Mississippi
Mississippi Choctaw dictionary project helps tribe preserve language
The United States government removed Jason Lewis’ ancestors from Choctaw tribal land twice. The family had left Mississippi more than 200 years ago, when the federal government forced most of the Choctaw Nation to relocate to Oklahoma after pressuring tribal leaders to sign the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in a clearing in Mashulaville on Sept. 27, 1830.
Chief Pushamataha had spent years in negotiations with the government for compensation for the theft of Choctaw land. But when the chief died suddenly in 1824 during a lobbying trip to Washington, the government’s consistent pressure won. The tribe lost nearly all of its land and 90% of the state’s Choctaw population was forced to march west on the Trail of Tears, enduring food shortages, disease and death.
The government moved Lewis’ family again from their home in Oklahoma to California in the 1940s as a result of the federal relocation program.
Lewis’ father was the first in the family born in California.
“I was born in Los Angeles, (but) I’ve always known that I’m Choctaw,” Lewis told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 3. “My dad, you know, always kept that part of my identity present, but his father was the last person in our family to speak the language. It wasn’t passed on to my dad.”
Lewis became interested in learning the language. At 21, he listened to recorded lessons in the language but still found it challenging to grasp it. In 2009, he decided to move to Mississippi.
“I knew that (this is) the only place where (the language) actually exists, spoken every day,” Lewis said. “I can go to the grocery store near here. I can go to a church. I can go to the government office, and somebody is going to be speaking the language there. That’s only possible in Mississippi. So that’s why I moved here, to start learning the language.”
Lewis now works in cultural content development with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Choctaw Tribal Language Program’s Department of Chahta Immi.
“Now I’m helping keep it alive for future generations, and it’s pretty cool,” Lewis said.
Mississippi’s only federally recognized Indigenous tribe unveiled a new online language resource in early September. The Choctaw Dictionary Project “is a digital resource designed to support language learners of all levels and encourage more daily use of the Choctaw language, both in the workplace and at home.” The dictionary includes more than 5,000 words, but it goes beyond mere word lists and definitions. It also includes both recorded and translated stories and histories.
‘Over 200 years, a lot can happen’
Driving through the dense pine trees in the eastern region of the Magnolia State, or in the flat plains of the Mississippi Delta region, motorists encounter many signs they recognize are not common English. The state has many towns and counties whose names are derived from the Choctaw language, like Tupelo, Oktibbeha, Tougaloo and far more.
Many similar words can also be found in southeastern Oklahoma, where the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma resides today after relocating there on the Trail of Tears with those remaining behind forming the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Printed language materials that exist today are now considered “old Choctaw” or Oklahoma dialect because the Choctaw ancestors who were forced to march on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma brought the language of the time to the old Indian Territory.
Jason Lewis said that before this project, no one had documented the language of the descendants of the Mississippi Choctaw who resisted removal in the 1830s. During the removal, missionaries who were trying to record the language followed tribal members to Oklahoma. There, they published two or three dictionaries between 1850 and 1915, he said. However, that language varied from the traditional language spoken in the Magnolia State.
“The Oklahoma Choctaw have had a writing system since 1815. But basically, the Mississippi Choctaw (language) did not get written down, and it has evolved since 1830,” Lewis told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 3. “You know, over 200 years, a lot can happen. A lot can change. It’s very difficult for speakers today in Mississippi to find the words that they say represented in the dictionaries of the past.”
Since 2019, the Tribal Language Program’s Department has been working to collect stories, develop a consistent set of symbols to represent sounds, and define a system for spelling the various tenses and meanings of similar words.
Choctaw Tribal Language Program Director DeLaura Saunders said preserving the language is important with the youngest members of the tribe not using or hearing the language daily.
“So part of our mission is to make sure that we provide language resources, provide this online dictionary, and provide story books or language recordings so that they (will) be able to hear and pronounce the sounds of the chapter language,” she said.
‘The voice of the ancestors’
Mobile-Washington County Band of Choctaw Indians and American Indian Movement Alabama Treasurer Melissa Weaver said she is excited to see another resource that would help with the tribe’s project of establishing a school for Indigenous children of Alabama. She said it would include cultural exhibitions and lessons for those wanting to learn the languages of the tribes that lived in the southeastern region, including Choctaw.
“I’m excited that it will be available to our Choctaw students attending AIM School for Indigenous Children next fall,” Weaver said in a Sept. 24 statement.
“Our Chahta Annopa (Choctaw Language) is a living tradition of who we are as a tribe, and with it, the voices of our ancestors,” Weaver continued. “Speaking Chahta is not just about communicating or conversing; it is a way of honoring our homelands and carrying forward the resilient Chahta legacy.”
The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the MBCI a grant in 2020. The grant was a significant boost to the project. However, as the department was nearing completion of the dictionary, the Trump administration terminated the $17,000.
“We were unable to archive the interviews and transcriptions because that funding was canceled,” Jason Lewis said on Nov. 5. “Nor were we able to pay for the final website launch, which was supposed to include a voice search function, trained to recognize Choctaw. So, we are still seeking funds to archive the project outputs and pay for the completion of the website.”
He told the Mississippi Free Press that the tribe is working to raise $10,000 to apply as a cash match to a $20,000 grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council’s America 250 Mississippi Grants program, due on Feb. 1, 2026. Lewis said the Choctaw Tribal Language Program can accept donations at P.O. Box 6010, Choctaw, MS, 39350.
The tribe plans to continue to add words, interviews and stories to the resource as funding allows. The department is continuing to transcribe interview recordings, stories and add accumulated words.
MBCI Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben highlighted the depth and importance of the Tribal Language Department’s work in recording the language.
“Our language is not just a means of communication; it is the living spirit of our identity, our stories, our traditions, and our connection to the land and ancestors,” he said in a Sept. 8 statement. “Preserving the tribal language is vital to preserving who we are as a people.”
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By TORSHETA JACKSON and ROGER D. AMOS/Mississippi Free Press Mississippi Free Press. This story was originally published by the Mississippi Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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Mississippi
Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for June 25, 2026
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 25, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from June 25 drawing
01-06-09-13-23
Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 25 drawing
Midday: 3-3-8, FB: 5
Evening: 4-0-8, FB: 7
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 25 drawing
Midday: 2-8-3-2, FB: 5
Evening: 5-0-3-2, FB: 7
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 25 drawing
Midday: 01
Evening: 07
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Story continues below gallery.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.
Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:
Mississippi Lottery Corporation
P.O. Box 321462
Flowood, MS
39232
If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.
Mississippi Lottery Headquarters
1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100
Flowood, MS
39232
Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.
When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?
- Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
- Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Mississippi
Mississippi Legislature will talk school choice, redistricting in 2027
See video of MS Lt. Gov. Hosemann speaking on redistricting
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann speaks on redistricting during the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, MS, on June 24, 2026.
PHILADELPHIA — When asked about his campaign plans for the statewide elections in November 2027, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has avoided giving a straight answer. Usually, he tells the media that his next focus is a long checklist of priorities to tackle next legislative session.
The governor’s race next year, the first this decade without term-limited incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves, is rumored to feature a crowded field. For current officeholders, even those who don’t work directly with the state Legislature, the bills that they can endorse and urge across the finish line are often the feathers in their cap touted on the campaign trail.
During the two days of political speaking at the Neshoba County Fair, Hosemann and other state leaders gave attendees a clearer view of what their goals are for those 60 days of debate.
Redistricting
One of the priorities common to most speakers was legislative and congressional redistricting in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibited drawing voting districts on the basis of race. Reeves initially called a special session on redistricting, specifically regarding the state Supreme Court districts, but he later canceled it.
The governor opted to cancel the session, he said, because Mississippi had already had its primary. Instead, he charged Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, the leaders of each chamber, with navigating the process during the next legislative session.
Through their redistricting committees, both said at the Neshoba County Fair, they are preparing to do exactly that.
“The Democrats used [prior Supreme Court rulings] to make sure they elected Democrats and not the people that you wanted. Now the Supreme Court has changed that, and we’re back to ground one where we should be,” Hosemann said. “We’ve appointed a committee, they’ll be out in Mississippi … looking at who do you want to represent you and how is your district to be set up? It’s coming back to the people where it was before, where it should be today.”
Mississippi Rep. Scott Bounds and Sen. Lane Taylor, both of whom represent the Neshoba County area, are on their respective redistricting committees. Both promised that redistricting is among the first issues that the Legislature plans to take up in January, with Bounds adding that the focus is on redrawing the state legislative districts.
“I believe the best way to enact common sense, conservative policies is by electing Republicans to office,” Jason White said. “The Mississippi House of Representatives stands for that, and we will examine redistricting and elect more Republicans to local, state and federal offices.”
Reeves confirmed that he “would not be surprised” if there is a special session before the next legislative session begins in January, but that even without it, the Legislature “would definitely have redistricting done” before the statewide elections in November 2027. Reeves has the power to call a special session at any point.
K-12 and higher education
Hosemann and White took, if not opposite perspectives, then at least different approaches to improving the state’s public and higher education systems.
White’s primary focus, he said in his speech, lays again with school choice. He told the crowd that, while lawmakers were still drafting legislation, Mississippians could expect to see a similar attempt this upcoming year as representatives put forward in January.
“I think you’ll see most statewide candidates for governor fully endorsing the idea of school choice and pushing it forward. I think the reason they will do that is because they’re smart, they’ve been polling, they’re spending their money to see what issues are important to people,” White said after giving his speech. “They’re finding out that when you get outside of the room and have a real conversation with parents, they want those choices.”
The 500-page, sweeping bill from last year primarily proposed using state money to fund vouchers for students to attend private and charter schools. It passed the House, where it originated, in a narrow vote before getting a resounding “no” vote in the Senate education committee.
“I wish the Senate would come forward and say, ‘Look, we don’t want to go through all that again. Here’s what we would do,’” White said. “I wish there would be a way to find a win-win, but to this point, they’ve been unwilling to have a conversation. That makes it tough politics for me when they’re unwilling to even have a conversation.”
Hosemann has loudly opposed state-funded vouchers, and he took the dais to advocate for more funding in public schools. One of his education priorities for the next year, he told the crowd, was opening more special-purpose schools for children with disabilities and developmental disorders such as autism.
Where Hosemann and White have agreed is that Mississippi’s education systems are bloated. Hosemann spoke specifically about higher education, telling reporters after his speech that some institutions graduate fewer than 25% of their enrollment. He touted the benefits of performance-based funding in ensuring that schools are motivated to educate high-performing students, and Mississippians could likely see changes to the funding formula in 2027.
White has largely focused, for the moment, on K-12 public schools. He formed a committee on school consolidation that has zeroed in on small schools and districts, and top officials with the state education department have asked for the Legislature to draft a framework for closing schools in the coming years.
How big should the government be?
Maybe the only thing that every Republican speaker agreed on was that Mississippi’s government needs to be smaller, but they phrased reform in different ways.
Reeves promoted artificial intelligence that makes workflows more efficient and decreases the number of state employees needed to do a certain job. White urged the government to decrease property taxes, because the burden makes property owners “feel like they rent the property that they own.”
Hosemann pointed to a Senate committee on efficiency and transparency that has moved to eliminate 17 government committees and boards he described as useless. White formed a similar special committee on government efficiency that has met over the summer to weigh cost-cutting measures.
While details on which departments could be downsized and precise estimates of potential savings have not been publicly outlined, nearly every state official, member of the Legislature and candidate who spoke at the Neshoba County Fair promised significant reform next session.
Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics since the start of 2026. Email her at banhuci@usatodayco.com.
Mississippi
Where to see fireworks and celebrate Fourth of July in, near Jackson
Celebrate the Fourth of July at these free events with fireworks displays in the Jackson area.
How to help your dog deal with July 4 fireworks
The loud bang of fireworks causes anxiety for dogs. Here’s how to help your pet on July 4.
Independence Day is always an exciting holiday in Mississippi with burgers and hot dogs sizzling on the grill and the dazzling displays of fireworks.
This year is even more special as America celebrates its 250th birthday. It is a celebration of a milestone not to be missed and the fireworks displays will be spectacular.
If you live in the Jackson area there are plenty of events to choose from and not all of them are on Saturday, July 4, so you can go and enjoy more than one. To make them even better, the events are free.
So, here are some of the area events that include fireworks where you can celebrate America 250.
Jackson Fireworks Extravaganza
- When: 5 p.m., Wednesday, July 1
- Where: Smith Wills Stadium, 1200 Lakeland Drive, Jackson
- Admission: Free
The City of Jackson is hosting its Fireworks Extravaganza starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, at Smith Wills Stadium.
Before the fireworks, guests can enjoy local food vendors and live entertainment. The event also will include a kid zone with water slides, bounce houses, face painting and games.
Independence Celebration at The Rez
- When: Saturday, June 27, 5-9 p.m.
- Where: Bobby Cleveland Park at Lakeshore and Old Trace Park
- Admission: Free
Celebrate Independence Day Rez-style at the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The event takes place the Saturday before the Fourth of July at Bobby Cleveland Park at Lakeshore and Old Trace Park.
Live music, kid zones, food vendors and beer will be on hand. Fireworks begin at 9 p.m. No outside coolers are allowed.
Freedom Fest
- When: 6 to 10 p.m., Friday, July 3
- Where: Brandon Amphitheater, 8190 Rock Way, Brandon
- Admission: Free
Brandon’s complimentary Freedom Fest will be a kick-off to the holiday weekend celebrations. The event will include inflatables for the kids, a Cornhole tournament, face painting, food trucks and will close with a patriotic concert and fireworks display.
Red, White and Blue Fest
- When: 4 p.m., Saturday, July 4
- Where: Soccer Row, Traceway Park, Clinton
- Admission: Free
The 36th annual Red, White and Blue Fest in Clinton starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.
Local live music, food and games lead up to the fireworks finale at 9 p.m. Live music performances include blues prodigy John Clayton White at 5:30 p.m. and The Fountain City Players at 7:15 p.m.
Brian Broom has been reporting on and photographing Mississippi for more than 35 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
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