With the rise in COVID-19 infections, Chickasaw Nation health officials stress responsible distancing, masking and vaccinations, and say that mitigation efforts are crucial in the fight against the virus. The Chickasaw Nation Department of Health has moved COVID-19 testing and vaccinations to the Emergency Operations Facility in Ada. Drive-through testing is available from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and vaccinations are offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Testing and vaccinations are also available at Chickasaw Nation health clinics in Ardmore, Purcell and Tishomingo. Vaccines are free to all, regardless of tribal citizenship status. To learn more, visit www.covidvaccine.chickasaw.net.

In other health news, the Chickasaw Nation has joined other First American tribes in Oklahoma for a blood drive challenge with the Oklahoma Blood Institute. Currently, there is a blood supply shortage and citizens, employees and the community are encouraged to donate blood. "Every time you donate blood, you have the opportunity to save three lives," says Dr. Judy Goforth Parker, Chickasaw Nation Commissioner of Health Policy. For questions about the blood drive, please call (888) 208-2924.

Award-winning Chickasaw classical music composer Jerod Tate has been named a cultural ambassador by the U.S. Department of State, among 31 people given that recognition. As cultural ambassador, Tate will serve on a month-long multi-country virtual tour, engaging with international audiences through public concerts, interactive performances and workshops. CNTV News recently spoke with him, Margaret Roach Wheeler and Josh Hinson about their upcoming project, Shell Shaker Opera, which is sung entirely in the Chickasaw language. Shell Shaker Opera will premier in March 2022 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The piece will be performed with the Mount Holyoke Symphony at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. To close the episode, Brad and Quin speak with Kelly Langley, a Chickasaw photographer and retired educator who will participate in this month's 43rd annual Edmond Arts Festival. To see more of her photography, visit www.aroundthebendstudio.com.