Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science senior Chloe Wesley grew up on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ reservation in the central part of the state, surrounded by her family, culture and stories of her heritage.
Last year, when Chloe moved to Columbus to attend MSMS, she noticed a change.
“Every school I went to before this on the reservation, it was all strictly Native Americans,” Chloe said. “Being a part of that majority and then going to a school where you’re part of the minority is a really big adjustment and it was a struggle. But I wanted to make it an opportunity.”
On Wednesday, the MSMS Indigenous Student Alliance, led by Chloe and her co-president Iysiahs York, brought small pieces of their culture to the city with a Native American Heritage Month Celebration including Choctaw regalia, storytelling and dancing.
York, during a speech to kick off the event, also expressed feeling disconnected from his culture while he has been at MSMS. But he said he hopes the celebration would help others to understand him and his culture better.
“Not only does this show who we are and where we come from, but it brings everyone in,” York said. “They’re seeing a side to us that they don’t normally see at MSMS. That’s truly what we wanted to invoke with the Indigenous Students Alliance and with the showcase.”
“Bringing everyone in” was most prominent during the evening’s dancing, when the Choctaw Alla Youth Council, a volunteer youth leadership group from MBCI, demonstrated traditional Choctaw dances to the crowd.
While some dances, like the Turkey Dance and the Fast War Dance were just performed by youth council members, others like the Snake Dance and Stealing Partners involved crowd participation, drawing in almost 50 dancers at a time including the council and MSMS students.
Jay Wesley, Chloe’s father and the department director for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, led the dances by chanting. His voice was the only instrument used to provide music to the crowd. He said teaching these dances to others is valuable to remind others that Native Americans are still present in the area and across the country.
“Hopefully it’s a little bit more information so others start questioning and start learning,” Jay said. “Choctaw is just one culture and there are a lot of cultures out there. Hopefully we can plant a seed there and they can do their part in their community.”
Nisa King, academic administrative assistant for MSMS and the club’s sponsor, also expressed that the celebration was a good reminder that Native American culture is still significant to this day. King and her father’s family are members of the Blackfoot tribe.
King said she is sad to see so little recognition of Native American culture in communal spaces, generally. She hoped the celebration helped bring people who are often “left out of the conversation” into the spotlight.
“It’s unfortunate that there are not more (Native Americans),” King said. “It’s very unfortunate that if you do look into the history, a lot of the Native population currently have lost their history due to various reasons, but the Anglicized church … forcibly assimilated them into Christian … culture. So they’ve lost a lot of their traditions and everything that comes with it.”
Chuck Yarborough, U.S. history teacher at MSMS, was also asked to speak at the celebration. He said it was exciting to see students drive a celebration of Native American heritage, as “sharing and understanding a more complete version of our history empowers us.”
While there were many reasons expressed for celebrating Native American heritage on Friday, York emphasized that by sharing his culture with his fellow students, he was sharing himself.
“I have found the person I am today through my Indigenous identity,” York said. “Being Native American is home and a remedy for my soul. Why wouldn’t anyone want to know about it?”
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