For most in the southern U.S., Labor Day is a time to go to the lake, barbecue, and remember to not wear white again for fear of committing a fashion crime. I typically spend my Labor Days being grateful that I don’t have work or school, and celebrating by sleeping in until 11 a.m. This Labor Day weekend, things were a little different.
I am ashamed to admit it, but I discovered my Labor Day plans via Instagram. The Choctaw Labor Day Festival was recommended as an account I should follow, and I looked into the festivities they were offering. In Tuskahoma, Oklahoma, around 2 hours west of my hometown, Choctaw Nation was going to be putting on a festival that included food vendors, arts and crafts, cultural activities, and more. I told my younger brother to go with me, and sent my nana a text inviting her as well.
My grandpa was Choctaw, and he tried to connect my younger brother and I to that part of our culture as much as possible. Sadly, he passed away when I was around 10, and I haven’t been as connected since. When I told my nana that I’d like to go to the Labor Day festival, she told me stories of how she used to go with my grandpa when they were first married. After hearing that, I felt that this was something I needed to do.
At 8 on Saturday morning, I drug my younger brother out of bed and loaded him up in my car to go pick up my nana. Then, we started our two- hour long journey to Tuskahoma. We drove through what seemed like the middle of nowhere, with winding roads and massive trees, which is pretty typical for most of rural Oklahoma. After what felt like forever, we turned into the event center and parked amongst all the other cars with purple and yellow Choctaw license plates.
Our first stop was the Choctaw Museum. I felt that this would be a nice, calming start to what could be a pretty hectic day. We entered under a large purple archway that said “Halito.” Inside, there were paintings, baskets, pottery, and arrowheads, as well as VR simulations of historic events. Growing up, I was always exposed to these artifacts and told that they were “Native American ways of life.” When I used to hear this, it always felt so far removed from the present day; I could hardly imagine that people’s livelihoods and entire villages depended upon these tools. It was odd looking at all of these things and knowing that one of my ancestors could have actually used them.
Our first stop was the Choctaw Museum. I felt that this would be a nice, calming start to what could be a pretty hectic day. We entered under a large purple archway that said “Halito.” Inside, there were paintings, baskets, pottery, and arrowheads, as well as VR simulations of historic events. Growing up, I was always exposed to these artifacts and told that they were “Native American ways of life.” When I used to hear this, it always felt so far removed from the present day; I could hardly imagine that people’s livelihoods and entire villages depended upon these tools. It was odd looking at all of these things and knowing that one of my ancestors could have actually used them.
After we had looked around for a while, it was getting a little crowded in the big red brick museum, and we decided to move on to the next part of our trip: food. We could’ve eaten a free meal in the massive cafeteria building, but we opted to go to one of the many fair-style food vendor carts instead. We settled on none other than Indian tacos for our lunch. A little cliche, sure, but it was so good that I didn’t mind. As we ate, I marveled at this section of the festival. Not only were there close to 100 of the food carts, but there was also a ferris wheel and games, which only further cemented the original fair feeling that I got.
Now freshly refueled, we headed to the arts and crafts building. This was by far my favorite part of the festival. There’s nothing quite as fun as spending money on cute little trinkets to remember your trip by. As we walked into the building, I was instantly overwhelmed (in a good way) by all of the different tables set up with all sorts of items for sale. There was everything from beadwork, to dreamcatchers, to pottery, to tobacco leaves, and more. I decided to get some jewelry, because I am nothing if not predictable. Standing shoulder to shoulder with about 17 other people at once, we maneuvered our way through the crowd to look at all the tables. I was a little worried that my 86 year old nana was going to get mowed down, but we made it safely through, as did our purchases.
I knew upon entering the festival that I wanted to see some traditional dances and a stickball game. I had never seen them before, and I knew that it was an important part of the culture. Near the Choctaw village where we parked, they had exhibitions of different kinds of cultural practices- including stickball and dancing. We walked uphill, taking several breaks so my nana could rest, and eventually saw the houses with log walls and straw roofs in the distance that signified we had made it to the village. I saw two large groups of kids from around 8 to late teens running and tussling over the ball on the ground with a stickball stick in each hand. It was kind of funny seeing the contrast of the little kids next to the bigger older boys, but they all seemed to understand some unwritten rule to not be too rough with the younger kids, and to let them have a little bit of a chance of getting the ball.
After the stickball game had ended, the winners of the pageants that day were brought out to demonstrate some dances. I had seen that traditional regalia before, but it looked so pretty outside. The bright colors of the ribbon skirts and medallions seemed highlighted by the bright sun and grass. The dancers gathered in a circle to begin what was called the Raccoon Dance, where a boy would tag a girl, then they would weave in and out of the circle until she tagged him back, then returned to the dance until a different pair started the same process. A singer crooned on in the distance, and the dancers kept perfectly in tempo with his voice.
On the ride home, I didn’t talk much to my nana or little brother. I think we were all pretty exhausted from the day, but it was a good kind of exhausted. I was grateful to have made the trip out to experience it, especially with my family. It was definitely worth the couple of extra hours of sleep I would have had otherwise.