Native ChocTalk

He happened to look down at what his counselor had jotted down on a piece of paper in his school file. He couldn’t help but take a peek. What did it say? The 3 words could’ve set his destiny in stone forever. “Not college material.” The phrase sank into his mind, solidifying what his future may entail – anything but college, he concluded, based on his counselor’s findings. After all, a counselor w...

“If you wanna see women go to war, I would say come to Choctaw, Mississippi!” – Chalena Marcus Billy from the Pearl River Ohoyo Team 2021 Stickball Champions Welcome to a new episode of Native ChocTalk’s Part 2 of “Stickball, Little Brother of War: Mississippi Choctaws, Mark Williams & Chalena Marcus Billy Listen to the episode here! https://tinyurl.com/ybbkdhvy In part 1, stickball player, expert...

When you think of certain sports like football, you think rough, tough and full of injuries. But that’s nothing compared to say, rugby. Now THAT’s a dangerous sport. But have you heard of a sport that involved a goal to settle disputes between tribes, and sometimes so fierce that it ended in death? The players of this game prepared by painting their bodies and limiting their diet, drinking Spanish...

You’ve heard the heartbreaking stories of the American Indian boarding schools from years past. And the accounts continue to unfold – children of all ages being removed from their homes, a government intent on “killing the man, saving the Indian”, and innocent kids being taught to forsake their language, customs, traditions and all they’ve ever known. But what about the boarding schools that were...

There’s an incredibly powerful book that changed the way we understand and “feel” the journeys of those who walked the Trail of Tears. It’s called Tushpa's Story (Touch My Tears: Tales from the Trail of Tears Collection), and January 28, 2022, is the 6th anniversary of its release! What better way to celebrate this anniversary than by hearing more about the book, directly from Choctaw Author, Sara...

Buckle up, y’all. Because today you’re going to study with me and my guest about a time in history when the entire future of our Indigeneous people had come to a crossroads that depended upon crucial decisions. Would each tribe fight for the right to stay in the land of their ancestors? Or would they succumb to the pressures of colonization and the removal to the new, unknown lands of Indian Terri...

WELCOME to Season 2 of Native Choctalk, A Podcast by Natives For All! My Producer and friend, Bee will be interviewing me in this 2nd of a 2 part series. I am honored to openly share about my ancestral stories, following the lineage of my great grandmother Ella, starting with her mother, Rosa Coley. I say “openly share”, because for too long, our ancestors were told to “be quiet”, to not speak the...

WELCOME to Season 2 of Native Choctalk, A Podcast by Natives For All! I’d like to thank each and every one of you who listened in Season 1 and supported this effort to preserve our American Indian stories, history, culture and traditions! And, in order to take my own advice about preserving stories, today’s episode is in 2 parts and it’s a bit of my own story as well as that of my own ancestors. M...

Public Service Announcement: Y’all have to check out the Choctaw Powwow, coming up Dec 4th and 5th, 2021 in Durant, Oklahoma! You’ll get to experience the Dancer Contest, Drum Contest, Pow Wow Stickball Exhibition games and good fellowship. Feel free to post photos to my Native ChocTalk Facebook page if you get to go! https://www.choctawnation.com/powwow My guests, Dr. Steven Aicinena and Dr. Seba...

Life did not set him up for success. He didn’t have a wealthy upbringing, he suffered great loss many times over, he didn’t come from a long line of famous athletes. In fact, he was an American Indian - the most despised and discarded race in America. What turned this despised Indian into a super star athlete (or who I consider to be a Native “superhero”)? How did he go from discarded, to receivin...

In this episode, my sister and I traveled to beautiful eastern Oklahoma to visit a friend of mine, Patrick Moore, Superintendent of the Choctaw Nation’s boarding school, Jones Academy in Hartshorne, Oklahoma. Jones Academy is located at the base of the beautiful Pocahontas Mountains, surrounded by rolling hills and trees as far as the eye can see – a perfect place for this boarding school. This es...

“The most impactful part of this decision was Justice Gorsuch saying, ‘On the far end of the Trail of Tears there was a promise’. And I think every Native that read that felt like, hey it’s about time. The US government is now going to be held to the treaties they made with our First Nations when they removed our people from their homelands”. – Kara Bacon Friends, on July 9th, 2020, THE single mos...

Moment of Silence - Stacy Williams flute

“Cicero shot him”, Ella stated, as her declining 91-year-old mind recalled memories aloud from her childhood. She was near death now, preparing to go home to her Creator, but not without first reliving the event that had occurred when she was just 7 years old. She was a child, too young to comprehend why Cicero would shoot “him". But who was Cicero? And who was the “him” of which she spoke? Ella e...

It’s time to turn off the t.v., turn the lights down low and settle in for a creeeeepy episode of Native ChocTalk. But be sure to keep a blanket close by in case you need to hide underneath.  He’s said to have claws like the eagle – sharp talons in the shape of a teardrop. Natives in the U.S. say the babies alone can get up to 8 feet tall and some Canadian tribes say 15-20 feet is the norm. Some e...

Have you visited the new First Americans Museum (FAM) in Oklahoma City? If not, it’s a must-see! Welana Queton, Curatorial Specialist, was kind enough to walk us through the meaningful layout of the museum and the story around the precious artifacts of our Indigenous past. My sister, Stacy and I visited FAM on opening day and were in awe of the many beautiful colors – from regalia to art to feathe...

Did you know that at one time, “Mexican bandits” road through Oklahoma’s Choctaw country and tried to take down the tribe? The Choctaws banded together and killed their enemies, allowing their bodies to float down the river. I once spoke to my guest, Solomon Tonihka, Choctaw, about this and other stories his family had passed down over time, one ancestor to another, the traditional oral way that N...

WARNING: Some of the stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People in this episode may be disturbing for some listeners so please be advised. “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re just a stupid little Indian girl”, was the advice her father gave her many times over. And later these words would run through her mind as she had to muster strength, determination and sheer will power to survive and esc...

He’s the Chippewa from Turtle Mountain Reservation and his name means “King of the Badlands”. He’s LeRoy Malaterre and he stays busy - from story telling to pow wow dancing and even to ballroom dancing. Hear LeRoy’s views on: • How the movies shaped the way the world viewed Native Americans • Why his Metis language was called a “nasty” language • How his job supported his efforts for sobriety afte...

They carried our Choctaw people and supplies across hundreds of miles from Mississippi to Indian Territory. Loyal to the end, very few lived through the the rigorous 10-mile per day journey, due to lack of food, harsh weather conditions and fatigue. They are the unsung heroes of the Trail of Tears – the Choctaw ponies. What became of the few ponies that did survive? Find out more from my guest who...

He left Wayne, Oklahoma a Choctaw farm boy and returned a fighter pilot hero. There was an air of strength and confidence about him, and he was highly respected by his community. Even generations later, people still remember “Shof” and his good reputation. (They also know him as the man who flew a plane down Main Street in Wayne, Oklahoma.) This episode of Native ChocTalk is extremely personal to...

You’ll be moved by Native ChocTalk’s newest episodes (Parts 1 and 2), “Monroe Tsatoke, Descendent of Hunting Horse, a Code Talker & The Kiowa 5”: Monroe Tsatoke, Kiowa Join us as we discuss: • Monroe’s time as both a student and teacher at Riverside Indian School • His ancestor’s stories of Fort Sill Indian School • A brave Kiowa Code Talker • The story of a multi-tribal snowball fight • Hear abou...

Monroe Tsatoke shares a prayer in Kiowa and English.

You’ll be moved by Native ChocTalk’s newest episodes (Parts 1 and 2), “Monroe Tsatoke, Descendent of Hunting Horse, a Code Talker & The Kiowa 5”: Monroe Tsatoke, Kiowa Join us as we discuss: • Monroe’s time as both a student and teacher at Riverside Indian School • His ancestor’s stories of Fort Sill Indian School • A brave Kiowa Code Talker • The story of a multi-tribal snowball fight • Hear abou...

This week’s episode of Native ChocTalk is a MUST LISTEN, y’all. Rance Weryackwe and I spent part of our time recording at the University of Oklahoma campus… take a listen for the following topics: • How Comanche hunting grounds and buffalo wallows were a significant consideration when building the University of Oklahoma campus • Hear Rance sing a cheerful Comanche Hymn (about a 3rd of the way thro...