Choctaw

For information about the helicopter, see H-34 Choctaw.

For information about the figure skating element, see Choctaw turn.

The Choctaws, or Chatas, are a Native American people originally from the southeast United States (Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana) of the Muskoghean linguistic group. In the nineteenth century, they were known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes," so-called because they had integrated a number of cultural and technological "practices" of Europeans. The Choctaws are famous for their extreme generosity in providing famine relief during the Irish Potato Famine.

Contents

History

Origins

Du Pratz, in his Hist. de La Louisiane (Paris, 1758) recounted that "...when I asked them from whence the Chat-kas came, to express the suddenness of their appearance they replied that they had come out from under the earth." Despite the author's assumption that this story was intended to "express the suddenness of their appearance," and not a literal creation story, this is perhaps the first European writing to contain the seed of the story. Romans' 1771 account (Natural History of East and West Florida, New York, 1775) reiterated the story:

"These people are the only nation from whom I could learn any idea of a traditional account of a first origin; and that is their coming out of a hole in the ground, which they shew between their nation and the Chickasaws; they tell us also that their neighbours were surprised at seeing a people rise at once out of the earth."

As told by both early 19th century as well as contemporary Mississippi Choctaw storytellers, it was either Nanih Waiya or a cave nearby from which the Choctaw people emerged.

Another story (Catlin's Smithsonian Report, 1885) linking the Choctaw people to Nanih Waiya explains that the Choctaw were originally inhabitants of a place far to the west:

"The Choctaws a great many winters ago commenced moving from the country where they then lived, which was a great distance to the west of the great river and the mountains of snow, and they were a great many years on their way. A great medicine man led them the whole way, by going before with a red pole, which he stuck in the ground every night where they encamped. This pole was every morning found leaning to the east, and he told them that they must continue to travel to the east until the pole would stand upright in their encampment, and that there the Great Spirit had directed that they should live."

According to the story, it was at Nanih Waiya that the pole finally stood straight. (Nanih Waiya means "leaning hill" in Choctaw.)

Nanih Waiya is in Winston County, Mississippi about ten miles southeast of Noxapater. Previously a State Park, it has now been returned to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Galloway (Choctaw Genesis 1500-1700, Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 1995) argues from fragmentary archaeological and cartographic evidence that the Choctaw did not exist as a unified people before the seventeenth century, and only at that time did various southeastern peoples (remnants of Moundville, Plaquemine, and other Mississippian cultures) coalesce to form a self-consciously Choctaw people. Regardless of the time frame, however, the homeland of the Choctaw or of the peoples from whom the Choctaw nation arose includes Nanih Waiya. The mound and the surrounding area are sacred ground to Choctaws, and are a central point of connection between the Choctaws and their homeland.

European Contact

The Choctaw were no doubt a part of the Mississippian culture in the Mississippi river valley. At the time that the Spanish made their first forays into the gulf shores, the political centers of the Missisppians were already in decline or gone. The region is best described as a collection of moderately-sized Native chiefdoms (such as those on the Coosa and Alabama rivers) interspersed with completely autonomous villages and tribal groups. This is what the earliest Spanish explorers encountered, beginning in 1519.

Pánfilo de Narváez

In 1528, Pánfilo de Narváez travelled through what was likely the Mobile Bay area, encountering American Indians who fled and burned their towns in response to the Spaniard’s approach. This response was a prelude to Hernando de Soto’s extensive journeys in 1540 to 1543. De Soto travelled up through Florida, and then down into the Alabama-Mississippi area that later was inhabited by the Choctaw. Reading between the lines of his accounts of Native interactions provides a region full of tribes of various sizes and with various degrees of control over neighboring areas.

Hernando de Soto

De Soto had the most well equipped army at the time. His successes was well-known through out Spain, and many people, women and children too, from all kinds of backgrounds joined his quest for untold riches to be plundered in the New World. However, the brutalities of the De Soto expedition were known by the Choctaw, so they decided to aggressively defend their country. Bob Ferguson states,

"Hernando Desoto, leading his well-equipped Spanish fortune hunters, made contact with the Choctaws in the year 1540. He had been one of a triumverate which wrecked and plundered the Inca empire and, as a result, was one of the wealthiest men of his time. His invading army lacked nothing in equipage. In true conquistador style, he took as hostage a chief named Tuscaloosa (Black Warrior), demanding of him carriers and women. The carriers he got at once. The women, Tuscaloosa said, would be waiting in Mabila (Mobile). The chief neglected to mention that he had also summoned his warriors to be waiting in Mabila. On October 18, 1540, DeSoto entered the town and received a gracious welcome. The Choctaws feasted with him, danced for him, then attacked him."

The Battle of Mabila was a turning point for the De Soto venture; the battle "broke the back" of the campaign, and they never fully recovered.

The impact of European diseases is unclear. Reports of De Soto’s journeys do not describe illness among his men, although pigs traveling with them often escaped and may have been excellent vectors for dangerous microbes. The two subsequent brief forays into the Southeast by Tristán de Luna y Aellano in 1559 and Juan Pardo in 1565-1567 do not provide any evidence for widespread epidemics. After Pardo, the historical picture ends. There would be no official European contact in the area at all for more than a century, and during that time the group identities of the region completely transformed.

Le Moyne d'Iberville

The first direct contact recorded between the Choctaw and a European was with Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in 1699; however, indirect contact no doubt occurred between the Choctaw and British settlers through other tribes, including the Creek and Chickasaw. Illegal fur trading may have led to further unofficial contact. Unfortunately, the archaeological record for this period between 1567 and 1699 is not complete or well-studied, but there are similarities in pottery coloring and burials that suggest the following scenario for the emergence of the distinctive Choctaw culture: the Choctaw region (generally located between the Natchez bluffs to the south and the Yazoo basin to the north) was slowly occupied by Burial Urn people from the Bottle Creek area in the Mobile delta, along with remnants of the Moundville chiefdom that had collapsed some years before. Facing severe depopulation, they fled westward, where they combined with the Plaquemine and a group of “prairie people” living near the area. When precisely this occurred is not entirely clear, but in the space of several generations, a new culture had been born (albeit with a strong Mississippian background).

United States Relations

During the American Revolutionary War, Choctaws divided over whether to support Britain or Spain (who declared war on Britain in 1779) with most Choctaw warriors who fought in the Revolutionary War supporting British actions at Natchez, Mobile, and Pensacola. The Choctaws did not encounter Americans until after the war at the 1786 Treaty of Hopewell negotiations. John R. Swanton writes,

"the Choctaw were never at war with the Americans. A few were induced by Tecumseh to ally themselves with the hostile Creeks, but the Nation as a whole was kept out of anti-American alliances by the influnces of Apushmataha, greatest of all Choctaw chiefs."

Some Choctaw scouts served with U.S. General Wayne in the Northwest Indian War. During the American Civil War, the Choctaws sided with the southern states.

The Choctaws were known for their rapid incorporation of European modernity. John R. Swanton writes,

"it is generally testified that the Creeks and Seminole, who had the most highly developed native institutions, were the slowest to become assimilated into the new political and social organism which was introduced from Europe. The Chickasaw come next and the Cherokee and Choctaw adapted themselves most rapidly of all."

George Washington’s Indian Policy was used to “civilize” Indians. He believed that Indians were equals, but believed their society was inferior. The 6 points plan includes: 1) impartial justice toward Indians, 2) regulated buying Indian lands, 3) promoted commerce, 4) promoted experiments to civilize Indians, 5) give the president authority to give them “presents”, and finally 6) provided punishments to those who violate Indian rights.

Removal & Treaties

Although there were many treaties signed with other European nations, only nine treaties were signed between the Choctaws and the United States between the years of 1786 and 1830. Ferguson writes, "nine treaties were signed during a forty-four-year period, from 1786 to 1830. I shall stress the amounts of Choctaw land involved in these treaties, even though they included agreements relating to other matters, because land was the Indians' most valuable resource." The nine treaties are:

Treaty of Hopewell	January 3, 1786
Treaty of Fort Adams	December 17, 1801
Treaty of Fort Confederation	October 17, 1802
Treaty of Hoe Buckintoopa	August 31, 1803
Treaty of Mount Dexter	November 16, 1805
Treaty of Fort St. Stephens	October 24, 1816
Treaty of Doak's Stand	October 18, 1820
Treaty of Washington City	January 20,1825
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek	September 15-27, 1830

The last treaty, the most significant, was the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (1830). The treaty signed away the remaining traditional homeland of the Choctaw to the United States. Article 14 of that treaty allowed for some Choctaws to remain in the state of Mississippi:

"ART. XIV. Each Choctaw head of a family being desirous to remain and become a citizen of the States, shall be permitted to do so, by signifying his intention to the Agent within six months from the ratification of this Treaty, and he or she shall thereupon be entitled to a reservation of one section of six hundred and forty acres of land, to be bounded by sectional lines of survey; in like manner shall be entitled to one half that quantity for each unmarried child which is living with him over ten years of age; and a quarter section to such child as may be under 10 years of age, to adjoin the location of the parent. If they reside upon said lands intending to become citizens of the States for five years after the ratification of this Treaty, in that case a grant in fee simple shall issue; said reservation shall include the present improvement of the head of the family, or a portion of it. Persons who claim under this article shall not lose the privilege of a Choctaw citizen, but if they ever remove are not to be entitled to any portion of the Choctaw annuity."

Those Choctaws who were "forcibly removed" to the Indian territory between 1831 and 1838 were organized as the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Those who signed under article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabit Creek later formed the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. In 1831, tens of thousands of Choctaw walked the 800km journey to Oklahoma and many died. The removals continued until the early 20th century. Ferguson states, "1903 MISS: Three-hundred Mississippi Choctaws were persuaded to remove to the Nation [in Oklahoma]." The removals became known as the "Trail of Tears."

Irish Famine Aid

In 1847, midway through the Irish famine, a group of Choctaws collected $710 and sent it to help starving Irish men, women and children. "It had been just 16 years since the Choctaw people had experienced the Trail of Tears, and they had faced starvation . . . . It was an amazing gesture. By today's standards, it might be a million dollars." according to Judy Allen, editor of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's newspaper, Bishinik, based at the Oklahoma Choctaw tribal headquarters in Durant, Okla. To mark the 150th anniversary, eight Irish people retraced the Trail of Tears [link].

World War I Code Talkers

In World War I, a group of Choctaws serving in the U.S. Army used their native language as a code. They were the forerunner to Native Americans from various nations, most notably the Navajo, who were used as radio operators, or code talkers, during World War II.

Recent Events

Missing Civil Right Workers (1964)

The charred remains of thecivil rights worker's station wagon was found a Choctaw reservation.

Gambling

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) has one of the largest casinos located near Philadelphia, Mississippi. The Silver Star Casino opened its doors in 1994. The Golden Moon Casino opened in 2002. The casinos are collectivelly known as the Pearl River Resort.

Abramoff-Reed Scandal

"Jack Abramoff and partner Michael Scanlon Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal inflated expenses and divided the profits from $15 million in payments from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, according to testimony and e- mails released at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing." (Bloomberg Website)

"Choctaw Chief Phillip Martin did not testify, but released a prepared statement to the committee. 'After we learned what happened, we were astounded that a senior director at a major law firm would or could engage in misconduct of this sort -- whether as regards [to] billing fabrication or as regards [to] the more egregious 'gimme five' scheme -- and that he was able to get away with it for so long.'" (Washington Post Website)

In an e-mail sent Jan. 29, 2002, Abramoff tells Scanlon "I have to meet with the monkeys from the Choctaw tribal council." [link]

U.S. Senator John McCain stated during a June 22, 2005 hearing that some of the money contributed by the tribe was unknowingly "funneled" to various people and organizations, like an Israeli sniper school instructor.

Return of Nanih Waiya

After nearly 200 years, Nanih Waiya was returned. Nanih Waiya was a state park of Mississippi until the Mississippi Legislature State Bill 2803 officially returned control to Choctaws in 2006.

Location

Mississippi (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians)

The Choctaw Reservation in Mississippi has 8 communities: Bogue Chitto, Bogue Homa, Conehatta, Crystal Ridge, Pearl River, Red Water, Tucker, and Standing Pine. These communities are located throughout the state like a chain of "islands." Collectively, the Choctaws still living in Mississippi constitute the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, led by elected Chief Phillip Martin.

Choctaws regularly traveled hundreds of miles from their homes for long periods of time. Swanton writes, "They set out early in the fall and returned to their reserved lands at the opening of spring to prepare their gardens ... At that time they visited the whites at Columbus, Miss., Macon, Brookesville, and Crawfordville, and the region where Yazoo City now is ... Fani Yakni about 9 miles east of Philadelphia, was a great place for squirrels."

The oldest settlement is located in Neshoba county. Swanton says, "on the bank of Cushtusha Creek, Neshoba County, Miss., [is] said to mark the oldest settlement in the Nation. The bones of great warriors were buried there ..."

Oklahoma (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)

Most Choctaws were forcibly removed from Mississippi to Oklahoma during the 1830s. Choctaws contributed much to the early history of Oklahoma, even giving the state its name. Former Principal Chief Allen Wright suggested the name Oklahoma, from a contraction of the Choctaw words okla ("people") and humma ("red"). Oklahoma Choctaws comprise the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The Choctaw Nation was established in the southeastern quadrant of the state made of 10 and 1/2 counties. The capitol building, which was built in 1884, is located in Tushkahoma. Their elected Chief is Gregory E. Pyle, and the Nation's headquarters are located in Durant, Oklahoma, the nation's second largest city. McAlester is currently Choctaw Nation's largest city. Approximately 250,000 people live within Choctaw Nation.

Together, the Choctaws are one of the most populous American Indian groups in North America, and many Choctaws live and work in both urban and rural areas around the world.

Louisanna (Jena Band of Choctaw Indians)

The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians are located in LaSalle and Catahoula Parishes. The Jena Band received federal recognition in 1995. Tribal membership totals 241.

Culture

Crimes

Murder was usually dealt with by revenge. Swanton writes, "Murder, i.e., intratribal man-killing, could be atoned for ordinarily only by the death of the murderer himself or some substitute acceptable to the injured family ... they cherish a desire for revenge for a generation ..."

Stolen property was usually punishable by returning the stolen goods or other compensation. Swanton says, "thieves apprehended with the stolen property in their possession were forced to return it. If they could not produce the property, either they or their families were compelled to return goods of equal value." Theft was later punishable by a whip. Swanton states of Cushman, "for minor offenses, whipping was the punishment; fifty lashes for the first offense, one hundred for the second, and death by the rifle for the third offense ... (1899)."

Incest was considered a crime. Swanton states, "incest ... was anciently a major crime, but we have no record of the punishments inflicted on account of it."

Early Choctaw Religion

The Choctaws believed in a good spirit and a evil spirit, and they may have been sun, or Hushtahli, worshippers. Swaton writes, "the Choctaws anciently regarded the sun as a deity ... the sun was ascribed the power of life and death. He was represented as looking down upon the earth, and as long as he kept his flaming eye fixed on any one, the person was safe ... fire, as the most striking representation of the sun, was considered as possessing intelligence, and as acting in concert with the sun ... [having] constant intercourse with the sun ..."

The evil spirit, or Na-lusa-chi-to (black being/soul eater), sought to harm people. It may appear, as told in stories, in the form of a shadow person.

Prayers may have been introduced by missionaries; however, Choctaw prophets were know to address the sun. Swanton writes, "an old Choctaw informed Wright that, before the arrival of the missionaries, they had no conception of prayer. However, he adds, 'I have indeed heard it asserted by some, that anciently their hopaii, or prophets, on some occasions were accustomed to address the sun ...'"

Language

The Choctaw language is a member of the Muskogean family. The language was well known among the frontiersmen of the early 1800s. The language is related to Chickasaw and some linguists consider the two dialects of a single language.

Myth

The Choctaw have many stories about little people. Swanton states of Halbert, "the Choctaws in Mississippi say that there is a little man, about two feet high, that dwells in the thick woods and is solitary in his habits ... he often playfully throws sticks and stones at the people ... the Indians doctors say that Bohpoli [thrower] assists them in the manufacture of their medicines ..." The little people are said to capture young children to teach him or her secrets of the forest.

Stories

Storytelling is a popular part of entertainment in many Native American societies. This stood also true for the Choctaws. Stories would recount their origins and would retell the deeds of heros long gone. There are also stories about possums, raccons, turtles, birds, chipmunks, and wolves. Randy Jimmie and Leonard Jimmie state,

The Choctaw believed that their people came forth from the sacred mound of Nanih Waiya. In relation to this creation myth is the legend of the Choctaw tribe's migration under the leadership of Chata. Several versions of their creation and migration legends have been perpetuated by the Native Americans and remain very popular among contemporary Choctaws, especially the elderly. The young, however, have a more active interest in the mischievous deed of various forest animals or in stories about the creation of the wild forests.

One such story of forest animals is about a possum and raccon. Randy Jimmie and Leonard Jimmie tells,

A long time ago, when the animals of the woods could talk, there lived two brothers, Possum and Raccoon. One day these two animals were walking in the forest. Raccoon was jealous of Possum's long beautiful tail with its many colors. Raccoon had often thought of various ways to destroy his brother's tail, and on that particular day he told Possum that he knew a way to make his tail even more beautiful and longer. Possum asked Raccoon how he could do such a thing. Raccoon told Possum to go home and return in a few moons, and they would meet at that particular spot and discuss it further.

When a few moons elapsed, Possum returned to the designated place. There say rd after friendly greetings, the subject of the beautiful tail was brought to the attention of Raccoon. Of course, Raccoon remembered it. He told Possum to go with him into the woods, and they set out. They traveled a long trail before they came to a large hickory tree, whose top had been knocked off. There was a hole on one side of the old battered tree. Raccoon told Possum that this was the place where latter's tail would be made longer and more beautiful. He told Possum to stick his tail into the hole in the hickory tree. The Possum did as instructed, and soon Possum found himself being tied to the tree. He became angry and attempted to get away, but Raccoon convinced Possum that this was necessary to make his tail outstanding.

Once Raccoon had tied Possum to the tree, he went on the other side of it. Within a few minutes Possum began feeling pain and heat in his tail. After a while the pain and heat disappeared, and Raccoon returned and told Possum to wait a while longer. He would out him loose upon his return. Possum waited and waited, but Raccoon did not return. Possum called for help and Squirrel showed up to set him free. When he pulled his tail out of the tree, Possum discovered it had been burned to a crisp. To this day the Choctaws believe that Raccoon burned Possum's tail because of envy and jealousy.

Stickball

Choctaw Stickball 1830s painted by G. Catlin.

Native American stickball, the oldest field sport in America, was also know as the "little brother of war" because of its roughness and substitution for war. When disputes arouse between Choctaw communities, stickball provided a "civilized" way to settle the issue. The earliest reference to stickball was in 1729 by a Jesuit priest. The stickball games would involve as few as twenty or as many as 300 players. John R. Swaton states of George Catlin's remarks on the game,

"It is no uncommon occurrence for six or eight hundred or a thousand [!] of these young men to engage in a game of ball, with five or six times that number of spectators, of men, women, and children, surrounding the ground, and looking on..."

The goal posts could be from a few hundred feet apart to a few miles. Goal posts were sometimes located within each opposing team's village.

"The nature of the playing field was never strictly defined. The only boundaries were the two goalposts at either end of the playing area and these could be anywhere from 100 feet to five miles apart, as was the case in one game in the 19th century." (Kendall Blanchard, The Mississippi Choctaws at Play: The Serious Side of Leisure)

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians play stickball today in the 21st century. Every year at the Choctaw Indian Fair near Philadelphia, Mississippi stickball can be seen played on a modern day football field.

Warfare

Choctaw warfare had many customs associated with it. Before war was declared a council was held to discuss the matter which would last about eight days. Swanton writes on Bossu's account, "The Chactas love war and have some good methods of making it. They never fight standing fixedly in one place; they flit about; they heap contempt upon their enemies without at the same time being braggarts, for when they come to grips they fight with much coolness ..." Supersition was a part of Choctaw warfare. Swanton says, "The Chactas are extremely superstitious. When they are about to go to war they consult their Manitou, which is carried by the chief. They always exhibit it on that side where they are going to march toward the enemy, the warriors standing guard about ..."

When the Choctaw capture an enemy, he or she was displayed as a war trophy. Swanton writes of what Roman wrote, "they never exercised so much cruelty upon their captive enemies as the other savages; they almost always brought them home to shew them, and the dispatched them with a bullet or hatchet; after which, the body being cut into many parts, and all the hairy pieces of skin converted into scalps, the remainder is buried and the above trophies carried home, where the women dance with them till tired; then they are exposed on the tops of the hot houses till they are annihilated ..."

For some societies, the practice of decapitation was considered an honor. This practice seems to be true for the Choctaw of Oskelagna. A fallen Choctaw warrior's head was brought back after a battle. Swanton says of De Lusser (1730), "there was one who brought the head of one of their people who had been killed. He threw it at my feet telling me that he was a warrior who had lost his life for the French and that it was well to weep for his death ..."

Influential Choctaw Leaders

Tuscaloosa ("Dark Warrior") attacked Hernando de Soto at the Battle of Mabilia.
Pushmataha (Apushmataha) was a leader during the removal era.
Greenwood LeFlore First Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation.

Pushmataha

Mosholatubbee was also a leader during the removal era.
Hat-choo-tuck-nee ("The Snapping Turtle") (Peter Perkins Pitchlynn) was a highly influential leader during the removal era and after.
Tulli was one of the greatest Choctaw stickball players.
Joseph Oklahombi, WWI Code Talker and War Hero.
Muriel Wright, Choctaw Historian and Writer.
Phillip Martin, chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians since 1979. Encouraged outside investment and reduced unemployment to nearly 0% on the reservation.

Bibliography

Bushnell, David I. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 48: The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1909.
Byington, Cyrus. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 46: A Dictionary of the Choctaw Language. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1915.
Carson, James Taylor. Searching for the Bright Path: The Mississippi Choctaws from Prehistory to Removal. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999.
Ferguson, Bob. Choctaw Chronology. http://www.choctaw.org/history/chronology.htm 1997.
Galloway, Patricia. Choctaw Genesis 1500-1700. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
Haag, Marcia and Henry Willis. Choctaw Language & Culture: Chahta Anumpa. Norman, Okla: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001.
Jimmie, Randy and Jimmie, Leonard. NANIH WAIYA Magazine, 1974, Vol I, Number 3.
Lincecum, Gideon. Pushmataha: A Choctaw Leader and His People. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2004.
Mould, Tom. Choctaw Tales. Jackson, Miss: University Press of Mississippi, 2004.
O'Brien, Greg. Choctaws in a Revolutionary Age, 1750-1830. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002.
O'Brien, Greg. "Mushulatubbee and Choctaw Removal: Chiefs Confront a Changing World." http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature14/choctaw_removal.html 2001.

O'Brien, Greg. "Pushmatha: Choctaw Warrior, Diplomat, and Chief." http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature18/pushmataha.html 2001.
Pesantubbee, Michelene E. Choctaw Women in a Chaotic World: The Clash of Cultures in the Colonial Southeast. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico, 2005.
Swanton, John R. Source Material for the Social and Ceremonial Life of the Choctaw Indians. Tuscaloosa and London: The University of Alabama Press, 2001.
Tingle, Tim. Walking the Choctaw Road. El Paso, Tex: Cinco Puntos Press, 2003.

External links

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