![October 2023 Biskinik](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/oct2023issue.png)
October 2023
News
![2023 State Of The Nation](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/labor-day-2023-state-of-the-nation-696x392.jpg)
Chief Gary Batton delivers virtual 2023 State of the Nation Address
Chief Gary Batton gave updates on several important initiatives in the 2023 State of the Nation address.
![Choctaw Royalty 2023](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-royalty-2023-1-696x392.jpg)
2023 Choctaw Royalty
See photos from the 2023 Labor Day Festival Royalty Pageant.
![2023 Labor Day Volleyball](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-labor-day-volleyball-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Volleyball
Check out photos from the volleyball tournaments at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Choctaw Labor Day Festival 2023 Tough Tough](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-labor-day-festival-2023-tough-tough-8-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Tough Tough
View photos of the Tough Tough competition from the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Choctaw Labor Day 2023 Stickball](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-labor-day-2023-stickball-01-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Stickball
Check out Stickball photos from the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![2023 Labor Day Festival 5k](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CT5K-5-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival 5k
Check out photos from the 2023 Labor Day Festival 5k.
![Labor Day 2023 Worship](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/labor-day-2023-worship-3-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Worship Service
See photos from the 2023 Labor Day Festival Worship Service.
![Choctaw Fittest Warrior Winners](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-fittest-warrior-winners-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Fittest Choctaw
View photos from the Fittest Choctaw competition at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Bow Shoot](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ct-bow-shoot-3-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Bowshoot
View photos of the 2023 Labor Day Festival Bowshoot.
![Womens Allstar First Place Has Beens](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/womens-allstar-first-place-hasbeens-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Basketball
View photos of the winners from the War Hoops tournaments at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Choctaw Labor Day 2023 Horseshoes](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-labor-day-2023-horseshoes-1-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Horseshoes
See photos from the 2023 Labor Day Festival Horseshoe Tournament.
![Labor Day Festival 2023 Youth Fitness](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/labor-day-2023-youth-fitness-1-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Chief Batton’s Youth Fitness Challenge
See photos from Chief Batton's Youth Fitness Challenge at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Choctaw Labor Day 2023 Quilt Show](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-labor-day-2023-quilt-show-2-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Quilt Show
View photos from the 2023 Labor Day Festival Quilt Show.
![Choctaw Labor Day 2023 Living Village](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ld-2023-jennings-51-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Choctaw Village
View photos from the Choctaw Village at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Choctaw Labor Day 2023 Softball](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-labor-day-2023-softball-6-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Softball
Check out photos from the Softball tournaments at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Art Show Group](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/labor-day-2023-art-show-group-696x392.jpg)
2023 Art Show Winners
View photos of the arts show winners, the award ceremony was held at the Choctaw Cultural Center prior to Labor Day this year.
![Labor Day 2023 Cornhole Competition](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/labor-day-2023-cornhole-competition-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Cornhole
View photos of the winners from the Cornhole tournament at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Labor Day 2023 Checkers](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/labor-day-2023-checkers-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Dominoes and Checkers
View photos of the winners from the Checkers and Dominos tournaments at the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
![Chair Volleyball](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/chairvolleyball-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Chair Volleyball
View photos from the Labor Day 2023 Chair Volleyball tournament.
![Choctaw Labor Day 2023 Social Dancing](https://www.choctawnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/choctaw-labor-day-2023-social-dancing-3-696x392.jpg)
2023 Labor Day Festival Social Dancing
See Social Dancing photos from the 2023 Labor Day Festival.
Leadership Speaks
Family Justice Center offers hope and healing for families
Chief Batton and I had the honor of participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the Ahni Center in Durant. The center is the first tribal Family Justice Center of its kind in Oklahoma's Indian Country. "Ahni" translates to "hope" in the Choctaw language.
District 4, October 2023
As summer transitions into autumn, cooler temperatures, and the leaves begin to change, there's a sense of excitement in District 4.
District 3, October 2023
I for one am welcoming the cooler temperatures, we were certainly blessed with the slightly cooler than 100 degrees temperatures during the Labor Day Festival.
Consequences of Sin
Human beings are integral to the fabric of things, so when humans turned from God, the entire world unraveled. This is the death that God had said would occur if man disobeyed.