Tour of historic Burney Institute evokes many emotions

Linda Briggs Chickasaw Tribal Legislature

Greetings!

The holidays are upon us! We have so much to be thankful for, those of us who are Chickasaw.

While it is not possible to provide the same level of services to our citizens outside the boundaries of the Nation, we are moving at a steady pace toward providing much needed assistance in ways that we are able. Education is forefront and that program is constantly being expanded. At the Annual Meeting the Governor announced that ten million dollars has been set aside for the exclusive benefit of citizens who live outside the Nation. In a visit with the Governor last week, be advised that he will very shortly be presenting his ideas to the Legislature regarding the use of those funds. Every effort will be make, of course, to benefit the most people that we possibly can with the money. And the intention is that as the Tribe continues to prosper, programs that are possible to provide to citizens living outside the Nation will also be expanded.

Last week we in the Legislature had a great experience - we were allowed entrance into the Burney Institute which was built in 1854 and was a school for Indian children. There are two buildings, one is a three-story brick building and the other is wood. The wood building was originally three stories but the family that has owned the property for generations had removed the top two floors and reshaped the roof. In the brick building, which is the one used for the school, the original blackboards are still on the walls and even in a few instances writing on the blackboards could be discerned. The brick building stands straight but is probably not structurally sound. However, we have the opportunity to acquire the property and it would be the oldest of our historical acquisitions should we do so. My full-blood grandmother attended the school as a young girl and the sense of history when in the building became very personal and was almost overwhelming. I am so hopeful we will be able to purchase the property and to preserve it for future generations to see.

National Young Readers Day was a couple of weeks ago and it was my great pleasure to read to children at the Turner School in Love County where I reside (Pickens District). I wore tradition tribal regalla including loaned completely beaded moccasins. The moccasins belong to Lori Hamilton who at one time was a Chickasaw Princess and they were made by our great Chickasaw artisan Harold Stick. The book I read was a traditional Chickasaw story and was recommended by the Governor. (He gave me two of the books to present to the school library).

I asked the students how many of them were Chickasaw and almost half of the children in the room raised their hands. Then I asked for Choctaws and almost all the rest were Choctaw. (Remember - originally this was Choctaw Territory and a lot of Choctaws still live in the areas as part of the land had already been allotted to them when the Chickasaws purchased it from the Choctaws).

The students enjoyed the event but I was the real winner that day!

My wish for all of you is that you holidays will be all that you dream and hope they will be. Take great care if you travel!