Allison Crawford explains the different types of soaps she offers to a customer at the Choctaw Welcome Center in Colbert.
(Photo by STEPHENIE OCHOA)
Legacy Soaps now part of Choctaw Nation Store to serve local area residents.
By STEPHENIE OCHOA
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
DURANT– Artisans are often the torchbearers for a culture, teaching and sharing with others the spirit of a people who came before, with the spirit of talent and passion for contemporary additions of today. Of such torchbearers is a unique artist whose crafts were designed to heal and help.
Allison Crawford, Choctaw goat’s milk soap maker, has dedicated her life to helping others in a very holistic and historical way, yet, with contemporary additions. Legacy Soaps, the name of Crawford’s business, was born out of the need to help a unique portion of society that she felt needed extra love and care, pediatric critical care patients.
As a pediatric nurse, she began to research and use goat’s milk to specially design holistic products that could remedy various skin problems. As each bar was developed, Crawford helped many special cases as well as their family members never considering her soaps might be what helped her the most.
Crawford originally planned soap making to be a pastime, however, when an accident left her unable to carry on as a nurse, the healing soaps allowed her to continue on with her dream of caring for others and also provided for her financially. Legacy Soaps became this artist’s full-time job and grew in size and are now carried in the Choctaw Nation Welcome Center Store and shipped throughout the United States as well as abroad with 10 different bars and custom creations available.
As an artist and a caregiver, Crawford says she is fulfilled, “doing what you love is freedom and loving what you do is happiness.” Yet, when asked what her next goal is, Crawford says, “I always ask myself, how can I help or whom can I help next?”
Legacy Soaps are all made in traditional Native American methods passed down from other Native soap makers and all ingredients are harvested from goats born and raised on her farm. She breeds, rears and milks her own goats then mixes, molds and cuts the soaps all by hand adding specially researched and tested oils and emollients for specific issues.
A few of the conditions Legacy Soaps help with, she says, are anti-fungal needs, acne, dry skin, eczema, depression, muscle soreness, tension, antiseptics and other skin irritants. For additional information about Legacy Soaps, visit Legacy Soaps or visit the Choctaw Nation Store in Calera.