Be Safe, Beat the Heat When Out and About in Choctaw Reservation

Make sure to beat the Oklahoma Heat, Drink your Water!

The summer months offer many different types of outdoor fun that you and your family can enjoy. From cookouts to swimming in our many lakes in the Choctaw Nation, we have a lot of beautiful places for recreation.

Coming up on Aug. 30, the Choctaw Nation will open our Labor Day Festival with games, rides, arts and crafts, good music and great food. It’s expected to be another hot one this year, so I urge you to please take precautions against the heat. The number one medical ailment that impacted the festival in 2023 involved heat-related emergencies. It can be such a scary situation when you have heat exhaustion, but it is so easily remedied if you drink lots of water, stay in the shade and visit inside the arts and crafts or food buildings if the heat outside is too much for you.

The Mayo Clinic has a lot to say about keeping safe from the summer’s heat. The clinic recommends when temperatures climb, remember to:

• Wear loose-fitting, lightweight clothing.
• Protect against sunburn.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
• Be careful with certain medicines, educate yourself on reactions to warm weather.
• Never leave anyone in a parked car.
• Take it easy during the hottest parts of the day.
• Be cautious if you’re at increased risk. If you take medicines or have a condition that increases your risk of heat-related problems, such as a history of prior heat illness, be cautious.

We are expecting another great year for the Labor Day Festival, and we want all our guests to have the most fun and remain safe during this time. The best way to do that is to also be honest with yourself and monitor how you feel throughout the day. If the heat is getting to you, please let one of our associates know and we can bring a golf cart to get you to a place for a cool down.

The Choctaw Nation takes heat exhaustion very seriously. It can make you very ill, and in extreme cases can even prove fatal to some heatstroke victims. It’s an important enough topic that our Choctaw Nation Occupational Safety & Health team requires our associates to learn about recognizing the signs of heat-related illness as part of our annual safety training. We urge you to also take this topic seriously as well when you venture out during the summer months across our reservation.

If you have never experienced heat exhaustion before, there are signs to be on the lookout for according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms of heat exhaustion may start suddenly or progress over time, especially with prolonged periods of exercise. Possible heat exhaustion symptoms include:

• Cool, moist skin with goose bumps when in the heat.
• Heavy sweating.
• Faintness.
• Dizziness.
• Fatigue.
• Weak, rapid pulse.
• Low blood pressure upon standing.
• Muscle cramps.
• Nausea.
• Headache.

Taking the time to monitor yourself, drinking plenty of water, finding a cool, shady place and being honest with yourself about your limitations will help you have a great, incident-free summer and another fun, exciting time at this year’s Labor Day Festival. See you in Tuskahoma on Aug. 30!

Yakoke and God Bless!