#Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

[oceanusborealis]

Echo: Season 1 – TV Review

TL;DR – There are clearly some rough edges where the production issues the show had shone through. But I do think it found its feet, and it could be the start of an interesting new direction for the MCU. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.End-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene in the final episode. Echo Review – It is an odd…

[reasonsforhope]

"Growing up, Mackenzee Thompson always wanted a deeper connection with her tribe and culture.

The 26-year-old member of the Choctaw Nation said she grew up outside of her tribe’s reservation and wasn’t sure what her place within the Indigenous community would be.

Through a first-of-its-kind program, Thompson said she’s now figured out how she can best serve her people — as a doctor.

Thompson is graduating as part of the inaugural class from Oklahoma State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation. It’s the first physician training program on a Native American reservation and in affiliation with a tribal government, according to school and tribal officials.

“I couldn’t even have dreamed this up,” she said. “To be able to serve my people and learn more about my culture is so exciting. I have learned so much already.”

Thompson is one of nine Native graduates, who make up more than 20 percent of the class of 46 students, said Dr. Natasha Bray, the school’s dean. There are an additional 15 Native students graduating from the school’s Tulsa campus.

The OSU-COM graduates include students from 14 different tribes, including Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, Alaska Native, Caddo, and Osage.

Bray said OSU partnered with the Cherokee Nation to open the school in 2020 to help erase the shortage of Indigenous doctors nationwide. There are about 841,000 active physicians practicing in the United States. Of those, nearly 2,500 — or 0.3 percent — are Native American, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

When American Indian and Alaska Native people visit Indian Health Service clinics, there aren’t enough doctors or nurses to provide “quality and timely health care,” according to a 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office. On average, a quarter of IHS provider positions — from physicians to nurses and other care positions –are vacant.

“These students here are going to make a generational impact,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told the students days before graduation. “There is such a need in this state and in this region for physicians and this school was created out of a concern about the pipeline of doctors into our health system.”

The Cherokee Nation spent $40 million to build the college in its capital of Tahlequah. The walls of the campus feature artifacts of Cherokee culture as well as paintings to remember important figures from Cherokee history. An oath of commitment on the wall is written in both English and Cherokee.

The physician training program was launched in the first year of the pandemic.

Bray said OSU and Cherokee leadership felt it was important to have the school in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, home to more than 141,000 people, because students would be able to get experience treating Indigenous patients. In Tahlequah, students live and study in a small town about an hour east of Tulsa with a population of less than 24,000 people.

“While many students learn about the problems facing these rural communities,” Bray said. “Our students are getting to see them firsthand and learn from those experiences.”

While students from the college are free to choose where to complete their residency after graduation, an emphasis is placed on serving rural and Indigenous areas of the country.

There’s also a severe lack of physicians in rural America, a shortage that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Association of American Medical Colleges has projected that rural counties could see a shortage between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034. An additional 180,000 doctors would be needed in rural counties and other underserved populations to make up the difference.

Bray said OSU saw an opportunity to not only help correct the underrepresentation of Native physicians but also fill a workforce need to help serve and improve health care outcomes in rural populations.

“We knew we’d need to identify students who had a desire to serve these communities and also stay in these communities,” she said.

Osteopathic doctors, or DOs, have the same qualifications and training as allopathic doctors, or MDs, but the two types of doctors attend different schools. While MDs learn from traditional programs, DOs take on additional training at osteopathic schools that focus on holistic medicine, like how to reduce patient discomfort by physically manipulating muscles and bones. DOs are more likely to work in primary care and rural areas to help combat the health care shortages in those areas.

As part of the curriculum, the school invited Native elders and healers to help teach students about Indigenous science and practices...

Thompson said she was able to bring those experiences into her appointments. Instead of asking only standard doctor questions, she’s been getting curious and asking about her patient’s diets, and if they are taking any natural remedies.

“It’s our mission to be as culturally competent as we can,” she said. “Learning this is making me not only a better doctor but helping patients trust me more.”

-via PBS NewsHour, May 23, 2024

[happy-mokka]

“You aren’t alone. All of us that came before are a part of you because we echo through you.”

“They’re in my blood, in my heart. I’m a part of them, and they’re a part of me. I’m their legacy, not yours.”

“You have greatness in you. Take your hurt, your loss, take your pain, make it into something useful”

[therogerclarkfanclub]

Do you have any, erm.... plans... for February 2025? A certain outlaw can help you with that matter 😉

Come and meet Benjamin Byron Davis, aka Dutch Van Der Linde, at Texoma Comic Con in Durant, Oklahoma!

Texoma Comic Con February 22-23, 2025 At the Choctaw Nation Events Center

No word yet if anyone else is joining in, but I'll keep you updated if anything changes.

[baebeylik]

Sculpture “Na holba” by Lyman Choate. Part of the Lyman Choate Collection. Chahta (Choctaw) American. 2011.

Choctaw Nation Capitol Museum.

[razorbackmagazine]

"Empowering Unity: The Heart of the Choctaw Nation Community Center in Spiro, Oklahoma"

“Building Bridges: The Inspiring Story of the Choctaw Nation Community Center in Spiro” Located in Spiro, Oklahoma, the Choctaw Nation Community Center stands as a beacon of support, empowerment, and unity for the Native American elders in the area. This center provides a wide range of services, from meals to transportation, wellness activities to arts and crafts, all aimed at fostering a sense…

[texasflycaster]

Monday Eclipse on the Sidewalk

Wow, can you believe the news coverage of today’s eclipse. It wasn’t so long ago, 2017 in fact, that I was talking about a partial eclipse while fly fishing on Ray Roberts. If you don’t make it out, or you don’t get to see the fishy reaction to an eclipse? Let me tell you, there is a reaction! And that was only a partial eclipse, so I can imagine since a large swath of North Texas is in totality,…

[thechanelmuse]

Juneteenth is a Black American holiday. 

We call Juneteenth many things: Black Independence Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day. We celebrate and honor our ancestors. 

December 31 is recognized as Watch Night or Freedom’s Eve in Black American churches because it marks the day our enslaved ancestors were awaiting news of their freedom going into 1863. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. But all of the ancestors wouldn’t be freed until June 19, 1865 for those in Galveston, Texas and even January 23, 1866 for those in New Jersey (the last slave state). (It’s also worth noting that our people under the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations wouldn’t be freed until April 28, 1866 and June 14, 1866 for those under the Cherokee Nation by way of the Treaties.)

Since 1866, Black Americans in Texas have been commemorating the emancipation of our people by way of reading the Emancipation Proclamation and coming together to have parades, free festivities, and later on pageants. Thereafter, it spread to select states as an annual day of commemoration of our people in our homeland. 

Here’s a short silent video filmed during the 1925 Juneteenth celebration in Beaumont, Texas:

(It’s also worth noting that the Mascogos tribe in Coahuila, Mexico celebrate Juneteenth over there as well. Quick history lesson: A total of 305,326 Africans were shipped to the US to be enslaved alongside of American Indians who were already or would become enslaved as prisoners of war, as well as those who stayed behind refusing to leave and walk the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. In the United States, you were either enslaved under the English territories, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, or under the Nations of what would called the Five “Civilized” Native American Tribes: Cherokee, Creek (Muscogee), Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminoles. Mascogos descend from the Seminoles who escaped slavery during the Seminole Wars, or the Gullah Wars that lasted for more than 100 years if you will, and then settled at El Nacimiento in 1852.)

We largely wave our red, white and blue flags on Juneteenth. These are the only colors that represent Juneteenth. But sometimes you may see others wave our Black American Heritage flag (red, black, and gold).

Juneteenth is a day of respect. It has nothing to do with Africa, diversity, inclusion, immigration, your Pan-African flag, your cashapps, nor your commerce businesses. It is not a day of “what about” isms. It is not a day to tap into your inner colonizer and attempt to wipe out our existence. That is ethnocide and anti-Black American. If you can’t attend a Black American (centered) event that’s filled with education on the day, our music, our food and other centered activities because it’s not centered around yours…that is a you problem. Respect our day for what and whom it stands for in our homeland. 

Juneteenth flag creator: “Boston Ben” Haith 

It was created in 1997. The red, white and blue colors represent the American flag. The five-point star represents the Lone State (Texas). The white burst around the star represents a nova, the beginning of a new star. The new beginning for Black Americans. 

Black American Heritage Flag creators: Melvin Charles & Gleason T. Jackson

It was created in 1967, our Civil Rights era. The color black represents the ethnic pride for who we are. Red represents the blood shed for freedom, equality, justice and human dignity. Gold fig wreath represents intellect, prosperity, and peace. The sword represents the strength and authority exhibited by a Black culture that made many contributions to the world in mathematics, art, medicine, and physical science, heralding the contributions that Black Americans would make in these and other fields. 

SN: While we’re talking about flags, I should note that Grace Wisher, a 13-year-old free Black girl from Baltimore helped stitched the Star Spangled flag, which would inspire the national anthem during her six years of service to Mary Pickersgill. I ain’t even gon hold you. I never looked too far into it, but she prob sewed that whole American flag her damn self. They love lying about history here until you start unearthing them old documents. 

In conclusion, Juneteenth is a Black American holiday. Respect us and our ancestors.

[tanadrin]

Extended postal abbreviations for North America and some adjacent states and territories

I recently came into possession of a list of postal abbreviations used by the North American Postal Union in the year 2064 for delivering physical mail in the countries and territories it is responsible for. This system takes advantage of the fact that there is no overlap between American and Canadian postal abbreviations, and extends that list with several new additions, principally covering Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and various dependent territories--both of other countries, whose territories happen to lie in North America, and of North American states, who happen to have possessions elsewhere.

AA: U.S. Armed Forces - America

AB: Alberta

AC: Agua Caliente Reservation

AE: U.S. Armed Forces - Europe

AG: Aguascalientes

AH: Allegheny Reservation

AI: NAU Antarctic Bases

AK: Alaska

AL: Alabama

AN: Anguilla

AO: Alto California

AP: U.S. Armed Forces - Pacific

AR: Aruba

AS: American Samoa

AT: Antigua and Barbuda

AZ: Arizona

BA: The Bahamas

BC: British Columbia

BE: Belize

BI: Blackfeet Indian Reservation

BJ: Baja California (NO LAUGHING)

BO: Bonaire

BR: Barbados

BS: Baja California Sur

BU: Bermuda

BV: British Virgin Islands

CA: California

CB: Cuba

CC: Curacao

CD: Coeur d'Alene Reservation

CE: Colville Reservation

CF: Canadian Armed Forces

CH: Chiapas

CI: Chihuahua

CJ: Canadian Manchuria

CK: Canadian Kamchatka

CL: Colima

CM: Campeche

CN: Cheyenne River Reservation

CO: Colorado

CR: Costa Rica

CT: Connecticut

CU: Coahuila de Zaragoza

CV: Colorado River Indian Reservation

CW: Crow Reservation

CY: Cayman Islands

CZ: Panama Canal Zone (defunct)

DE: Delaware

DC: District of Columbia

DO: Dominica

DL: Deltaland ("North Louisiana")

DR: Dominican Republic

DT: Enclave of Detroit

DU: Durango

EJ: East New Jersey

ES: El Salvador

FA: Fort Apache Reservation

FB: Fort Berthold Reservation

FH: Fort Hall Reservation

FL: Florida (defunct)

FM: Micronesia

FP: Fort Peck Indian Reservation

FR: Flathead Reservation

GA: GeorgiaHI: Hawaii

GD: Guadeloupe

GE: Grenada

GI: Gila River Indian Reservation

GL: Greenland

GN: Guanajuato

GR: Guerrero

GT: Guatemala

GU: Guam

HA: Haiti

HD: Hidalgo

HI: Hawaii

HO: Honduras

HR: Hopi Reservation

IA: Iowa

ID: Idaho

IK: Independent Kentucky

IL: Illinois

IN: Indiana

IO: Island State of New Orleans

IP: NAU Inner Planets Bases

IR: Isabella Reservation

IS: International Space Station

JA: Jalisco

JM: Jamaica

KS: Kansas

KY: Kentucky

LA: Louisiana (defunct)

LF: Lake Erie Flotilla

LL: Leech Lake Reservation

LT: Lake Traverse Reservation

MA: Massachussetts

MB: Manitoba

MC: Michoacan

MD: Maryland

ME: Maine

MF: Mexican Armed Forces

MG: Montserrat

MH: Marshall Islands

MI: Michigan

MN: Minnesota

MO: Missouri

MP: Northern Mariana Islands

MQ: Martinique

MR: Morelos

MS: Mississippi

MT: Montana

MW: Mississippi Choctaw Reservation

MX: Mexico

MY: Mexico City

NA: Nayarit

NB: New Brunswick

NC: North Carolina

ND: North Dakota

NE: Nebraska

NG: New Jersey (Legitimist Faction)

NH: New Hampshire

NI: Nicaragua

NJ: New Jersey (defunct)

NL: Newfoundland and Labrador

NM: New Mexico

NN: Navajo Nation

NO: Nuevo Leon

NP: Nez Perce Reservation

NS: Nova Scotia

NT: Northwest Territories

NU: Nunavut

NV: Nevada

NY: New York

OA: Oaxaca

OE: Oneida Reservation

OH: Ohio

ON: Ontario

OK: Oklahoma

OO: Ohkay Owingeh

OP: NAU Outer Planets, Satellite, and Asteroid Bases

OR: Oregon

OS: Osage Reservation

OW: Royalist Ottowa

PA: Pennsylvania

PD: Pine Ridge Reservation

PE: Prince Edward Island

PI: Philippine Islands (defunct)

PM: Port Madison Reservation

PN: Panama

PR: Puerto Rico

PS: Puget Sound Arcology

PU: Puebla

PY: Puyallup Reservation

PW: Palau

QB: Qualla Boundary

QC: Quebec

QR: Quintana Roo

QU: Queretaro

RC: Grand Duchy of Reedy Creek

RG: Rio Grande Valley Special Economic Zone

RI: Rhode Island

RL: Red Lake Reservation

RO: Rosebud Indian Reservation

SA: Saba

SB: Saint Barthelemy

SC: South Carolina

SD: South Dakota

SE: Sint Eustatius

SF: Salt River Reservation

SG: Standing Rock Reservation

SK: Saskatchewan

SI: Sinaloa

SJ: Clerical State of the Society of Jesus of Southwest Michigan

SL: San Luis Potosi

SM: Saint Martin

SN: Saint Kitts and Nevis

SO: Sonora

SP: Santa Clara Pueblo

SR: Sint Maarten

SS: San Carlos Reservation

ST: Southern Ute Reservation

SU: Saint Lucia

SV: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

SW: San Diego-Tijuana Autonomous Republic

SX: Southeast England Occupied Territories

SZ: West Coast Containment Zone

TA: Tabasco

TC: Turks and Caicos Islands

TI: Trinidad and Tobago

TL: Tlaxcala

TU: Tulalip Reservation

TM: Tamaulipas

TN: Tennessee

TO: Tohono O'odham Reservation

TT: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (defunct)

TU: Turtle Mountain Reservation

TW: Taiwan

TX: Texas

UB: NAU Undersea Bases

UM: U.S. Minor Outlying Islands

UO: Uintah and Ouray Reservation

UP: People's Democratic Republic of the Upper Peninsula

UT: Utah

VC: Veracruz

VD: Vancouver Reclamation District

VE: Vermont

VA: Virginia

VI: U.S. Virgin Islands

WA: Washington

WE: White Earth Reservation

WV: West Virginia

WI: Wisconsin

WL: Mandatory Wales

WJ: West New Jersey

WR: Wind River Reservation

WY: Wyoming

YA: Yankton Reservation

YO: Associated State of York

YT: Yukon Territory

YN: Yakama Nation Reservation

YU: Yucatan

ZA: Zacatecas

ZU: Zuni Reservation

[auntphibian]

Nex Benedict

A 16 year old Owasso student who died after being beaten in the head by three other students. They were nonbinary and a citizen of the Choctaw nation. They lived in the Cherokee reservation of Oklahoma. They had complained of bullying about their identity prior to being assaulted. Police are claiming their death was unrelated to the assault they experienced just a day prior.

Nex enjoyed nature, minecraft, drawing, and reading. They had a cat named Zeus.

I grew up near this region. I have identified as nonbinary since freshman year of high school. I'm a citizen of the Muskogee tribe. I was bullied in high school. My sister is much the same as me in most of this. I hate to think either of us could have been this poor child. They didn't deserve this. I can say from first-hand experience that the handling of bullying in Oklahoma schools is pretty much non-existent. This situation makes me so incredibly sad. This did not need to happen.

I hope Nex rests peacefully. Hopefully, something good can come from this tragedy. Hopefully, we will see change.

[whencyclopedia]

Trail of Tears: Memorial and Protest of the Cherokee Nation by John Ross

The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of the "Five Civilized Tribes" – Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Seminole – from their ancestral lands in the Southeastern region of the United States to "Indian Territory" (modern-day Oklahoma) between 1831 and 1850, resulting in the deaths of over 16,000 Native Americans and the removal of over 60,000 from their homelands.

Trail of Tears Memorial at New Echota

Christopher James Culberson (Public Domain)

Scholar John Ehle writes, "the Trail of Tears – or, as the Indians more often said, the Trail Where They Wept – was a trail of sickness" (385). Most Native Americans died of disease, exposure, exhaustion, and starvation on the forced marches from their lands east of the Mississippi River (modern-day Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee) to Indian Territory, a distance of between 1000 miles (1600 km) and over 5000 miles (8000 km), depending on where a given march began and the route taken.

The Trail of Tears was not a singular event but a series of forced relocations following the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The marches began the following year with the Choctaw nation and proceeding through 1847, ending in 1850:

Choctaw: 1831-1836

Seminole: 1832-1842

Muscogee Creek: 1834-1837

Chickasaw: 1837-1847

Cherokee: 1836-1838

Precisely where the term "Trail of Tears" originated is debated, but it is usually attributed to a Choctaw chief who described the journey as "a trail of tears and death." Scholar Adele Nozedar comments:

The originator of this simple phrase is not known for sure, but it is believed to have been used by a Choctaw chief, Nitikechi, to describe the effects of the Indian Removal Act. The Cherokee had a similar term: "The Place Where They Cried."

(500)

Cherokee Chief John Ross (l. 1790-1866) famously opposed the removal in his Memorial and Protest of the Cherokee Nation sent to Congress in June 1836, arguing that the US government had no legal grounds for relocating his people. Although his piece focuses on the Cherokee nation, the points he makes apply equally to the others who were forcibly removed from their lands.

Although the Trail of Tears is the best-known act of forced relocation of Native Americans, it is far from the only one as citizens of many other nations of Native peoples of North America experienced the same throughout the 19th century and up to as recently as the mid-1960s to the 1970s. This event, and others like it, notably the Long Walk of the Navajo (1863-1866) are, generally, understood today as acts of genocide perpetrated by the US government.

Background to the Marches

Although the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was the immediate cause for the death marches known as the Trail of Tears, the policies informing that act date back to the 1630s, notably the Pequot War (1636-1638), which reduced the Pequot population of the region of modern-day Massachusetts from 3000 to 200 (many then sold into slavery) to open up their lands for English colonization. Among the "facts submitted to a candid world" presented by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence of 1776 was that King George III of Great Britain (r. 1760-1820)

Has excited domestic insurrections amongst us and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.

As president, in 1803, Jefferson advocated the forced removal of Native Americans west of the Mississippi River and, by 1819, citizens of Native American nations were offered 640 acres of land in Indian Territory for giving up their lands east of the Mississippi. The US government in 1819 had no authority to grant these acres to anyone, however, as they were in so-called "Indian Territory" and, as John Ross points out below, the US government had no legal right to forcibly remove Native Americans from their homelands for relocation in the west.

Westward Exploration and Settlement of the United States c.1850

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

The solution to the "Indian Problem", included in the Indian Removal Act of 1830, was to buy the land from Native Americans, and then, having nowhere to live, they might be amenable to moving west on their own, which the US government promised to help them do. Although the cause of the Trail of Tears is often attributed to the Georgia Gold Rush of 1829, which brought miners into conflict with Native Americans living there, President Andrew Jackson already had Native American relocation as a priority when he took office that year.

Continue reading...

[chahtawordoftheday]

Halito! Chahtawordoftheday sia!

(Hi! I am Chahtawordoftheday!)

Each new generation is responsible for proliferating their stories. I created this blog because, as a Native, this is hard to do alone. Want to brush up on Chahta anumpa (The Choctaw language) with me? Then this is the blog for you! Look forward to daily vocab, language learning resources (some shared from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's website), and a spotlight on Native art/politics

Speaking of which, here’s the the blogs linktree! A place where you can find Chahta anumpa and community resources. I also have the habit of linking art projects related to my instagram @row5oat, which serves as a portfolio of sorts

Vocab masterlist:

If there are any resources you like me to highlight, please let me know! Feel free to tag me in simple posts you'd like translations too, like a picture of a cat (katos) or a snake (sinti), request subjects/themes for the word(s) of the day, and to otherwise dm me! I am very active on tumblr and can't wait to go on this journey with you!

Chi pisa la chike, yakoke! (Til we meet again, and thank you!)

[coochiequeens]

We believe that our culture is a living culture,” she said. “Unlike what western society puts in the history books, we’re not a past people. We are a continuation. And I think a lot of our listeners really resonate with that.” - Faithlyn Seawright

Faithlyn Seawright. Photograph: Destiny Green Photography

Native American women are bringing back facial tattoos: ‘We’re a living culture’

A collective is breathing new life into inchunwa for south-eastern Indigenous people across the US

Adria R Walker Sun 4 May 2025

Receiving her inchunwa was not something Faithlyn Taloa Seawright did lightly, but when the moment “just felt right”, she knew it was time. Seawright, who was the 2024 Miss Indian Oklahoma and a previous Chickasaw Princess, had long studied the tradition that she inherited from her ancestors.

In Choctaw and Chickasaw languages, inchunwa means “to be marked, branded or tattooed”. So receiving inchunwa, or traditional Indigenous tattoos, is something that must be done with reverence, Seawright said. The practice was once common among the south-eastern Indigenous nations (Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee and others), but after colonization the tradition faded away for many.

Now, through efforts like those from the Inchunwa Project, a community-rooted collective that is working to revitalize the tattoos, south-eastern Indigenous people across the country are breathing new life into the practice.

Last year, the Inchunwa Project, which began in 2017, hosted its first retreat, which included traditional tattoo artists, people entering tattoo apprenticeships and south-eastern tribal folks who were interested in learning about tattoo revitalization.

Those gathered played games, wrote poetry, ate traditional foods and talked about the research they’d found. The retreat was a time for fellowship, but it was also one for action, in which people could share their research into the ancient practice and decide what they were going to do with it.

The Inchunwa Project met up with Chickasaw artist Jimmy Dean Horn at the Indigenous tattoo and music festival in Ada, Oklahoma, on 4 October 2024. Photograph: Inchunwa Project

“We met to talk about how and why we got involved with tattoo revitalization, where we want to see this project going, what would our full vision be and how are we going to get there,” said Seawright, who is a Chickasaw citizen. Some artists brought their supplies to the event, which led to a few tattooing sessions where people received their finger inchunwa, or tattoos, that have different meanings. Seawright, who had already received six lines on her fingers years prior, received her first facial tattoos at the event.

Her latest inchunwa consists of two lines on either side of her mouth. One line represents the fact that Seawright has entered adulthood and the other signifies that she is a young adult without children. If she has children, she will have three lines. Once she is an elder or has grandchildren, she will have four. The facial inchunwa is intended to grow with her throughout life.

Seawright said that the inchunwa session had been full of encouragement, with people gathering to witness it. “That’s really what help[ed] us to have that traditional aspect, to have support there, those that are there to give guidance: ‘Remember to breathe’, ‘it’s OK to cry if you need to’, ‘you need water’, ‘maybe it’s time for a break’.”

For Seawright, receiving her inchunwa reflected her commitment to her community and to setting the groundwork for being a good ancestor. The six lines on her fingers represent a personal promise to better herself, an homage to her siblings who are not with her in the physical world and the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“I prayed on it and I waited for years for that moment to come,” she said of her finger tattoos. “The only way I can describe that decision of knowing when to get it is you just feel that pull, that emotion, and you just know that’s the time.”

Reclaiming a thousand-year artistic tradition

In 2017, about 30 Choctaw women and two-spirit people planned to walk the Trail of Tears and receive their inchunwa at the end to commemorate the action, their friendship and their commitment to community.

The group approached a wall of logistical questions: who would tattoo them? What designs would they receive? What did those designs mean? They decided to pause the walk and instead research and learn more, meeting online from 2018 to 2021 to discuss their findings. The Inchunwa Project was born from this research and collaboration.

While they initially considered compiling all of the information into a book, they realized a podcast would be a better way to reach people. “Since so many of us were Washington-based at that time, we would travel back to Oklahoma or to the south-east specifically for cultural gatherings,” said Lisa Fruichantie, the executive director of the Inchunwa Project. “It was a way for us to connect no matter where we were.”

In receiving and promoting inchunwa today, south-eastern Indigenous people are continuing a millennia-old tradition. “Tattooing is a really ancient art form,” said Mairin Odle, an associate professor in the department of American studies at the University of Alabama. “If you’re looking at south-eastern communities, there’s an almost thousand-year artistic tradition that you can look to for examples and for proof of it.”

Images and descriptions of south-east Indigenous people during the early years of European contact, such as a 1732 image of a Choctaw warrior with a painted face and tattooed neck and torso, and an 1834 image of two Choctaw women with facial tattoos, refer to or depict tattoos. Three Cherokee men, known as the “three kings”, who traveled to England in 1762 to meet King George III, were all heavily tattooed across their faces and bodies.

Sixtowns Choctaw women with facial tattoos (Karl Bodmer, 1834). Photograph: Courtesy of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

People who receive inchunwa today can draw from their ancestors, using pottery, shell carvings and other artisan works from pre-contract, during the Mississippian Era, as inspiration for designs. They can also use modern works, from south-eastern basket weavers or stick makers, to create new meanings. “We can’t say for sure that that is what it meant to the ancestors,” Fruichantie said. “But we can say that this is what has come to us, and what [it might mean] for the future.”

There are key differences between traditional Indigenous tattooing and western tattooing. In the latter, it is common to use stencils, a tattoo gun and brightly colored ink. For many Indigenous tattoos, however, hand poke, in which artists make the images without a stencil as a guide, is more common. As such, receiving the inchunwa may take longer. “It’s a more intimate process between the person getting the tattoo and those that are giving the tattoo,” Seawright said.

Though older Indigenous methods included using garfish teeth or deer bones, modern practitioners caution against the potential of blood-borne pathogens and for ensuring a sterile environment. The decision on the type of method used – tattoo gun or hand poke – is ultimately left to the personal preference of the person receiving the tattoo. Seawright’s face and hand tattoos were both done with tattoo guns, but, she said, “it doesn’t make them any less traditional compared to someone else that did hand poke tattoos”.

‘A responsibility that I literally wear on my face’

The Inchunwa Project’s work in promoting traditional tattoos has brought deeper understanding to south-eastern communities. It is part of a larger effort around revitalizing traditions after the colonial era and centuries of forced assimilation.

“I was raised up to believe that nothing was extinct. Nothing dies. We call it going to sleep,” Seawright said. “My father was a part of our Chickasaw revitalization of stomp dancing and that’s what he taught me. He’s like: ‘There’s a time we stopped doing these; these dances went to sleep. But with the help of our fellow tribes, like the Muscogee and Seminole, we were able to bring this back.’ And so, I never thought of it as them being gone, they just went to sleep and somebody had to have that vision and bring it back and bring it back to the people.”

The Inchunwa Project and the community that has developed around it have connected the group “very deeply”, Fruichantie said. Last year, when the group had a table at the Indigenous tattoo music festival, a woman approached them and specifically referenced an episode of the podcast with Julie Cordero-Lamb, an ethnobotanist and member of the Chumash Nation who teaches traditional regenerative horticulture. “She said that [the episode] inspired such a sense of pride within her community,” Fruichantie said. “And that there are about 20 different women that have now received their facial inchunwa, which is really big because it’s such a big commitment.”

Inchunwa team members receive their ancestral markings at the Indigenous tattoo music festival. Photograph: Courtesy of Inchunwa Project

Revitalizing the traditional practice has an impact both on the person who decides to receive their inchunwa and the community at large. “I’m old enough to have had the conversations with my parents that a lot of people have had where it’s like: ‘Don’t get tattoos, don’t get your hair dyed, because that’s going to be a job killer’,” Fruichantie said. “It’s a big deal for people to get their hands tattooed, but even bigger on the face. I think that shows such a big commitment to their culture. We often say it’s a responsibility to my people and to my culture that I literally wear on my face,” she said.

Similarly, what’s most important for Seawright is the impact her tattoos have on the future generations. “We believe that our culture is a living culture,” she said. “Unlike what western society puts in the history books, we’re not a past people. We are a continuation. And I think a lot of our listeners really resonate with that.”

Seeing her two-year-old niece for the first time after receiving her facial inchunwa showed Seawright how important it was for her to pick up the banner of tattoo revitalization. “She ran up to me and she put her hand on my face, just lightly touching it and smiling,” Seawright said. “It was that little acknowledgement. It’s something that’s so spiritually moving. We’re bringing these back not only for our elders, but we’re making these new pathways for our future generations to have that be a common sight. For my niece to just do that simple move, it helped bring it all together. This is who it’s for.”

[baebeylik]

Human Effigy (Hattak hobachi) by Verna Smith. Choctaw (Chahta) Nation of Oklahoma. Credit to the Verna Smith Collection. 2009.

Choctaw Nation Capitol Museum. (CM)

[therogerclarkfanclub]

Roger's* 2025 Comic Con Schedule

Interested in knowing if Roger is coming to your city or town? Check the listings below. Updated as new info becomes available.

If you've been waiting for the opportunity to meet Roger & The Gang, or you would like to meet him/them again, feel free to bookmark ("Like" 😉) this post if you want to keep up with Roger's Comic Con appearances. I will update and reblog this list as soon as new info becomes available.

Alternatively, you can always keep tabs on Roger's social media for the latest dates.

*This is listing is not limited to just Roger, it will also include any other cast members attending a specific Con.

⭐ LAST UPDATED: April 29, 2025 ⭐

JAN 01 - Added: Comic Con Baltics (Roger), Comic Con Scotland Aberdeen (Rob, Roger), CT Gamer Con (Roger, Rob, Kaili), Texoma Comic Con (Ben), C2E2 (Roger, Rob), SuperHero Saturday (Alex)

JAN 08 - Added: CT Gamer Con (Mick)

JAN 20 - Added: Fanboy Expo (Ben, Rob, Roger, Alex)

FEB 11 - Added: Comic Con Midlands (Roger, Rob, Alex)

MAR 08 - Added: Comic Con Baltics (Rob), Saratoga Comic Con (Rob, Roger)

MAR 22 - Added: MCM London (Noshir)

MAR 30 - Added: Iron City Comic Con (Roger)

APR 04 - Added: Fan Fusion Phoenix (Roger, Rob)

APR 17 - Added: ATL Comic Convention (Roger, Rob, Noshir)

APR 24 - Added: VillainSCon (Steve)

APR 29 - Added: National Gaming Expo (Roger, Jim)

─────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────

🌟 SuperHero Saturday 🌟

Dates: January 18, 2025 City: Phoenix, Arizona Venue:Metro Center 9610 N Metro Pkwy W Phoenix, AZ 85051 Confirmed attendees: Alex

🌟 Texoma Comic Con 🌟

Dates: February 22-23, 2025 City: Durant, Oklahoma Venue: Choctaw Nation Event Center 3702 Choctaw Rd Durant, OK 74701 Confirmed attendees: Benjamin

🌟 Comic Con Scotland (Aberdeen) 🌟

Dates: March 1st and 2nd, 2025 City: Aberdeen, Scotland Venue:P&J Live East Burn Road, Stoneywood, ABERDEEN, AB21 9FX Confirmed attendees: Rob, Roger

🌟 Fanboy Anime Toy Gaming Comics Expo 🌟

Dates: March 8th and 9th, 2025 City: Knoxville, TN Venue: World's Fair Exhibition Hall 935 World’s Fair Park Drive Knoxville, TN 37902 Confirmed attendees: Benjamin, Roger, Alex, Rob, Peter

🌟 CT Gamer Con 🌟

Dates: March 15-16, 2025 City: Uncasville, CT Venue: Mohegan Sun Casino Hotel 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard Uncasville, CT 06382 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob, Kaili, Mick

🌟 Charlie's Epic Con 🌟

Dates: April 6, 2025 City: Fort Meyer, FL Venue: Doubletree by Hilton 13051 Bell Tower Dr Fort Meyer, FL Confirmed attendees: Steve

🌟 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo 🌟

Dates: April 11-13, 2025 City: Chicago, IL Venue: McCormick Place South Building 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob

🌟 Saratoga Comic Con 🌟

Dates: May 3-4, 2025 City: Saratoga Springs, NY Venue: Saratoga Springs City Center 522 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Confirmed attendees: Rob, Roger, Kaili, Peter, Noshir

🌟 Comic Con Baltics 🌟

Dates: May 23-25, 2025 City: Vilnius, Lithuania Venue: Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre Laisvės av. 5, 04215 Vilnius, Lithuania Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob

🌟 Pasadena Comic Con 🌟

Dates: May 24, 2025 City: Pasadena, CA Venue: Saratoga Springs City Center 522 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Confirmed attendees: Steve

🌟 MCM London Comic Con🌟

Dates: May 23-25, 2025 City: London, England Venue: ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock 1 Western Gateway, Royal Docks London E16 1XL UNITED KINGDOM Confirmed attendees: Noshir

🌟 Iron City Comic Con 🌟

Dates: May 31 and June 1, 2025 City: Birmingham, AL Venue: Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd N. Birmingham, AL 35203 Confirmed attendees: Roger

🌟 Fan Fusion Phoenix 🌟

Dates: June 6-8, 2025 City: Phoenix, AZ Venue: Phoenix Convention Center 100 N Third Street Phoenix, AZ 85004 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob

🌟 Comic Con Midlands (Birmingham) 🌟

Dates: July 12 and 13, 2025 City: Birmingham, UK Venue: National Exhibition Centre Pendigo Way Marston Green Birmingham B40 1NT United Kingdom Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob, Alex, Benjamin

🌟 ATL Comic Convention 🌟

Dates: July 18-20, 2025 City: Atlanta, Georgia Venue: Georgia World Congress 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW Atlanta, GA 30313 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob, Noshir

🌟 National Gaming Expo 🌟

Dates: August 8-10, 2025 City: Tampa, Florida Venue: Florida State Fairgrounds 4800 U.S. 301 Tampa, FL 33610 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Jim

🌟 VillainSCon 🌟

Dates: October 31 and November 1, 2025 City: Rock Hill, SC Venue: The Powerhouse 378 Technology Center Way Rock Hill, SC 29730 Confirmed attendees: Steve

[crystalsandbubbletea]

Nex

(Note: This is a long overdue tribute for Nex Benedict, a two-spirit teenager from the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma who was the victim of a hate crime)

The schools failed you,

The hospitals failed you,

The state failed you,

The country failed you.

The world has gone still,

The bird's song is now mournful.

When I found out I felt ill,

People go on about "protecting our children",

Yet where were they when you were dying?

The actions are scornful,

Where were they when you were dying?

Where were the people,

When Nex Benedict was dying?