Durant renames Big Lots Boulevard to honor Choctaw heritage
Durant replaced Big Lots Boulevard with Chahta Way after the Choctaw Nation bought the former store site. The new sign will mark a retailer’s retreat and a community name rooted in local Indigenous history.
Durant City Council voted last week to rename Big Lots Boulevard to Chahta Way, erasing the retailer’s name from a road that sits directly in front of the Choctaw Nation’s headquarters in Durant. The change follows the Choctaw Nation’s March 2026 purchase of the former Big Lots facility and adjoining land, a move that turned a shuttered retail site into tribal property with a new civic identity.
Chahta Way means Choctaw people, and city and tribal officials said the new name was meant to honor the rich heritage, history and continued presence of the Choctaw people in the community. They also framed the rename as another sign of the strong partnership between the City of Durant and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which has made its presence more visible in the same corridor where Big Lots once operated.
For Big Lots employees and observers tracking the company’s shrinking footprint, the symbolism is hard to miss. A building that once carried the chain’s brand and supported local jobs is now part of a larger tribal landholding, and the street outside it now points to a different long-term future.
Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said the purchase is part of the tribe’s continued growth and long-term business strategy. The tribe is evaluating the property for possible uses that support operational growth and economic prosperity, a reminder that the site is not sitting idle even as the Big Lots name disappears from the map.
Durant Mayor Martin Tucker said the renaming was more than a street sign change and was intended to recognize the Choctaw Nation’s impact on the community and honor the history and culture woven into Durant. The council’s action also came after earlier efforts by the city and tribe in 2026 to prevent the former Big Lots distribution center from becoming an ICE detention center, a fight that gave the property an unusually visible place in local politics before the renaming was approved.
The Choctaw Nation says it is the third-largest Indian Nation in the United States, with more than 230,000 tribal members and over 13,000 associates in one official statement. No public date had been announced for installation of the new signage, leaving the roadway’s old identity in place for now even as its new name has already been set.
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