My first thought was to say no. And I did. I couldn’t pull together a trip to France in two months. I didn’t have the money. I didn’t have the time to plan such a venture. I didn’t have the time to take off work.

But I did have a passport and a whole lot of encouragement. 

How is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, connected to Chicago, Illinois? The 1889 and 1893 World's Fairs, of course!

After Paris hosted their spectacular fair in 1889, exhibiting their elegant wrought iron structure known as the Eiffel Tower, Chicago won the bid to hold the next fair.

They were told, "Make no small plans."

November 11, 1918
The Great War ends.

November 11, 2017
Choctaw Nation Veteran’s Day ceremony.

I may not have been at that Armistice Day in France nearly 100 years ago, but the day originally set aside to commemorate it found me at the Choctaw Nation tribal grounds in Tuskahoma, Oklahoma. I wanted to thank veterans who served to protect my life and my freedoms.

9AM

Left for the old Tobucksy County Courthouse ten minutes away from the hotel.

9:55AM

Arrived at the old Tobucksy County Courthouse.

Okay, we got a little lost! But we made it with no minutes to spare, breathing heavy from hauling books from the parking area to the side of the historic Choctaw courthouse. 

1890s Indian Territory

The coal mining industry was booming. Only one in four people in the Choctaw Nation were actually Choctaw. Politics were heated and deadly.

I recently started signing off my newsletters with the Choctaw words tikbva ihiya. I found this term on the Chahta Foundation website, with a handy pronunciation button by it. But the narration there does more than pronounce the words. It stirred and inspired me.

Olin Williams (narrator) not only gives the definition for the words (tikbva means “forward” and ihiya means to “keep going”), Olin said, “Together, these words define what it means to be Choctaw.” Such a simple explanation, but one that resonated deep in my soul. 

Keep going forward.

That is the legacy my ancestors. After William Robuck, my seventh generation great-grandfather, buried his father on the Trail of Tears, he kept going. He kept moving. His faithful actions still move in my life today.

That’s why I decided to start using tikbva ihiya. To pass on to you the spirit, faith, and hope my people live within. It’s my way of saying, “Don’t give up. Keep going, keep hoping, keep living your purpose in life. No matter what.”

God knows.

Tikbva ihiya,

Sarah