The Ball Game of the Southeast: Stickball and Cultural Resource Management (CRM) in the Anthropocene

Abstract

Forests are an essential source of natural resources in the production of racquets used by Choctaw (Chahta) people to play Kapucha Toli, also known as stickball or the ball game of the southeast. Choctaw efforts to sustain culture depend upon preserving the ability to locate and gather Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) making the game possible. As climate variations from human activity increase concerns about the future health of ecosystems and sustainability of natural resources, how can tribes integrate cultural values into current forest management plans? This dissertation case study argues that integrating cultural resources into natural resource management plans assures Choctaw sustainability goals become foundational in the collaborative stewardship of Oklahoma forests. Climate change data is projecting future disruptions to ecosystems that will directly implicate Choctaw communities and their ways of living in numerous ways (Bennett, T. M. B. et al. 2014). Choctaw communities and their cultures are vulnerable to competing interests for natural resources brought about by human induced climate variations (Bennett, T. M. B. et al. 2014). Cultural preservation is uniquely tied to sustaining Choctaw cultural interests in the natural resources of local ecosystems. In supplying natural resources for fabrication into cultural materials, forests enable socializing activities like stickball vital in the continuation of Choctaw culture.