Tradition Is A Living Thing
No matter how much life changes for the Choctaw people, one constant remains - their traditional culture. It weaves its way through the lives of its people, like a pattern in a basket or the steps of a dance. Though the methods and tools used to carry out some of these traditions may change over time, the vital role it plays in community life will always stay the same. It serves as a link to generations long ago and creates a path for generations to come.
A Vital Aspect Of Community Life
Social dance, stickball, basket making, traditional clothing, foodways are some of the ways the Choctaw keep traditions alive. These cultural traditions are places where the generations intersect. They pass down language, patterns, recipes, and dance steps, but they do so much more. These are the places and events where wisdom is handed down, community is built, and the next generation is reminded what it means to be Choctaw.
A symbol of Adversity
The Flag represents the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Tribal Government as a sovereign government, organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, with a Constitution and Bylaws voted in by the Choctaw people and approved by the Federal government in 1945. It serves the purpose of representing the Tribe’s long history of survival in the face of adversity. The color red represents the blood of Choctaw people shed in the battles of the past; white, the purity of the tribal culture; and blue, the future prosperity of the Tribe.
