Oka Kapassa Return to Coldwater Festival

The 2026 Oka Kapassa Festival will be held September 11 – 12. There will be a special performance Friday evening, September 11, with music, dance, and storytelling. On Saturday, September 12, the festival will continue during the day with vendors, demonstrations, performances, and various activities. 

In 1827, just prior to the Indian Removal Act, about 740 Creek were forced to leave their homes in Georgia and head west. They were driven from their homes in the middle of the night with little food, clothing, and supplies for the long winter journey. As they neared Tuscumbia, townspeople witnessed the terrible conditions and gathered clothing, blankets, and prepared food. When the Creek people arrived, they were received with great hospitality. Their Chief wrote a letter to the townspeople thanking them for their kind treatment, saying “As long as our Nation remains upon this earth, we will recollect Tuscumbia.” Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw and Cherokee are just some of the Native People who camped around the welcoming spring of Spring Park.  Each year these Nations journey to Tuscumbia, Alabama for the Oka Kapassa Festival, to share their culture, heritage, and legends and to “recollect’’ Tuscumbia.