tommywalnuts-My Self Sufficient Journal: Rural, Urban, and back again

[tommywalnuts]

shareneh

My wife is Chickasaw/Seminole/Creek/Choctaw. I/m part Chickasaw. The kids dance a lot of powows here in OK, and are invited to perform at a lot of social functions, schools, etc. They dance Chickasaw traditional and stomp dance, and a couple of them want to branch out into the jingle dresses, and John kinda wants to do fancy dance.
Chickasaws don't really have a rez...the south central portion of OK is the Chickasaw Nation, which covers about 8 or so counties(Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee do it the same here also). To the west is The Comanche Nation, which is a reservation(there is also Sac-Fox, Pottawatamie, and Shawnee close by).

 

[shareneh]

I am half white, 1/4 sioux and 1/4 chippewa. My husband is sioux and my children from another marriage are sioux.

I look more white than native but my kids have their beautiful sioux genes. My grandkids are mostly sioux as well.

My Husband's family practices the native traditional customs and native church ways. I am a christian and also pray with them in the sweatlodge when I can.

We all live on or near the reservation.

 

[tommywalnuts]

Yeah, we go to an Indian church here as well. However, from time to time we visit a medicine man for various things also(house cleansing, purification). We teach our kids both the Christian path, but also native ways...I don't want them to lose that. A lot of the old ways fall in perfectly with SS.
Ya'll do 49's after powow up that away(or is that an Okie thing lol)?

Have a good one

T

 

[shareneh]

We do have people who have 49's after the pow wow, usually though it's only after the big pow wow in Bismarck. I have never been to one since I was old enough to say I wasn't going. My mom used to drag me to them. I have always been the kid with the stick up her butt. I don't like parties of any sort. My hubby hasn't gone to any since weve been married, not because I've diagreed with them just because he doesn't like to be away from me for too long. I also work in law enforcement so I don't dare go to places where people know me and have been drinking.

I do think that the 49 and songs are an important part of our culture.

Do you guys live on the rez or nearby? What kind of work does your wife do?

 

[tommywalnuts]

We rent a house in town right now. Where I grew up was Choctaw land; not an official rez, but same situation, Indian homes and such. My wife grew up in similiar circumstances in the Seminole area. Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole are all kinda sister tribes(at least around here), meaning all the tribal govern-ment , housing, etc generally work the same.
My wife used to manage casino money rooms, first for Seminole then Chickasaw casinos. She designed and controled the money room for Winstar, which is one of the largest casinos in the world, owned by the Chickasaws. When the kids came to live with us, she bacame a full time homemaker. She does beadwork and regalia on the side though, and we have a booth sometimes at powows. I build metal buildings for a local company.

 

[Okiemommy]

Weather is getting interesting near you now

 

[Okiemommy]

Looks like there is a tornado near on the NW side of Ardmore now. Be safe.

 

[tommywalnuts]

The tornado hit Lone Grove, about 5-8 miles west. We could see the tornado on the horizon in lightening flashes! Its come a good thunderstorm here in Ardmore now. Gotta love Okie weather, really a sight to see .

 

[Okiemommy]

ah Thank God. I was wondering about ya'all. Channel 4 is saying that the Tornado is half a mile wide. Oh my God I hope everyone stays safe.

 

[tommywalnuts]

pic of hook echo on radar