SULPHUR, Okla. -- The Chickasaw Cultural Center National Learn About Butterflies Day is Tuesday, March 14. Coinciding with the annual Three Sisters Celebration, the cultural center, located at 867 Cooper Memorial Road, will host this event providing an opportunity to learn about native and migrating butterfly species, including monarch butterflies.
Guests are invited to participate in a selection of butterfly-themed activities and cultural demonstrations. These include horticulture activities such as caterpillar cup giveaways, a butterfly tent from the Euchee Butterfly Farm, plant giveaways and planting activities in the Spiral Garden.
A special presentation, “Attracting Butterflies to Your Gardens and Farms using Native Wildflowers” will take place in the Anoli' Theater at 1:15 p.m., followed by the 2012 documentary film, “Flight of the Butterflies” at 3 p.m.
The Chickasaw Cultural Center provides a monarch’s paradise, the Butterfly Garden. The garden is filled with milkweed and other pollinator plants that help to support the butterflies, including the monarch which migrates between the northern United States and Mexico each year.
There are large, colorful butterfly statues and educational panels that highlight the plight of the monarch in the Butterfly Garden, which patrons can visit year-round, along with the more than 45 other gardens at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.
The “Hatulhpushik” (butterfly) is a meaningful creature to the Chickasaw people, representing perseverance and the ability to adapt and change. It is the symbol of the annual Dynamic Women of the Chickasaw Nation Conference.
Since 2015, the Chickasaw Nation has worked with numerous First American tribes to establish 50,000 milkweed plants throughout Oklahoma. This effort increases the availability of food critical to monarch butterfly survival.
National Learn About Butterflies Day is the same day the cultural center begins the Three Sisters Celebration, March 14-18. This annual event observes the changing of the seasons and planting the essential crops of corn, beans and squash.
Collectively, these crops are known as the “three sisters.” They have provided the Chickasaw people with generations of long-term soil fertility and healthy sustenance. Examples of this culturally significant planting method can be seen in various throughout the cultural center campus.
For more information, call (580) 622-7130 or visit ChickasawCulturalCenter.com.
About the Chickasaw Cultural Center
The Chickasaw Cultural Center provides an immersive experience of the rich and vibrant Chickasaw heritage through the Chikasha Inchokka’ Traditional Village, interactive and informative exhibits in the Chikasha Poya Exhibit Center, beautiful sculpture and lush gardens throughout the campus and more. Personal family research is available at the Holisso: The Center for Study of Chickasaw History and Culture.