Chickasaws adapt to modern storytelling technology

OKLAHOMA CITY – Native American storytelling is changing with modern technologies.

In ancient times, stories were passed down orally through generations.

At a special presentation June 13, deadCENTER Film Festival participants learned just how advanced Native storytelling has become.

Music, movies, short documentaries and modern art are being used to tell Native American stories. An expert panel of Chickasaw, Choctaw and Kiowa tribal members illustrated the new methods, while Chickasaw storyteller and author Glenda Galvan endorsed the past while embracing the future.

FROM THE BEGINNING

Galvan stood gesturing at a lectern to recount the very beginnings of the Chickasaw Nation. She vividly described how the Chickasaw and Choctaw were once one people and traversed the land of the southeast to find a permanent home using a pole provided by the creator to guide them and a powerful canine to protect and heal them along the journey.

Using oral history handed down to her, Galvan told how the tribe split into separate entities, with the Chickasaw settling in northern Mississippi and the Choctaw in the south.

"This is how Natives communicated the tribe's history and passed down its traditions," Galvan said, adding Natives would address multiple topics, from religion to medicine to parables.

So vast is Galvan's knowledge of Chickasaw oral history, she soon found she too would be compelled into a more modern way of sharing stories. She has written three books aimed at children, all with the main title "Chikasha Stories." Honors have been bestowed upon her work and that of the books' illustrator, Jeannie Barbour, who is Chickasaw as well.

LET THERE BE SONG

For 20 minutes, young Chickasaw musician Zach Garcia showed another way of telling Chickasaw stories – through original music.

Strumming and plucking a cutaway Washburn guitar, Garcia used lyrics, beat, rhythm and repeating musical "loops" from modern electronic gadgetry to tell his stories to a very appreciative crowd. With his eyes closed and a gentle dance-like sway, Garcia captivated. Centuries ago – just as now – Chickasaws used lyrics from a singer and the rhythm of women shell-shakers to bring forth song and worship at stomp dances.

Garcia, only in his early 20s, is just getting started. Another Chickasaw musician, Jerod Tate, is using classical piano and Native languages to tell stories and reach audiences. Tate is well-known in national music circles as a top notch player and composer. His works have been performed by major metropolitan orchestras for several years.

THE POWER OF FILM

An award-winning documentary produced by the Chickasaw Nation was previewed. Leading the Chickasaw Heritage Series, "First Encounter" follows the tribe's initial contact with European explorers in 1540. It was an encounter that ultimately ended in bloodshed. It crippled Hernando de Soto's expedition and ended the folly of plundering "riches" from Native people.

The showing was met with strong audience approval at the deadCENTER festival. It was judged Best Short Documentary at the Trail Dance Film Festival in January and has aired statewide via Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA).

The documentary's director is Phillip Sullivan and he fielded questions from the audience after "First Encounter" was shown. Sullivan's enthusiasm for documentaries and movie-making is engaging. He spoke of how the Chickasaw Nation prepared to shoot the film, where it was shot and told of the positive reception it has received.

Movie-making is not new to the Chickasaw Nation. It has dedicated itself to the medium to tell tribal stories and showcase important tribal citizens.

It released its first film in 2010. "Pearl" told the remarkable story of a 13-year-old Chickasaw girl who became the youngest licensed pilot in the United States. She later worked as a stunt pilot, learning to soar under the supervision of famed Oklahoma aviator and inventor Wiley Post.

Buoyed by critical acclaim for its first film endeavor, the Chickasaw Nation embarked upon a second feature film in the summer 2014.

Talented nationally-known actors – including one nominated for an Oscar for "Dances With Wolves" – ventured to the Chickasaw Nation to begin shooting "Te Ata."

The movie chronicles the early life and career of Te Ata Thompson Fisher, a famed Chickasaw storyteller and actress. Mrs. Fisher was so beloved she was selected for induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1957; was named the first "Oklahoma Treasure" in 1987 and was honored by the tribe as a 1990 inductee into the Chickasaw Hall of Fame.

Currently in post-production, the film stars Academy Award nominee Graham Greene, movie and television star Gil Birmingham and Q'Orianka Kilcher in the title role.