Video: Nanih Waiya Day Celebrations

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NANIH WAIYA, Miss. (WCBI)- Hundreds gathered at Nanih Waiya Mound in Winston County Friday.  The observance brought visitors and the Choctaw Indians together in celebration of their heritage.  Sounds from the not so distant past are uttered during a day long event. Among the participants engaged in a walk dance around the sacred burial mound, Phyliss J. Anderson, the first female chief of the Choctaw Nation.

 “You know we have had people here for centuries. And the celebration draws us back here because we know that this was the beginning, and that this is our home land,” said Chief Anderson.

Its been a tradition, maybe not as long as the Choctaw people themselves, but on every second Friday of August time is set aside to celebrate the unique and interesting heritage. Complete with dialogue of an oral history from a woman elder, the indian holiday marks another anniversary observing the return of the mound to the Choctaw people in 2007 by the State of Mississippi.

 “We are never able to find the exact time when this mound was built but it is within our heart of the Choctaw people. And its just something we are very respectful of,” said Chief Anderson.

This Choctaw holiday has become a way to pass on information of the history of a people embraced by all of us.

 “This is how we continue our traditions and our culture, is that we pass it on year by year, day by day to our little ones. And by being a part here you get an understanding of what its all about. And as you grow older you share that with your children. And it just continues,” said Chief Anderson.

The Inaugural All-Star Stickball Games were held at Warrior Stadium on the Choctaw Central High School campus.