The Chickasaw Inkana Foundation is excited to announce that Mr. Robert Parker has been named the Director of the Chickasaw Heritage Center. Mr. Parker is a 22-year public history veteran, spending 17 years with the National Park Service. He has served in a variety of positions, most notably as the acting superintendent of the Charles Young Buffalo Soldier National Monument, as well as the chief of interpretation, education and cultural resources at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park. Robert also has experience bridging gaps between city, state and federal agencies. He was responsible for leading and managing startup operations at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park, where he worked with state partners, architects and contractors on the construction of a 16,000 square foot visitor center and administration building. Most recently, Robert was the director of exhibits, education and visitor services at the United States Navy Memorial Foundation, where he developed new exhibit concepts, including planning, design, fabrication installation and maintenance. He also managed the museum’s collections. The Chickasaw Inkana Foundation is happy to have him join our team to manage the Chickasaw Heritage Center project. 

During 2019 the Chickasaw Inkana Foundation hosted two Chickasaw cultural celebrations.  This year’s celebrations included demonstrations of traditional Chickasaw dances, flute playing, and stickball. Also included were face painting, archaeology, a weapons and tools station, as well as, academic presentations on Chickasaw history. The first celebration was held September 4^th at the Natchez Trace Parkway headquarters in Tupelo, Mississippi. Over 100 visitors attended the event, participated in activities and listened to Raymond Doherty speak about George and Salichi Colbert, and Stan Nelson speak on the famous Chickasaw leader, Piominko.

Hosted on September 6^th in Pontotoc, Mississippi, just south of town square at the recently completed First Choice Pavilion, the second celebration of the year was the first ever held in Pontotoc. With over 250 people in attendance, the celebration began with a formal welcome to the Chickasaw Nation from Mayor Bob Peeples. Many people participated in the activities and listened to Stanley Nelson who again spoke about Piominko.  The 2019 celebrations were featured in Invitation Tupelo and can be found at the following link: http://www.invitationmag.com/post/native-american-heritage-month

The Chickasaw Inkana Foundation is thankful for our partnerships with the Chickasaw Nation, Natchez Trace Parkway and the City of Pontotoc, Mississippi which help us preserve, protect and interpret Chickasaw history and culture.

The Chickasaw Inkana Foundation would like to welcome our new Interim Executive Director Brady Davis. Brady is the former director of Homeland Affairs for the Chickasaw Nation’s Division of Heritage Preservation. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master’s of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Brady is passionate about preserving, protecting and promoting Chickasaw history, culture and heritage sites in the Chickasaw Homeland.  He lives in Tupelo, Mississippi with his wife Cristina, an educator, and their two young children Ethan and Hannah.