August 26, 2010

Chickasaw tourism center

Chickasaw Nation to open Bricktown tourism center

The Chickasaw Nation is getting ready to open a tourism office and information center in the century-old Bunte Candy Factory Building at 1 E Sheridan.

By Steve Lackmeyer
Bricktown is set to become the "northern gateway” for the Chickasaw Nation as it prepares to open a tourism office and information center in the Bunte Candy Factory Building.

"Bricktown exemplifies the increasingly important role tourism is playing in Oklahoma's economy,” Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby said. "Tourism is also becoming increasingly important in our tribe's business diversification efforts. We believe our presence in Bricktown will provide tremendous economic benefits for the Chickasaw Nation and the state of Oklahoma.”

"We're asked about American Indian culture a lot,” Huntington said. "As Oklahomans, we sometimes take for granted the rich tribal and American Indian culture we have, but it's not lost on our out-of-state and international visitors. And we have those in Bricktown on a regular basis. Our European and Asian visitors in particular are very interested in American Indian culture and history.”
Some background information in a note attached to the article:The Chickasaw Nation is the 13th-largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. Its jurisdictional territory includes more than 7,600 square miles of south-central Oklahoma and features dozens of recreational and tourist attractions. The tribe's newest attraction, which will be featured at the new Bricktown office, is the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur. The venue offers interpretive exhibits and displays of Chickasaw art, culture and history on 109 acres of rolling hills and woodlands adjacent to the mineral waters of Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Other tribal attractions include Riverwind Casino, WinStar World Casinos, numerous smaller casinos, Remington Park racetrack, theaters, golf courses, campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks.Comment:  Interesting that the Cherokees emphasize historical monuments and cultural activities while the Chickasaws emphasize casinos and outdoors activities. Don't the Chickasaws have a strong historical presence in Oklahoma? If not, why not? Because they were merged with the Choctaw Nation for their first few decades in Oklahoma?

To compare Chickasaw tourism with Cherokee tourism, see Tahlequah Named Top 10 True Western Town and Cherokee Capitol is Historic Landmark.

1 comment:

SK said...

Er, that doesn't seem quite accurate. Whoever added that supplement was the one who put the emphasis on casinos, not the Chickasaws. In all the publicity I've seen about the Chickasaw Cultural Center (and I've seen a lot, since I live in the area), this is the first reference to casinos I've heard. The article author does not get a cookie for being unable to research the other culturally significant locations in the Chickasaw nation.

As for the emphasis on the outdoors - that's because the CCC is located right next to Turner Falls, the Arbuckle Mountains, and the Chickasaw National Recreation Area - all pretty big draws. I even recall my class once went on a field trip to the nearby town, Sulphur, to learn about their famous springs. We're talking a full hour's drive, here.