Construction is well underway on the Chickasaw Cultural Center.
Located on 110 acres of rolling hills, woodlands and streams adjacent to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area near Sulphur, the center is designed to utilize the latest technology, ancient artifacts and natural outdoor spaces to tell the Chickasaw story.
"This will be a tremendous facility, but beyond that, it will be a place rich with the culture and heritage that binds us together as Chickasaws," said Governor Bill Anoatubby.
Once complete, the center will feature more than 96,000 square feet of indoor space and outdoor venues including an earthen terrace amphitheater, The concept also includes utilizing outdoor spaces featuring rich native vegetation, indigenous stone and trails which heighten attention to a spring-fed pond and Rock Creek.
Outdoor areas will include demonstration gardens and a traditional lifeways educational village featuring a number of traditional Chickasaw houses similar to those at Kullihoma. Areas will also be set aside for stomp dance and other traditional ceremonies.
Indoors, an interconnected series of theaters, exhibits and galleries are designed to immerse visitors in tribal history and culture.
"In addition to preserving Chickasaw heritage and culture for future generations, this world-class facility will also serve as an educational facility where we can share with others the true and complete story of the unconquered and unconquerable Chickasaw Nation."
During a previous visit to the site, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, said the center will have a positive impact on the state economy.
"It’s clearly a tremendous economic boon for the local community and for the Chickasaw Nation,” said Rep. Cole. "It’s an excellent example of the partnerships that can develop between tribal governments and their neighbors and it works to the advantage of all concerned.
"I think it will enhance the quality of life locally and be a good stimulus to the local economy and attract a lot of folks to the area. So it will build on what is already a great recreational and tourist facility for the state of Oklahoma."
While construction of the theaters, galleries, pavilions and other physical features of the facility, is obviously a massive undertaking, it takes much more than buildings and exhibits to create a cultural center.
"People are the culture. Without culture it’s not a cultural center, it’s just a museum," said Ms. Linder-Linsley. "The volunteers, participants, citizens of the nation that show up and share and exchange - even if they just come out to work on a quilt or come out to do beading or basketry that they would normally do at home - that’s what makes it a cultural center."
Regardless of the number of employees on staff at the center, broad based participation of volunteers is necessary for the center to fulfill its mission “to preserve Chickasaw heritage, capture the essence of Chickasaw culture, teach it to Chickasaw people and to share it with the world.”
Asked how many volunteers she would like to have, Ms. Linder-Linsley replied, "Thousands. We would like every citizen of the Chickasaw Nation to be a volunteer at some point."
