Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival - Sept. 26 - Oct. 4

The 2025 Chickasaw Annual Meeting and Festival, an event celebrating Chickasaw heritage, culture, and traditions, will take place from Friday, September 26, to Saturday, October 4. This year marks a significant milestone, being the 65th Annual Meeting and the 37th Festival. Chickasaws from across the country will attend the week-long event, which commemorates a historic gathering of more than 100 Chickasaws at Seeley Chapel near Connerville, Oklahoma, 65 years ago in 1960.

Key Events and Locations

The festival's highlight is the State of the Nation Address by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, set for 9 a.m. on October 4, at the Aiitafama' Ishto (large meeting place) on the Capitol grounds in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.

Numerous activities will be held at various venues in the Tishomingo, Ada, and Sulphur areas:

• The Chickasaw Princess Pageant, where a Chickasaw Princess, Chickasaw Junior Princess, and Little Miss Chickasaw will be crowned, will be at 6 p.m. on Monday, September 29, at the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center on the East Central University campus in Ada.

• The Chickasaw Cultural Evening will be from 4–8 p.m. on Thursday, October 2, at the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur.

• The 2025 Southeastern Art Show and Market (SEASAM) and SEASAM Youth will be held October 3–4 from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on the Chickasaw Capitol Grounds in Tishomingo. The competition art show and market will feature adult and youth artists from federally recognized Southeastern tribes.

Additional Activities and Information

The area around the Chickasaw Nation Historic Capitol Building will serve as a central hub of activity, offering attendees the chance to learn how to play stickball and try archery, as well as tour historic buildings. The festival will also include a variety of other events:

• A traditional cornstalk shoot

• Coed softball tournaments

• A golf tournament

• Museum tours

• A 5K and 1-mile fun run

• Senior and junior Olympics

• Tournaments for horseshoes, pickleball, and cornhole

• Arts and crafts vendors, a health fair, a parade, entertainment, storytelling, food trucks, and children’s activities.

A complete and detailed schedule, which is subject to change, is available online at AnnualMeeting.Chickasaw.net. Live video streams of the Annual Meeting, the Chickasaw Princess Pageant, and the Arts and Culture Awards ceremony will be available on October 4. Additionally, a live audio stream of the Annual Meeting will air on KCNP.org and on various KCNP FM frequencies.