November is National Native American Heritage Month, and as the name implies, it is a time to celebrate First American culture, language and history.
One way in which Chickasaw citizen Branden Hart has contributed to the history and continuation of Chickasaw culture is by virtue of his photographic work for the AYA fitness app.
“AYA” is the Chickasaw word for “to go,” and go Hart did, backtracking along the entire circa 1830s Removal route.
“I was contracted by the Chickasaw Nation to capture photographs for the AYA app to fill each of the 25 different heritage sites from Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to Memphis, Tennessee, to Tupelo, Mississippi,” Hart said.
The two-week journey had a profound effect on his sense of heritage.
“When you do something like that, if you have any kind of heart, passion or connection with your ancestors, you can’t help but want to be closer and be a part of telling that story. That project really inspired me,” he said.
Hart is also a former Chickasaw Nation employee who worked with the Chickasaw Nation Department of Culture and Humanities as a graphic designer and later as a digital producer for Chickasaw Press, contributing to “Chokma Chickasaw Magazine” and many virtual programming videos and documentaries.
“It was truly a blessing to work in the same hall of the humanities building as our language revitalization department. I could hear elders singing the hymns down the hall. I could hear them speak, see them and have coffee with them. They are wonderful, wonderful people.”
He said he considers that association one of the greatest blessings of his life.
Hart also produced trailers for Chickasaw Press book releases, akin to those used to promote new movie releases.
He will soon graduate from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in humanities and minors in creative writing and digital media.
“One of the reasons I went back to school is to learn about filmmaking, screenwriting and storytelling as a way of communicating our history on our terms, accurately and effectively.
“I am grateful to have been a part of the Holba' Pisachi' Native Film Festival at the Chickasaw Cultural Center. Fran Parchcorn (Executive Officer of the Chickasaw Cultural Center) was a huge part of that. She has kept in touch with me and been a sounding board. She’s given me great guidance and let me be a part of the film festival this past year with my first short film.”
Hart’s film features a college student studying in the library at what he characterizes as the epicenter of knowledge, Harvard University, when the faint sound of a drumbeat draws her attention.
“She’s gaining knowledge,” Hart said, “but what kind of knowledge?”
Seeking the drumbeat’s source takes her to a window and then outside to Harvard Yard where she realizes the music is coming from the trees.
“This represents wisdom of our ancestors that still resonates in the whispers of nature,” Hart said.
Upon pressing her ear to a tree, she turns to the camera.
“With a strong, powerful look on her face, she’s gained true wisdom, not knowledge that can be taught in textbooks. She connects with her past, her history, her nature,” Hart said.
It is a rich history indeed.