MetroFamily Magazine May June 2024

(LEFT TO RIGHT) TATE, HIS SON HELOHA TATE AND CHICKASAW NATION GOVERNOR BILL ANOATUBBY AT THE CHICKASAW STICKBALL YOUTH BANQUET.

Meet more inspirational First Americans and learn about the 39 Tribal Nations in Oklahoma by visiting First Americans Museum. The museum is open Wednesday through Monday. The third Sunday of each month is free for kids 12 and under. Learn more about the museum and kids programming at famok.org.

What inspired the melding of your loves of music and Chickasaw heritage into a career? My mom choreographed ballets based on American Indian stories, and she asked me to compose a score — I was 22 at the time. It was such a positive experience, and I was met with great support and enthusiasm from the classical and Native communities. I went back to graduate school and added composition to my degree program. I was encouraged to focus on a career in Native heritage. I announced to my family that I would be a Chickasaw classical composer. It’s funny because I never imagined my Chickasaw identity and my classical identity being woven together until my mom commissioned that work. It clicked in a very beautiful way. My mother was asking me to be all of who I am at the same time. How has the support you’ve received impacted the way you parent? I am very aware of how blessed I am to have that support and I am conscious of providing that support to others, too. My grandmother came out of vocational boarding school in Oklahoma and she took from that a mindset of acquiring knowledge to achieve. She was industrious with finding solutions and learning to help herself — she was the first court stenographer in southern Oklahoma — and she helped her own kids and grandkids have that same mindset. It has had quite an impact on me when I look at my son and see all his capabilities and wish for him to use them, however that manifests. He has his own super powers and they are different from mine. Our children’s chances of success are magnitudes higher when we help them manifest their talents. We have to be adult learners when our kids have talents we don’t understand. My son is very talented in ballet and horn; he plays in the Oklahoma Youth Orchestra, he studies ballet, he’s an incredible singer and a great visual artist. I lean into it and I learn. I have the advantage of knowing the arts, but if his talents were in robotics or football or restaurant management, I would school myself to be a proper support for him. It’s not that we have to become experts — but it’s my responsibility to find mentors to train him in the things he’s good at, to build a mentor support system.

What has the experience of working with kids at FAMcamp meant to you and what do you most hope to convey to your students? My life mission is the development of American Indian classical composition — working with youth to help spread that legacy of composing is what I most want to do. I have enjoyed a great career myself and it’s important to pass on the opportunity to kids. As a mentor, I’m a living encyclopedia, providing answers to their technical and notational questions. And I’m their life coach to make sure they are giving the best artistry they can give. We have five to seven kids in each weeklong academy, and they compose short works for a string quartet. We bring in OKC Phil professionals and kids get to have their pieces played. Then they have the recordings for their portfolio to use for auditions to advance their dreams. It’s many of these kids’ first time to compose. At the beginning of the week, they have blank music pages, and at the end, they have entirely finished works performed by professionals for a live audience. That’s it. That right there is what makes everything worth it. It’s really neat to see them demonstrate to themselves what they are capable of. What’s your most important message to Oklahoma youth? Pursue your dreams with discipline and abandon. There are two aspects to life: one is irrational passion. We are attracted to certain things and there is no rationale for it. That is to be embraced and met with [the second aspect:] high discipline.

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a series of articles produced in conjunction with First Americans Museum to share the stories of inspirational modern-day and historic First Americans. Find the full series at metrofamilymagazine.com/ inspirational-first-americans .