Choctaw Landing is set to host its first Native Fashion and Film Festival on Nov. 21, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Hochatown, Oklahoma, with a runway show featuring about 30 Choctaw models and an evening of Indigenous-directed films. The free, all-day event is scheduled for Cypress Lawn at the resort's address on North State Highway 259A, with organizers planning to move everything indoors if it rains.
According to nativeoklahoma.us, the roughly 30 models walking the runway will showcase clothing, jewelry and beadwork that blend traditional Choctaw craftsmanship with contemporary design. Shauna Williams, senior executive officer of communications for the Choctaw Nation, framed the festival as a way to spotlight the tribe's creative community. “Highlighting Native fashion, film and art is an essential way to honor our heritage while supporting contemporary artists,” Williams said, per the same outlet.
A Day Built Around Dance, Hymns and a Runway
The schedule opens at 1:30 p.m. with an opening welcome, the Lord's Prayer and Choctaw hymns, followed by Fancy Native Dancers performing from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., according to ktalnews.com. The Native Fashion Show then takes the lawn at 4 p.m., featuring designs from six artisans: Teresa Billy, Sarah Smith, Teri Scroggins, Cliff Wilson, Colt James and Michael Pilant, the station reports.
Those six designers bring distinct specialties to the runway. Teresa Billy creates custom apparel built around Choctaw-inspired diamond and spiral motifs, while Sarah Smith crafts traditional Choctaw textiles alongside contemporary ribbon skirts with basket-weave patterns. Teri Scroggins, who founded her clothing line Humma Fichik, or Red Star, Designs in 2024, is set to display Native fashion, upscale wedding attire and upcycled denim jackets. Cliff Wilson works in silver jewelry featuring Choctaw and ancestral mound builder symbolism, Colt James makes silver and copper rings, earrings and necklaces using silversmithing skills he learned from his late grandfather, and Michael Pilant creates contemporary baldric sashes carrying southeastern tribal symbolism.
Evening Films Spotlight Choctaw Storytellers
After a designer question-and-answer session running 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., the festival shifts to film from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a showing spotlighting Indigenous filmmakers. The lineup includes Mary Margaret Road Grader, a futuristic short film from Kiowa and Choctaw filmmaker Steven Paul Judd, who is a Writers Guild of America member and former staff writer on Disney's Zeke and Luther. Also on the bill is Lady Red Warriors, Mark D. Williams' documentary on the rise of the Choctaw Nation women's stickball team Tvshka Homma Ohoya, plus a short film made by a group of Choctaw youth.
Williams, a Choctaw tribal member and filmmaker, has previously directed Tvshka Nowvt Aya, which won best film at the 2018 Nativisions Film Festival in Arizona, and Ikhaiyana La Chi (I Will Remember), which picked up awards at Nativisions, the LA Skins Fest and the Will Rogers International Film Festival. The LA Skins Fest, which has also screened Judd's work according to its own event listing, marks its 20th annual run with dates spanning Nov. 18 through Nov. 22.
Stickball, Vendors and Hands-On Culture
Beyond the runway and screen, attendees can watch an exhibition stickball demonstration on Oka Sita Lawn, part of what organizers describe as a day celebrating Indigenous culture through fashion, film, music and dance. The festival will also offer cultural vendors and traditional food, including Indian tacos from Cypress Grill, giving visitors a chance to sample local fare between performances.
Choctaw Landing's debut festival follows other recent efforts to showcase Native film in the region. A separate, first annual Choctaw Film Festival organized by Choctaw Nation District 9 Elders focused its program on Williams, screening three of his films, two documentaries and one horror title, according to a report from KOSU carried on NewsBreak. The Choctaw Landing event, covered by CW33, is open to the public free of charge and runs the full day, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the rain contingency plan moving activities under cover rather than canceling them.
