medicine, food and life. By introducing them to Chickasaw language tied to the natural world, we are helping them see the land through the eyes of our ancestors. This connection to language, land and tradition prepares the next generation of Chickasaw students to care for the earth with respect, responsibility and pride. They are not just learning to identify trees, they are learning to honor them as well as their history.”
Signs at the base of the trees denote the species and the Chickasaw name for each tree.
Katie Gillies, director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy, said the tree planting project enhances the ongoing restoration work on the preserve.
“The 25 trees the Chickasaw Nation are planting here fits in perfectly with our restoration efforts,” she said. “This used to be hardwood bottom land and after it left Chickasaw ownership, the ranchers cleared it and turned it into meadow. We are actively working to restore it. A few years ago, we planted more than 4,000 trees and put sinuosity back into the creeks that feed the Blue River to keep water on this land longer and to raise the water table.”
Gillies said the organization appreciates its partnership with the Chickasaw Nation.
“We would not have this preserve if it wasn’t for the support of the Chickasaw Nation,” she said.
“Oka' Yanahli means ‘flowing water’ in the Chickasaw language and we were pleased to name this preserve after that. The Blue River is culturally significant to the Chickasaw Nation.”
The Nature Conservancy is a global nonprofit organization.
“We work in all 50 states and more than 70 countries around the world. Our mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life relies, which is another good example of why we work so well with the Chickasaw Nation,” Gillies said.
Mosely said introducing the youth to the area and to the traditional concepts are important.
“Land, water and air don’t recognize borders. What happens upstream affects everything downstream — ecosystems, communities and cultures,” Mosely said. “For First Americans, land is our legacy, and what we do with it today shapes the world our children inherit.”
The 4-year-old Tishomingo Head Start students spent the morning gleefully grabbing handfuls of potting soil to cover the trees’ root systems and admiring insects.
Head Start student Mavis Wilson said she had never planted a tree and was excited to help.
Mosely said once the trees are established, the area is planned to be used as an outdoor classroom.