Ryan Spring

We're not just Choctaws.

We're also modern Americans.

And so it's something that I've struggled with, you know, growing up, doing the Pledge of Allegiance every day in class, attending events and doing the Pledge of Allegiance.

You know, where does all that fit in?

And I have my grandfather and my father both fought for the U.S.

Armed Forces.

And so we have a legacy of Choctaw people that have fought and died for the United States.

And so at the end of the day, we have to continue moving forward and we have to continue being positive.

This is something that happened to us.

You know, this was ethnic cleansing.

You know, this was genocide.

But we have to move on from that, and we have to continue forward.

We have to learn our history so that it doesn't happen again to us.

But we have to do that in a positive way that we continue to rebuild our communities.

You know, as Choctaw people, we are the indigenous people of the United States.

We are elders here, and we have so much that our culture and our history can share with modern-day American people.

We have ways of improving American culture and American life, and we're just waiting for those opportunities to be able to make this such a beautiful place to live again.

Absolutely.

You can go to ChoctawNation.com.

There you can find information on the Choctaw Nation today.