Awards for Design/Illustration and Children/Youth categories are taken home by the Chickasaw Press.


OKLAHOMA CITY – Chikasha Stories, Volume One: Shared Spirit and Ilimpa’chi’ (We’re Gonna Eat!): A Chickasaw Cookbook were named winners of the Children/Young Adults and Design/Illustration awards, respectively. The awards were handed out on Saturday, April 14, during the 23rd annual Oklahoma Book Awards banquet at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Museum in Oklahoma City.

Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said that the authors, artists and others responsible for producing the books deserve to be honored for their accomplishments.

“We expect these books to have a very positive impact in the homes of Chickasaws across the country,” said Gov. Anoatubby. “These stories and recipes may very well inspire many more Chickasaws to continue including traditional food, stories and culture as part of their family life for generations to come.”

Sanford Mauldin’s photography and the designs of Skip McKinstry and Aaron Long were honored for Ilimpa’chi’, while storyteller Glenda Galvan and artist Jeannie Barbour were recognized for their work on Chikasha Stories.

Division of History and Culture Administrator Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham said that the Chickasaw Press continues to meet its mission of preserving, perpetuating, and providing an awareness of Chickasaw history and culture.

“When Governor Anoatubby founded the Press in 2007, he had a vision for the future. From day one, the Chickasaw Press set out to provide quality publications that told the Chickasaw story,” said Dr. Cobb-Greetham. “Tonight, that vision takes another step in the right direction. I’m so proud of everyone who was involved in these projects. There are a lot of blood, sweat and tears in these books. It was truly a team effort.”

About the Oklahoma Book Awards:

The banquet was sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for the Book, part of the state Libraries Department and a state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The awards recognize books written the previous year by Oklahomans or about Oklahoma. Of the 121 books entered in the competition, 35 were selected as finalists. Twenty-five of the finalists were by authors, poets, designers or illustrators who reside in Oklahoma.

About Chikasha Stories, Volume One: Shared Spirit:

In Chikasha Stories, Volume One: Shared Spirit, premier Chickasaw storyteller and tribal elder Glenda Galvan tells traditional stories drawn from the tribe’s oral traditions. Illustrating the tales are original artworks by award-winning Chickasaw artist Jeannie Barbour. Presenting the stories in both English and Chickasaw, Chikasha Stories is the first of an important series of books intended to revive and maintain the storytelling tradition so vital to the roots of Chickasaw and Native culture.

About Ilimpa’chi’ (We’re Gonna Eat!): A Chickasaw Cookbook:

Recipes, reminiscences and lessons in Chickasaw lifeways are the main ingredients in Ilimpa’chi’ (We’re Gonna Eat!): A Chickasaw Cookbook. Well-known Chickasaw cooks JoAnn Ellis and Vicki Penner share more than forty recipes, accompanied by scenes from their lives spent cooking, eating and growing up around foods prepared in Chickasaw kitchens and over outdoor cooking fires. Their stories reveal the organic connections between food, family and Chickasaw Nation history. Presenting traditional and traditionally inspired recipes for wild game, meat and fish, wild vegetables and fruits, garden produce and breads, they describe and celebrate the roles of these dishes in the feasts of Chickasaw culture.



The Chickasaw Press, the first tribal press of its kind, publishes books about Chickasaw history and culture. Both books are available through the Chickasaw Press at www.chickasawpress.com or 580-622-7157 and the University of Oklahoma Press, http://www.oupress.com. These and other books from the Chickasaw Press can also be purchased at the Chickasaw Cultural Center Gift Shops in Sulphur, Oklahoma.