On Tuesday, January 28, 2020, Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben visited the campus of Mississippi State University and officially presented the school with a Tribal flag. MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Regina Young Hyatt accepted the flag on behalf of the university.
In attendance to witness this occasion were Tribal Council Representatives Ronnie Henry, Sr. of Bogue Chitto, Loriann Ahshapanek of Standing Pine and Nigel Gibson of Pearl River and members of the Choctaw Central High School ACT 20+ Club.
The Tribal flag will be hung in the residential dining hall at The Perry, alongside flags of other countries and governments.
In addition to the flag presentation, Ra’Sheda Boddie-Forbes, MSU Assistant Vice President for Multicultural Affairs, recognized the MSU Native American Student Association. The MSU-NASA was just established this school year. Offering brief remarks and representing the group were MSU-NASA President Genesis Ferris and Vice President Kristopher Andrews. Congratulations to MSU-NASA!
Also offering remarks was MSU Extension Agent Jim McAdory, who served for many years as the Extension Agent for the Tribe and continues to support the partnership between the Tribe and MSU.