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DURANT, Okla. (March 17, 2023) – Native artist Connie Phillips’ oil and acrylic paintings, on display at the Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant Art Gallery, take visitors through time to the Trail of Tears. Highlighting native women for Women’s History Month, Phillips paintings showcase strong, resilient Choctaw women.

Having spent time studying the Trail of Tears and her family’s ancestry, each of Phillips’ paintings tells a story. “I like to show the strength of women in my paintings,” says Phillips. “Women of the Choctaw culture are hard workers. Historically, they are often seen quietly working in the background, but they are strong and serve as the core of the Choctaw family and culture, both today and ancestrally. We are only because our grandmothers were survivors.”

Phillips, who lives in southeastern Oklahoma, has roots steeped in rural Oklahoma and her Choctaw heritage. Women play an important role in her art and she portrays the strength and love that carried her grandmothers through their lives and pays homage to their struggles and beauty.

More recently, Phillips has moved to more landscapes and is capturing the beauty of Mother Earth. She finds inspiration in the mountains, trees, rivers, and the colors that sweep through native dances. Phillips is the middle school art teacher at Broken Bow Schools and is a sponsor for the American Indian Leaders Youth Council. She helps young native American students learn about their culture, social dancing, stickball and other aspects of their native history.

Throughout the year, the Art Gallery at the Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant showcases Native American artwork by local and national artists. Phillips’ paintings will be displayed at the Art Gallery at the Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant through April 30.

About Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Okla.

Located an hour north of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant is a AAA Four Diamond casino resort, entertainment and convention destination in southeastern Oklahoma. The casino has more than 7,400 slot machines, table games, a poker room, and a large non-smoking casino.  The resort offers more than 100,000 square feet of meeting and convention space and seats more than 3,000 at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) award-winning Grand Theater. The resort also includes more than 1,600 luxurious rooms and suites, 16 restaurants, 20 bars and lounges, six retail stores, two fitness centers, a spa, and two outdoor pools and a water park. The family-friendly District offers guests 20 bowling lanes, a 6-screen premier movie theater, 70 arcade games and dining options. Additionally, guests can enjoy the 30-camper KOA Choctaw RV Park located across from the casino. For more information, visit choctawcasinos.com.

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