First Chickasaw Business, Chickasaw Motor Inn

In September 1972, the Chickasaw Nation purchased a travel lodge in Sulphur, Oklahoma, paving the way for successful economic ventures around the globe. It was the first business owned and operated by the tribe and served as tribal headquarters.

The travel lodge quickly became a profit-making venture for the Chickasaw Nation, earning approximately $100,000 for the tribe in its first year of operation.

Re-named the "Chickasaw Motor Inn," the 72-unit motel was built in 1965 after its predecessor, the Artesian Hotel burned, in 1962.

When the Chickasaw Nation purchased the Motor Inn, there were only 25 tribal employees who occupied suites as offices in this building. Today our nation employs 12,000 people nationwide.