Choctaw Cultural Services Joins Red Earth Treefest

Photo by Shelley Garner/Choctaw Nation

The Choctaw Nation Cultural Services Department is sponsoring a tree covered in hand-crafted ornaments for the Choctaw Nation in Red Earth Treefest 2017 in Oklahoma City.

DURANT – The Choctaw Nation Cultural Services Department is again sponsoring a tree for the Choctaw Nation in the annual Red Earth Treefest 2017 in Oklahoma City.

“The cultural team participated last year and had once again created a beautiful seasonal display focused on Choctaw culture and heritage,” said Shelley Garner, Choctaw Nation Cultural Service Department.

Treefest, a unique holiday exhibit, runs through Jan. 5, 2018, at the Red Earth Art Center, located at 6 Santa Fe Plaza, in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City. Admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“This year’s Choctaw tree is around the Choctaw Nation values of ‘Faith, Family, and Culture,” said Garner, adding that the decorating team of Malinda Steve, Kay Jackson, Debbie Damron and Nicole Narcomey also helped make the original ornaments. The Choctaw tree features the colors red, green, white and gold. Hand-crafted showcasing Choctaw beading, basketry, and traditional cornhusk dolls that adorn the tree.

Red Earth furnished the undecorated trees. When finished, the exhibit features 25 Christmas trees showcasing the diverse Native American cultures of Oklahoma. The ornaments tell the story of each tribe’s history, culture, traditions, and individuality. In addition to Choctaw, tribes represented this year are Absentee Shawnee, Caddo, Cherokee, Cheyenne and Arapaho, Chickasaw, Citizen Potawatomi, Comanche, Delaware, Kaw, Muscogee Creek, Osage, Otoe Missouria, Sac & Fox, Kiowa, Peoria, Quapaw, and Pawnee.

For more than 35 years Red Earth Inc. has been recognized as a leading multicultural resource in Oklahoma for advancing the understanding and continuation of traditional and contemporary Native culture and art.

For information about Treefest 2017, visit www.redearth.org or call Eric Oesch, 405-427-5228; also Shelley Garner, Choctaw Nation Cultural Services Department, sgarner@choctawnation.com or 580-924-8280, ext. 2377.