Kullihoma is located between Ada and Allen on Highway 1. It was established after the passage of the Indian Welfare Act of 1936. That year, more than 146 acres were put into trust by the United States government for the Chickasaw Nation. By 1975, almost 628 acres were in trust. In 1991, another 850 acres were added to Kullihoma, and there were an additional 483 acres added in 2011. Today, Kullihoma covers more than 1,961 acres.
Kullihoma (also written as Kalihoma) means “Red Springs” in the Chickasaw language and was named after a local natural spring that turned red before a storm. While the natural spring no longer flows it remains historically and culturally important to the Chickasaw people.
In the mid-1880s, a neighborhood school was operated by the Chickasaw Nation to serve the residents in the area. It closed after new school districts were established due to Oklahoma statehood in 1907. Another school was established by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1930s but was eventually closed. Chickasaw families continued to reside in the area until the 1970s.
In early 1977, the Chickasaw Nation built a retreat and convention center in the shape of a Thunderbird at Kullihoma. The facility had a kitchen, dining room and shower facilities. It also included a museum area, two lounges, seminar rooms, guest rooms, an office and storage space.
In the 1990s, Kullihoma was identified as a site to reestablish an area for stomp dancing and other cultural activities. Kullihoma has strong cultural ties to stomp dancing dating back to the 1800s, and the location was found to be the best place for the modern-day stomp dance grounds. This consists of a place to dance with arbors set in the four directions around the dance area.
Near the stomp dance grounds are several replicated traditional community structures that Chickasaw Ancestors would have historically constructed in the Homeland (consisting of parts of present-day Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee). These structures include a council house, raised corn crib, and winter and summer houses. There is also a field to play the social version of the stickball game. RV hookups are located near the stomp dance grounds for families to camp and enjoy the scenic area, which includes a nearby lake.
There are other areas utilized by Chickasaw citizens such as the senior site, which offers services to elders and a recreational area consisting of a softball field, a horseshoe area and stickball field. The field also hosts cornstalk shoots in which competitors use bows and arrows.
Kullihoma remains important to the Chickasaw people as a place where they can gather, reunite and carry on their traditions.