Nellie Hunter advises, love anybody
Choctaw Nation elder provides wisdom for nation
By STEPHENIE OCHOA Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
DURANT, Okla. – Whether it is a nation of a family, it takes wisdom, intelligence and compassion to grow something great, and as the adage goes, “it takes a village to raise a child,” it is comforting to know the Great Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma recognizes those elders who have helped to shape the nation and it’s people. By freely giving to the communal-cultural pool of advice, knowledge, and education, as a nation, we learn how to build more than better tomorrows, we learn to build the best tomorrows.
Nellie Hunter, 75 of Tupelo, opened her heart to provide the Nation with doses of love and experience hope to help any and all who might benefit from where she has been and what she has done. A great-grandmother to 10, grandmother to 22 and mother to seven, a member of the Choctaw Veteran’s Association, Women’s Veteran Association and Choctaw Nation Color Guard, Hunter devoted much of her life to serving others beginning with serving in the US Army and traveling abroad to Okinawa. The height of segregation, Hunter’s travels forced her to witness and experience much, yet, she stayed true to her helping spirit. As a caring individual, Nellie would always choose to stay with her fellow comrades because she felt it was the right thing to do.
Upon leaving the service, Nellie began her family and traveled until finally settling in the Oklahoma City area as a worker at VA hospitals. She felt the VA hospitals were a great fit for her nurturing spirit and she continued to work there until she could do so no longer but began helping disabled children often until they were adults.
Putting herself second to others placed Hunter’s dream of finishing her college degree off until May of this year. She graduated with a Bachelors degree in Organizational Leadership and plans to help as many others as she can with her additional education. Hunter also aspires to run for Mayor of Tupelo. She hopes that this move will allow her to give back locally to her community.
When asked why she helps so many throughout her life, Hunter said it is her belief that God gave her a “caring nature” and as long as she can, she will continue to devote her time to the benefit of others.
Nellie Hunter wished for others to know that her biggest influences were from the Choctaw Nation, Chiefs Gregory Pyle and Gary Batton, “They were here for me always and offered me support throughout my life,”
Hunter would like to leave the following advice for the Nation, “With God and confidence you can do anything.” Also, for the Nation, Nellie believes it’s important to help older children such as those leaving high school and entering college. “They don’t have as much support as they need to carry through with healthy lives” and she encourages all to know the dangers of addiction and how it can destroy lives. Hunter also expresses the importance that you should “love anybody.” According to her, it doesn’t matter if you know a person or not, everybody needs to be loved.