S2, E5, Part 2: “Stickball, Little Brother of War: Mississippi Choctaws, Mark Williams & Chalena Marcus Billy”, (2)

“If you wanna see women go to war, I would say come to Choctaw, Mississippi!” – Chalena Marcus Billy, Pearl River Ohoyo Team 2021 Stickball Champions

Welcome to a new episode of Native ChocTalk’s Part 2 of “Stickball, Little Brother of War: Mississippi Choctaws, Mark Williams & Chalena Marcus Billy

Listen to the episode here! https://tinyurl.com/mvtycpmm

In part 1, stickball player, expert and stickmaker, Brenner Billy helped us understand the history, culture and spirituality around the historic American Indian game of stickball.

And part 2 is here, y’all! And I know you’ll enjoy hearing from both Mark Williams, award-winning Choctaw filmmaker and champion stickball player, Chalena Marcus Billy.

Mark talks about how he raised money to make films by having an Indian taco sale, how he practiced horror filmmaking on his friends (and they survived), about his comics titled, “The adventures of Josie the Frybread Kid” and his well-deserved awards in film. This Choctaw is making big waves in the film industry!

Watch this video by Mark Williams: “While filming in Mississippi I captured this touching moment and with Dyni Morris’ permission I am sharing this clip of his dedicated score for a ‘fallen warrior’. This is more than just a game to the Choctaw people. It's an identity.” https://www.facebook.com/mark.williams.733450/posts/10216349076998812

And last but not least, this ohoyo powerhouse, Chalena tells us what it’s like to play out on the field in the historic and dangerous game of stickball, about the difference between stickball in Oklahoma vs. Mississippi, and how as a woman, her desire to play stickball derives from a drive deep within that differs from that of her male counterparts. But even this strong champion had a tender perspective on how the loss of the most important person in her life affected her world, yet made her the person and stickball player she is today.

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