Stickball: "Not Just A Ball Game"

Muscogee officials on hand for park dedicationA bronze sculpture titled “Not Just A Ball Game” was added to the list of Oklahoma Centennial projects for the city of Tulsa this year on Dec. 19. The sculpture features three Native American youth playing stickball, which is a traditional game with ceremonial significance in Native American (Mvskoke) culture. A plaque near the sculpture explains how stickball is “Not Just A Game” to some ceremonial grounds. The ballpole itself is sometimes recognized as a religious symbol, and some even call it a prayer pole.

[Muscogee (Creek) Nation Cultural Advisor Tim Thompson] read the inscription on the monument in Mvskoke and gave a brief history of the game itself, describing how the ball-pole is cut and erected in a sacred ceremonial manner. According to elder Eunice Hill of Nuyaka, only certain people can place the pole. Presently, out of sixteen remaining ceremonial grounds, less than half still have the traditional East-West games annually.