October 1, 2013
Tingle, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, has performed five times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn., and has been a featured storyteller in 42 states, Canada, Mexico, Germany and Ireland. He also has performed at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
The third-annual Community Reading Experience, sponsored by the Department of English and Communication Studies, featured Tingle’s book, Walking the Choctaw Road – a collection of stories based on interviews with the tribe’s people. It won Storytelling World magazine’s Best Anthology award in 2003 as well as the Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma Book Award and Alaska Reads! Book of the Year award in 2005.
Tingle’s stories focus upon his unique, yet historically accurate, perspectives of Choctaw culture. He sometimes uses Native American flutes and percussion instruments as accompaniment.
The Canyon Lake resident read, performed and discussed his work, then answered questions from the audience, including a student panel from St. Mary’s composition and literature classes.