Chickasaw Nation
In a previous position, I served as the creative lead for the Chickasaw Nation, an Indian tribe with hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, from casinos to hospitals, cultural centers to adult learning centers. Our role was not only to promote Chickasaw entertainment and culture, but also to be the tribe's public voice especially in times of adversity.
So we created the entire platform from scratch, with a plug and play UI that could be populated and launched in a single day. We also developed extensive amounts of cultural and historical content, educational programming and weekly news programs.
We developed programming, from concept to production and executed numerous promotional campaigns for the online network and the tribe's cultural centers and social outreach.
Extending the brand.
We took our media presence further by creating a dedicated, video-driven tourism website, promoting not just the Chickasaw properties, but features and attractions all over the region. This was also built on the platform that I helped create.
An example of our issues advocacy efforts for the Chickasaw Nation centered on water rights. The state legislature attempted to strike a deal with Texas to sell the state drinking water on Chickasaw land without ever consulting the tribe or acknowledging standing laws and treaties.
We acted quickly. We shot a full-length documentary and several detailed video interviews breaking down the issues. We supported with paid media - broadcast to social. After years of butting heads, the Chickasaw Nation was mostly victorious. Deals with Texas were cancelled.
The effort achieved some attention from local and regional news outlets as well as The New York Times.
Why the Fight Over Sardis Lake Could Have Statewide Consequences
June 13, 2013
The State of Oklahoma, the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations and the City of Oklahoma City are in federal court, fighting over the rights to water in Sardis Lake. But while this fight centers on a small lake in southeastern Oklahoma, the outcome of the case could change how government controls the rights to Oklahoma’s most water-rich region.
Fight Over Sardis Lake Entangled in Ancient History, Indian Culture and Sacred Water
April 08, 2016
The fight over control of Sardis Lake and water across southeastern Oklahomapits the state against Native American tribes. To the Choctaw and Chickasaw who live in the area today — and for the Caddo who preceded them — water isn’t just vital to life: It’s culturally sacred.
Indians Join Fight for an Oklahoma Lake’s Flow
April 12, 2011
Oklahoma City and fast-growing suburbs like Edmond want to see the water flowing through their shower heads someday. So do the water masters of Tarrant County, Tex., 200 miles to the south, who are looking to supply new subdivisions around Fort Worth and are suing for access. Now another rival has arrived: the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, who were exiled to southeastern Oklahoma 175 years ago and given land in the area.