Chickasaw Heritage Center work on schedule for late 2026 opening
The center represents the "journey home" for the Chickasaw and their nation, which encompassed much of Northeast Mississippi, northwest Alabama, west Tennessee and southwest Kentucky before the U.S. Government forced them west in the 1830s. During the height of the nation, the Tupelo area was located at the heart of it.
Brady Davis is the CEO of the nonprofit Chickasaw Inkana Foundation, which started in 2014 with a mission to preserve, protect and interpret the Chickasaw history and culture.
"The vision for the center has been 40 years in the making," Davis said. "There were individuals here in the 1980s that wanted some type of Chickasaw cultural center, and there was some funding provided by the Mississippi Department of Archives, and Jamie Joyner our current chairperson was involved in that."
Also during that time, a Harvard archeologist surveyed the area for more than two years and found more than 1,500 sites. Five sites were identified on the 160-acre site where the CHC is under construction.
"It's extremely important that groups are allowed to tell their story and how they experienced it," Davis said. "There have been a lot of attempts in the region to share Chickasaw history and culture, and a lot of them have been very valuable and meaningful. We have a lot of great smaller regional museums, and they've done a good job with that. But we feel it's important to have the Chickasaw perspective, and what better place than the heart of their homeland from where they were removed in 1837?"
The facility will include a reconstructed village area and other attractions. The project is divided into two phases. The first includes the atrium, lobby, art gallery, multipurpose room, catering kitchen, gift shop, collections management, administrative offices and a plaza. Phase 2 will have a theater, cafe and additional space for exhibits. Davis said there will be a playground and trails throughout the property that connect to the Natchez Trace Parkway trails.
The construction of the first phase of facility is expected to be complete by late 2026, and Phase II to begin shortly after.
Between local, state, Chickasaw Nation, the foundation and business and individual donations, the project has raised more than $44 million in funding, including $16 million from the Chickasaw Nation, $16 million from the state of Mississippi, $1 million from form the Tupelo CVB and nearly $1 million raised by the foundation locally in personal donations. The foundation also pledged $10 million to cover costs.
"The original project was supposed to be only $32 million, and then of course COVID and then inflation, and the project cost swelled well over $50 million, and now we're sitting at $60 million for everything," Brady said.
Enough money has been raised to fully complete the first phase of the project and into Phase 2. The hope is that the rest of the funding for Phase 2 will be secured by the time for the first-phase ribbon cutting ceremony planned for November 2026.
Brady is also working with several companies for sponsorships and naming opportunities.
The site will have two entrances — one off the Natchez Trace Parkway, and the other is Browning Road of West Jackson Street.
Construction is on schedule, with the slab of the facility is expected to be poured in June followed by the steel framework.
"We're looking at hiring our first staff in October for the center, and Brad Deramus is the director of the Chickasaw Heritage Center," Davis said. "For over 20 years he's worked for Chickasaw Nation and was director of operations of the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulfur, Oklahoma."
Sarah McCullough is development and tourism manager, and has several years of experience with the Mississippi Development Authority and international business development. She spent several years with Visit Mississippi, the tourism arm of MDA, focusing on cultural heritage tourism.
"The impact of cultural heritage tourism on the local economy goes far beyond just one site; it also creates a great amenity that makes a community attractive," she said.
Additionally, the expected economic impact of the CHC is up to $6 million a year.
Davis has been working closely with Deramus with content development for the Chickasaw Heritage Center and about 90% of the exhibit hall content has been collected.
"We're coming here to honor our ancestors and make new friends along the way to be on this journey with us," he said.
The center, Davis said, is "about who we are, how we see ourselves in the world; come learn about us from our perspective. Learn about our language, how we dress, our food ... it's not just a bunch of names and dates. We want to interweave culture and history ... we want people to come out of here with an understanding about Chickasaw strength and resilience, adaptability and a strong connection with the Chickasaw people today."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Yahoo
Head of top Welsh independent school steps down after more than 30 years
The headteacher of one of Wales' best known and oldest independent schools has retired after 33 years. Sally Davis said she shed tears as she left Howell's School in Llandaff where she has spent half her life. Over more than three decades at the school Sally, 66, saw Howell's transform from an all-girls boarding school to a day school admitting boys. During her career Sally, who grew up in Newport, navigated huge social changes from social media to the effects of the pandemic and smartphones on teaching and the lives of her pupils and staff. You can read more about results at Wales' independent schools here READ MORE: Welsh exam board gave 1,500 students the wrong GCSE grades READ MORE: Schools don't do enough to tell pupils about an alternative form of education The former geography teacher came to Howell's aged 33 after 10 years teaching in tough inner city comprehensive schools in London where she was also deputy head of a state technology college. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here. Arriving at the fee charging school as deputy head Sally only ever intended to stay for a few years but said "Howell's gets into your bones - it's like a family". She has been headteacher of the now 600-pupil school for 17 years. Sally, whose father was a butcher, attended Bassaleg Comprehensive before heading to Bedford College, London University, telling her parents: "I won't be back from the bright lights of London." But as time went on she said "hireath" called her home to Wales and she applied for the job at Howell's with no experience of fee-paying independent schools. "It was a culture shock arriving at Howell's. It was fabulous but very different and new. "I arrived and it was just a joy to teach because in London it had been all about behaviour control. "I thought I would stay two years or so at Howell's but it gets into your bones - the buildings and people are fantastic." When Sally arrived at the 165-year-old school in Llandaff it had around 700 pupils, all girls, 15 of whom were boarders. Since then it has become a day school only, began admitting boys into the sixth form 20 years ago and opened a nursery, reception and year one class. Other social changes meant after school provision was also introduced and sixth formers no longer have to wear uniforms. Many of the Howell's parent are key workers and during the pandemic the school remained open as well as running online remote lessons. Sally came in every day during Covid and said, despite the dark times of the pandemic, the school community pulled together. The need to rapidly go online transformed teaching for the better in some ways meaning that remote learning can still be accessed if people cannot come in owing to illness or bad weather. Equally, social media and smartphones had pros and cons, she says. Smartphones are banned up to sixth form with pupils told to store them in specially locked pouches during the day. But access to the internet has also helped teaching and learning, she said. During her last year in charge at Howell's Sally, who is married with children and grandchildren, had to deal with the impact of VAT charges on school fees. She said Howell's is lucky that as part of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) – a group of 26 schools – it benefits from the scale, resources, and efficiencies of a larger network. That meant Howell's managed to mitigate the full financial impact of the tax change. It increased fees, inclusive of VAT, by 12% in January this year, while absorbing the remaining 8% the government charges. The effects of VAT on private schools. From September fees will rise by 2.95% but Sally points out it took other measures to cushion costs for families such as providing free pre and after school care. The school also funds various bursaries and scholarships which she is proud of. Howell's was established in 1860 at the bequest of Thomas Howell, a Welsh merchant trading in Bristol, London and Seville, who willed 12,000 gold ducats to the Drapers' Company to provide dowries "every yere for Maydens for ever" and those funds are still used towards bursaries and scholarships . After her own education and working the first 10 years of her career in the state sector, Sally is aware that some people feel fee paying education is divisive, but she believes independent schools do have an important place in society and education. And after so long at the school she is sorry to go but wanted to leave while she still loved it. "I have always found teaching exciting. Technology advances during my time as a teacher has had benefits. "During my time at Howell's I always wanted to go in and was never bored. "It was a tough decision to retire. I have been half my life here. I was 66 in July. "But the time to leave is when you are still enjoying the party. "It is an emotional thing to leave a school. It sounds corny but Howell's is like a family. "Teachers change lives and it is a privilege to teach. "I did shed a tear when i left, there is no doubt about it." Sally will be back briefly on exam results days later this month. After that she is looking forward to spending more time with her husband Julian, who works at St David's College in Cardiff, their two adopted grown up children and their grandchildren. Laura Beynon will succeed Sally when term starts in is currently senior deputy head of Redmaids' High School, an independent school for girls in Bristol. She is also a geographer and studied geography at Durham University and a PGCE at Cambridge.
Dominion Post
12-07-2025
- Dominion Post
Patricia Ann Swiger
Patricia Ann Swiger, 79, of Clarksburg, WV, passed away on Thursday, July 10, 2025 at home with her family by her was born on November 13, 1945 in Clarksburg, a daughter of the late Ruben F. and Betty L. Bennett addition to her parents Patricia was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years, William M. Swiger on July 23, 2016; son, Raymond Dodd Jr.; sister, Shelia Marino; and son-in-law, Chris Swiger is survived by four daughters: Kimberly L. Furbee (David) of Clarksburg, Sharon Dodd (companion Kevin Patterson) of Clarksburg, Vicki Mason of VanCleave, MS, and Stella Palmer (Mark) of Loris, SC; sister Cheryl Hinerman (Robert) of Blacksville, WV; 10 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; uncle James Bennett of Clarksburg; and two nephews: Richard Little II (Elizabeth) of Morgantown and Marty Webb (Kathleen) of attended grade school and high school in Lumberport, where she was in the EagleLettes in high was Past Matron and Deputy Instructor in Queen Esther #11 Clarksburg, Past High Priestess of Tefnet Court #87 Ladies Oriental Shrine Clarksburg (LOSNA), Member of HillBilly Shriners of Parkersburg, Life Member Ladies Auxiliary VFW Post #573 Clarksburg, Women of the Moose Chapter #409, American Legion Auxiliary Post #68 Bridgeport and Ladies Auxiliary Fraternal Order of Eagles #2353 enjoyed shopping and loved spending time with her grandchildren and enjoyed traveling with her sister Cheryl for LOSNA functions and was always there to help with fundraising for the Shriners Hospital for lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to Shriners Children's Hospital 110 Conn Terrace Lexington, KY 40508 in memory of Patricia and friends will be received at Davis-Weaver Funeral Home 329 E. Main Street Clarksburg, WV, on Monday, July 14, 2025 from 3 to 8 p.m. An Eastern Star Service will begin that evening at 6:30 p.m. conducted by Order of the Eastern Star Queen Esther #11 and LOSNA Tefnet Court #87 Services will be conducted at the funeral home on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 at 11 a.m. with Rev. Timothy Sandy presiding. Interment will follow at Floral Hills Memorial Gardens. Online condolences, The Davis-Weaver Funeral Home is honored to serve the Swiger Family during their time of need.
CNBC
26-06-2025
- CNBC
Use the '25 1-minute parenting rule' to get your kids to open up: 'You can learn something and not overload' them, psychologist says
It can be tough to get kids to talk to you about what's bothering them, but it can be less difficult if you have shorter, consistent conversations with them, says child psychologist J. Timothy Davis. When your child is experiencing issues like challenges at school or difficulty expressing their emotions, Davis suggests the "25 1-minute parenting rule": Brief chats about an issue over time, instead of one long conversation about the topic. It can be even more effective for communicating with boys, he says. "What I found over the years of working with kids and parents is if you break a big conversation down into little chunks where you learn something, that then becomes the start of the next conversation," says Davis, author of "Challenging Boys: A Proven Plan for Keeping Your Cool and Helping Your Son Thrive." "You can get to where you want to go ultimately, but just in a way that's going to be much more successful." Having lengthy discussions with children can overload them and cause them to get emotionally overwhelmed, he explains. This can be especially true when they're younger and more prone to losing focus. Your talks don't have to be exactly one-minute long, but sticking to three to eight minutes is a good rule of thumb, Davis says. Spacing out the conversations throughout the day or week allows you and your child to process the emotions that may come up before you reconvene. "Sometimes you might start a conversation with your kid, and they're really opening up, and it's going great. You've got to override the urge to try to maximize the moment," Davis says. "That's the moment where you really want to tune in to their emotions to make sure that you don't take it too far [and] make it a negative experience. It's better to end with less on the table and everybody feeling good than to have squeezed every possible bit of openness out of that one interaction." Consider these three things when you're trying the 25 1-minute parenting rule: Let's say you received an email about your child not turning in their math assignments, Davis says. Here's an example of how you can use this format to get your kid to open up to you about it. Parent: "I got an email from your teacher saying you haven't been turning in some math assignments. What's up?" Child: "Math is stupid. Can I go?" From this first chat, you can gauge that your child may be having a difficult time with math and may feel uncomfortable with it. A follow-up could be: Parent: "Hey, I've been thinking about what you said about math being stupid. I can remember math being pretty hard sometimes." Child: "Yeah, she makes you show your work." From those two short discussions alone, you would be able to learn that your child doesn't struggle with math but struggles to understand why showing their work is necessary. This approach is much better than chastising your child about not turning in their assignments because you get to the root of the problem. With "these low-stress, little conversations, you can learn something and not overload your kids, so you're creating a positive association to opening up rather than a negative," Davis says.
