~~~Honoring Our Ancestors~~~ Prior to European encroachment into the ancestral Choctaw lands, many rituals and practices flourished before the 1800s. We have forgotten much with our modern focus on candy and costumes and Halloween. The word Halloween comes from “Hallow”, meaning sacred or revered, such as the hallowed grounds, or hallowed halls of our ancestors. … Continue reading Choctaw Feast of the Dead
Three Generations of Folsom Women Answer the Clarion Call In this blog we go back all the way to 1832 and the great heartbreak for the Choctaw people when they had to desert their cherished homelands and take the Long Walk westward to a wilderness that one day would become the great Choctaw Nation. I … Continue reading Folsom Women Answer the Clarion Call –Part 1
Are you within six degrees of Mrs. Pyron? With such an endearing nickname, you would think that everyone knew all about her. Maybe that was true once upon a time - but even with the internet, it has been real effort to dig out her story. I first learned of “Grandma Pyron” when Augusta Tucker mentioned her … Continue reading Tracking Down Grandma Pyron
In HONOR of one of THE GRANDMOTHERS Elsie Beams Roebuck, 1800-1863 Elsie’s ordeal on the Trail of Tears and struggle in the primitive new lands of the Choctaw were deftly described in a story by her great-granddaughter, Josephine Usray Latimer, a hundred years later. We honor Elsie's desire and commitment for a better life for … Continue reading A Journey Almost Beyond Endurance
Imagine never meeting a lonely young soldier in the midst of war. Imagine not learning about a love that persists from childhood and endures through the upheaval of the Choctaw culture. Imagine not knowing about a wife’s unwavering love in the midst of a desolate wilderness with no one to help her. Josie gathered … Continue reading A Trio of Love Stories, Part 2; Cupids Arrow
Choctaw Journeys into the Past 