University of North Texas

Native American Heritage Month will be observed with a display and discussion of Choctaw art and a presentation about the Choctaw tribes by Ian Thompson, archaeologist for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Choctaw artists will present and discuss their work at 11 a.m. Nov. 4 in the University Union, courtyard. Thompson’s presentation will follow at noon in the University Union, One O’Clock Lounge.

UNT boasts one of the largest Native American enrollments in a public Texas university, with more than 400 students enrolled in Spring 2010. The University of Washington has the largest Native American enrollment. 

Right, a young participant at the UNT-hosted 2008 International Indigenous Student Conference on Culture and the Environment.

Thompson, an archaeologist, anthropologist and artist will discuss Chahta Okla. Cha’hta means the people in the Choctaw language and is the name of a legendary Choctaw leader.

Thompson is one of two Choctaw tribal members who is a certified tribal crime scene investigator. He completed training designed to assist with enforcement and prosecution of violators of federal laws which protect archaeological resources and which regulate funerary and cultural items.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is headquartered in Durant. Chocktaw ancestors lived in Mississippi before being relocated to then-Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, after the Indian Repatriation Act of 1830. The group of Choctaw that remained in Mississippi and are now known as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, with a population of about 200,000 enrolled members, operates seven casinos and multiple businesses.