Step Back in Time at the Chickasaw Cultural Center

For your next vacation, try taking a trip back in time! While true time travel hasn’t been invented yet, you can enjoy the next best thing: a cultural center that makes you feel like you’re looking into the past from hundreds of years ago.

The Chickasaw Cultural Center isn’t some boring museum with stale exhibits. Instead, it includes high-tech displays that really put visitors into the scene. Best of all, it has an actual replica village you can walk through. You’ll feel like you’re an actual part of the ancient tribe during this fun tour!

The Chickasaws aren’t the only ones who think their cultural center is a great place to visit. According to Trip Advisor, the destination is ranked 4.5 out of 5 by several tourists. There are 44 reviews on that site alone at the time of this writing, and they provide a good overview of what to expect. Here are some of the things visitors like best:

1. A tour of a good, but not overwhelming, length. One reviewer puts the length of the trip through the museum area at 30-45 minutes. This is long enough to have a good experience, but not so long that kids start crying to sit down.
2. Interactive exhibits. These are high tech exhibits, and this may be surprising to some visitors to a museum specializing in Chickasaw tribal history. Fortunately, the technology level is an asset for interactive displays. It brings things to life when old-fashioned displays would look dusty and boring.
3. The on-site cafe. The food is described as good, but the friendliness of the staff is most often noted. Diners won’t feel like they’re forgotten when eating here.
4. Displays are arranged logically. A trip through the museum will take you through Chickasaw history in chronological order. There’s an emphasis on the second, forced, migration of the tribe.
5. The feature-length movie. If you’re looking to spend more than 30 minutes at the stop, the Chickasaws will not fail to entertain you. Enjoy the movie for a more in-depth look at tribal life!
6. Displays of actual Chickasaw clothing and other items. You won’t have to wonder what this tribe really wore – it’s on display for you to see firsthand.
7. The souvenir store. Like any proper tourist destination, the Chickasaw Cultural Center gives you the opportunity to buy some mementos to take home. The store is a bit small, which is a good thing. It sets the Center apart from the tourist stops that only exist to sell things.

With all of these benefits, the Chickasaw Cultural Center is a great stop for anyone interested in history or Native American culture. It’s also a good break from the usual tourist traps and the hyper environments they contain. Another thing one reviewer noted is that the Center’s buildings are cool in temperature. That’s a great benefit for anyone looking to get out of the Oklahoma heat and be entertained at the same time.

K Esser

She enjoys baking red velvet cupcakes and walking her puppy, Pete.