Chickasaw Inkana Foundation

Something exciting is taking shape in the historic Chickasaw Homeland.

The Chickasaw Heritage Center (CHC) is being designed as a place where history, culture, education, nature, and community come together. The multipurpose room and its adjacent catering kitchen will play a key role in that vision. Below, we paired our architectural rendering with a photo of CHC as it is today.

The CHC will open in spring 2027! Join our journey as an Inaugural Charter Member, and your donation will help us protect and interpret Chickasaw history and culture in the historic Homeland for generations to come.

Invest in a legacy. Invest in the Chickasaw Heritage Center
https://www.chickasawheritagecenter.com/

Turtles are sacred in Chickasaw culture and today their shells are used to bring music and rhythm to traditional dances, just as they have throughout Chickasaw history. Dixie Brewer, a dancer for over 20 years and Chickasaw cultural demonstrator, explains that "women are the rhythm keepers for the dances" but those who wear turtle shells are especially knowledgeable about "the leader's song ... and how it should be danced to." Of the three types of shakers (turtle shells, deer toes and cans), turtle shells must be earned. Dixie was taught that "you had to learn how to dance before you could wear the turtle shells because they're so important."

To create the shakers, adult box turtle shells are filled with round, fingertip-sized rocks collected from a running river bed, sometimes from as far as the Homeland. Each shaker's unique sound depends on the amount and size of the rocks inside and holes are drilled along the back of the shell to ensure the music of tumbling rocks is clearly heard. The sacred process of creating turtle shell shakers is time-consuming and labor-intensive, so there are few people today who still make them.

Turtle shell shakers have been a part of Chickasaw culture for a very long time and the art of wearing shells is still passed down today. Dixie's own daughter is one of these young dancers, now wearing her turtles and keeping the tradition alive. There is a variety of opportunities for anyone to learn more about or even participate in traditional Chickasaw dances and songs by visiting the Chickasaw Cultural Center. "We have lost so many of our traditions and pieces of our culture that this is one thing we can't afford to lose," Dixie says. Want to learn more? Click the link below!

Chickasaw.tv | Turtle Shell Shakers Chickasaw cultural demonstrator Dixie Brewer describes the art and everlasting importance of traditional turtle shell shakers.

On Friday, June 12th, Chickasaw Inkana Foundation (CIF) CEO Brady Davis had the pleasure of hosting a Chickasaw Heritage Center (CHC) site visit for the new Natchez Trace Parkway Superintendent, Wendy Ross, and Mandi Toy (Interpretation and Education Manager / acting Chief of Interpretation).

The walk-through allowed the Foundation to showcase the structural progress of Phase I and served to reinforce the strong, collaborative bond between the Foundation and the National Park Service.

Reflecting on the successful meeting, Davis noted, "This was a great opportunity to share our progress with the Parkway as we continue to expand our partnership. As we push toward the grand opening, collaboration with our tribal, federal, state, and municipal partners remains vital to crafting a world-class destination that shares the Chickasaw story. I am excited for what the future holds."

The CIF extends a warm welcome to Superintendent Ross and looks forward to working hand in hand with her team to enhance the cultural and recreational landscape of the historic Chickasaw Homeland.

Did you know that for $250 or more you can join the Chickasaw Heritage Center as an inaugural Charter Member while simultaneously joining the Chickasaw Inkana Foundation membership program?

The inaugural Charter Membership comes with a commemorative Charter Membership coin and a special certificate verifying you as a Charter Member, a complimentary Chickasaw Inkana Foundation membership at a level corresponding with 10% of your total Charter Membership donation, and your name listed on the Chickasaw Heritage Center website! Click the link below to join today!

https://www.chickasawheritagecenter.com/give

"As I'm working on pots, I think about my ancestors," says Chickasaw potter Marcella Yepa. "There's a connection. It really feels like they are there to help me with my pots." Yepa's passion for pottery began at a young age when she helped her grandmother sand and paint her pots. "She taught me a lot about pottery," says Yepa, who began making her own pots at age 19. Now 30 years later, Yepa continues her passion, or as she puts it, "I just love working with clay." Just as her grandmother passed a love for pottery onto her, Yepa hopes to keep the family tradition alive. "I would like to pass my pottery making to my daughter and my granddaughters," says Yepa. "I teach them when they visit me." Want to learn more? Click the link below!

Chickasaw.tv | Turtle Pottery Chickasaw potter Marcella Yepa continues what her grandmother taught her about pottery.

Something beautiful is taking shape in the historic Chickasaw Homeland.

The Chickasaw story is a living narrative, and the Chickasaw Heritage Center’s (CHC) Art Gallery will be the place where that story is painted, woven, and sculpted for the world to see.

Below, we paired our architectural rendering with a shot of CHC Director Brad Deramus standing in the gallery space as it is today. It won’t be long until this room is filled with the incredible work of Chickasaw and Southeastern First American artists.

The Chickasaw Heritage Center will open in early 2027! Join us as an Inaugural Charter Member, and your donation will help us protect and interpret Chickasaw history and culture in the historic Homeland for generations to come.

Let's bring the story home together: https://chickasawheritagecenter.com/

It has been a blessing and my great honor to serve the citizens of the Chickasaw Nation as Governor. After much prayer, thought and discussion with my family, I have decided it is time to retire and entrust leadership to a new generation of dedicated and capable leaders. I will, therefore, resign as Governor, effective at noon on June 26, 2026, and invoke Article XV, Section I of the Chickasaw Nation Constitution, whereby Lt. Governor Chris Anoatubby “shall immediately become Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.”

This moment is bittersweet as I reflect on a lifetime of service to this mighty tribal nation. However, I have full confidence in the servant leaders, currently elected, appointed and employed to continue the momentum we have forged together and stay true to our mission, to enhance the overall quality of life of the Chickasaw people.

The strength of the Chickasaw Nation lives and breathes within every Chickasaw. Chikasha poya – we are Chickasaw, and united, we will continue to thrive.

God bless you and the Chickasaw Nation.