For centuries the
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
Choctaws
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people ar ...
have gathered at the ripening of the first
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
. This gathering was called "The New Corn Ceremony" or "
Green Corn Festival." The present day "Choctaw Indian Fair" has roots in this ancient celebration.
The Fair has long been a time for Choctaws to gather and pay homage to their traditions and heritage but it has also emerged as an opportunity for the Tribe to welcome visitors to the reservation and share their way of life.
Choctaw ancestors have left behind a rich legacy that includes:
*
basketry
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
*
beadwork
Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary ...
* clothing
* dancing
* drumming
* foods
* hunting
*
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
*
legends
A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief.
Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to:
Narrative
* Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth
* A fictitious identity used in espionage
Books, co ...
*
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
*
quilting
Quilting is the term given to the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. ...
*
stickball (Native American)
Indigenous North American stickball is a team sport typically played on an open field where teams of players with two sticks each attempt to control and shoot a ball at the opposing team's goal. It shares similarities to the game of lacrosse. In ...
* striking sticks
Even though the Fair has been around for many years, the Mississippi Choctaw say that the fair began to evolve into the Annual Fair it has become in 1949. The Choctaw Princess Pageant was not added to the fair until 1955 when Patsy Sam (Buffington) was crowned as the first Choctaw Princess.
Nashville-style country music became part of the Choctaw Indian Fair in the 1960s when Nashville stars such as Chet Atkins, Connie Smith, Lester Flatt, Mac Wiseman, Jerry Reed, Johnny Gimble, Pig Robbins, and Merle Travis noticed what the Choctaws were doing with their Annual Fair. Each of these performers performed for free at the fair as a tribute to the Choctaw Nation and in support of the fair. In the 1970s, paid performers were added to the Fair and now the last three nights of the Fair include paid country music performers.
Another important element of the annual fair has been a reemergence of the traditional dances of the Choctaw. In the 1970s, an effort began to revive many of the traditional dances of the Choctaw that were no longer being danced. Because of the renewed interest in traditional dance brought about by the Annual Fair, each morning and afternoon dance groups from different communities perform for fairgoers. Many of the dance groups now make paid appearances outside the reservation. The Choctaw dance performed at the Annual Fair is seen as an authentic expression of the ancient Choctaw traditional culture and gives people who attend the fair a glimpse into that culture.
Along with music and dance, many Choctaw artists display their bead work, baskets, drums, and other art during the Fair. At many of the artists' tables, fairgoers will see the skills of the artist being passed down traditionally as there will be two or three generations of the same family working on projects.
The 2021 Choctaw Indian Fair will take place 14–17 July, as the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
caused 2020's cancellation.
External links
Choctaw Indian Fair
Choctaw culture
Annual fairs
Fairs in the United States
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