S10, E2, Pt 8: Choctaw Labor Day Festival 2025 | Why We Gather

What does the Choctaw Labor Day Festival mean to YOU? In the final episode of this series where I visited the 2025 Choctaw Labor Day Festival, I’m sharing stories from festival goers about what makes this annual gathering so special. One of my favorite conversations was with my cousin, Cheryl, a descendant of Chief Mushulatubbee and part of our Coley family lineage. Cheryl shares stories about our ancestors, the close-knit Choctaw community they built, and even how family members would move the furniture out of the house so everyone could dance! For Cheryl and me, the Labor Day Festival is a place to “come home”, reconnect with family, celebrate our culture, and remember where we came from. Stick around until the very end for the bloopers. Because apparently, telling history doesn’t always go according to plan. Yakoke to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma for partnering with me on this series! Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival 2026: September 4–6 in Tvshkahomma, Oklahoma Text LABORDAY to 888777 for festival updates