Stories of Kullihoma

Season 6 • Episode 5

Chickasaw Culture Keepers

The Chickasaw people maintain a deep connection to Kullihoma, a preserved cultural treasure.

From the first Chickasaw Nation-owned buildings and ceremonial grounds to home-cooked meals and childhood games, Kullihoma's history is a story of persistence and a strong, tight-knit community. "We all helped one another," says Sue Fish, a descendent of one of the families who lived near Kullihoma. "We didn't always have a lot of fancy food, but it always tasted good to me because it was with family and anyone that might be coming by for suppertime," she says.

When Chickasaws first began settling in and around Kullihoma, they brought with them their ceremonial, dance-based religion. These first families maintained traditional ceremonial grounds where they participated in large social dances. In the late 1930s, the grounds began to be used primarily by individual families to practice their culture. However, the 1990s brought the revival of community social dances and a return to organized stickball play, among other cultural practices. "This area had maintained its significance," says Joshua D. Hinson, Ph.D. "In particular for the families that had removed here and had maintained their traditional religion."

A council house, winter and summer houses, brush arbors and a corn crib can all be found at Kullihoma today. "Those things were a direct result of this interest among our citizens of returning to these traditions that in many cases they had never experienced before," says Joshua.

Today, Kullihoma has grown from 146 acres to nearly 2,000 acres of significant cultural land. Joshua says, "The reason that this site is still an active site is because Chickasaw people love it and care for it and want it to remain what they intend it to be." Kullihoma is a center for fellowship and a place where artistic and cultural expression thrive. Above all, Kullihoma is a testament to visionary leadership and the resilience of the unconquered and unconquerable Chickasaw Nation.

EPISODES

3m 30s

Stories of Kullihoma

EPISODES

Pottery

Stickball Sticks

Beading

Regalia

Metalsmithing

Shell Carving

Weaving

Horticulture

Baskets

Traditional Foods

Quilting

Flutes

Beaded Collars

Drum Making

Storytelling

Bow Making

Brent Greenwood Art

Beaded Jewelry

Flint Knapping

Stomp Dancing

Beadwork

Turkey Calls

Traditional Stories: How Day and Night Were Divided

Woodturning

Bead Artisan

Textile Art

Quilt Making

Jewelry

The Legacy of Bow Making

Bead Artistry

Painting

Woven Mats

Metalworking

Photography

Pashofa

Deer Toe Shakers

Stickball Sticks

Shell Carving

Medicine Bags

Natural Dyes

Twinning

Bladesmithing

Fish Nets

Porcupine Quillwork

Pottery Burnishing

Shell Carving

Duck Decoys

Traditional Arrows

Fine Gourd Art

Traditional Flutes

Turtle Pottery

Turtle Shell Shakers

Pucker Toe Moccasins

Chunkey

Tattoos and War Paint

Leggings and Breechcloths

Hide Brain Tanning

River Cane Harvesting, Splitting and Peeling

Stories of Kullihoma