Choctaw Tribal Member Wilson Roberts Featured in Choctaw Nation Series, ‘Choctaw Proud’

DURANT, Okla. – The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s new series of the Together, We’re More campaign titled ‘Choctaw Proud’ features 18 tribal members from different careers, locations and walks of life, making a difference in Oklahoma and beyond. This month Choctaw Nation spotlights tribal member and Southeastern Oklahoma native Wilson Roberts.

Born to Choctaw parents in Southeastern Oklahoma, Roberts learned to speak only Choctaw, but at the age of five, he was removed from his mother and sent to boarding school, where he was abused for speaking that same language.

“Going right into school, I didn’t know a word of English, and because of that, they really punished us for speaking our language, and without somebody explaining to us that we are not supposed to speak our language, we just continuously got punished for speaking our language until such time as I realized why I was getting spankings — not spankings, beatings, actually,” Roberts said.

Roberts and his fellow Native schoolmates endured other forms of abuse as well.

“Growing up at the school, I remember a lot of hardship. When we took showers, we used those bristle brushes that you scrub walls with. They tried to change our skin colors, I guess. We were brown when we went in, but when we came out, we were pink,” recalls Roberts.

At twelve years old, Roberts ran away from the boarding school after one particularly severe punishment. He managed to find work on a farm and avoid the social workers for an entire year.

When the social workers eventually caught up with Roberts, he was sent to another school where he was promised funds for clothing, shoes and supplies, but those dollars never arrived, and Roberts had to leave school again after his first year. He never returned.

“In my era, my age group, that’s what happened to our Choctaw people. A lot of those people that attended the boarding schools, they went through basically the same thing. I always say that because of that, we hesitate to speak our language in public because of what we went through. For many years, I had to look around, even though I was a grown person. It was something you always did at school. You look around before you speak your language, so that you don’t get beat on,” said Roberts.

Through all the bad, however, Roberts maintains that there were some good things to come out of his boarding school experience. “It made me stronger. It made me realize different things, different ways,” he said.

Finding work after leaving school was a challenge. Roberts was too young to be considered for labor, but he was a hard worker, so some farms allowed him to stay for work. He worked on farms from Paris to Lubbock, Texas, until he was old enough to join the military.

“After I got in the service, I realized I didn’t really have the academic education that I really needed,” said Wilson. An uncle living in New York suggested that Roberts get a dictionary to help him understand English better. His uncle also told him to read everything he could get his hands on to improve his language skills.

“Basically, I kind of educated myself while I was in the service,” he said.

In his second year, the military began requiring a high school education or high school equivalency in order to continue on. Roberts passed his GED exam on his first try.

In 1962, his military service commitment was up, and he went to work in the oil fields until a new relocation program piqued his interest. In 1964, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked in the second largest library in the world under the mentorship of librarians who helped Roberts continue his education.

In his own words, “Cleveland was not the place for me,” and he left in 1965. Eventually, he went to work for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service in Dallas, Texas.

In Dallas, Roberts volunteered for a Native American organization in the area, which gave him the opportunity to attend dances and ceremonies throughout North Texas and Oklahoma, but it was through his career with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service that he encountered many other cultures and ways of life across the globe.

Roberts began working with other Native Americans at Ft. Hood to share their tribal traditions with others throughout the area and even overseas.

“I got an assignment in Heidelberg, Germany, and because of the little things we had done in the Dallas and Ft. Worth area and Ft. Hood, like going dancing and stuff like that, when we went to Germany, we realized the military boys and military personnel, men and women, needed some kind of organization to look to for help,” said Roberts.

As a manager at the Heidelberg PX, he began to invite other Native Americans to spend time with their group, but fellow Natives weren’t the only ones interested in Indigenous culture. The German people wanted to learn more about Roberts and his friends, and before too long, the Native organization was traveling to Italy, England and other parts of Europe to share Native American culture with others.

“That’s how we began to get into dancing. We helped each other to acknowledge our own traditional ways and try to bring it out to each other and kind of get together to have a little celebration every time,” Roberts said. Nearly 100 people would attend these get-togethers every weekend, no matter where they held them.

When asked what he would say to someone who wanted to learn more about Native American culture, Roberts said, “I would tell the people to be respectful of every nation’s ways. Don’t be going out and trying to say, ‘This is the way to do it; this is how we do it at home.’ Just go with the flow and mainly be respectful and friendly. Make friends and just talk in general, you know.”

After 25 years with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Roberts retired, but he continued traveling across the U.S., Canada and Europe through the Army’s Morale, Welfare and Recreational (MWR) program.
Roberts is proud to represent the Choctaw Nation and share the history and stories of the tribe with others.

“A lot of times, people ask me to do the invocation, and I do the invocation in the Choctaw language because that’s how I relate to these people as part of being Choctaw,” he said.

Because of Roberts’ travels and storytelling, others are taking notice of things going on in the Choctaw Nation as well. The facilities, services and programs Choctaw tribal members have access to have set a good example for tribes across the U.S. that want to offer similar resources.

In addition, Stanford University wanted to recognize the loss of Native elders by honoring a person who works to pass on traditional knowledge and customs. Roberts was chosen among all the nominees to be the Honored Elder and traveled to California to accept the award in May.

Roberts certainly faced his fair share of challenges in his 80 plus years, so in parting, he had this bit of advice to offer anyone who is struggling:

“I always try to tell the people, regardless of what nation or regardless of where I’m at, when I get a chance to speak, is to learn to respect yourself. Whatever happens in your life, learn to respect yourself, and you will learn to respect all of God’s creations.”

Each month the Choctaw Nation will release short stories of tribal members like Roberts and how they exemplify being ‘Choctaw Proud.’

Visit “More Than a Storyteller” or watch below to see Roberts tell his story. Visit togetherweremore.com to learn more about how the Choctaw Nation is making a difference in Oklahoma and beyond.