Choctaw Totally Explained

Everything about Choctaws totally explained

|regions =
|languages = English, Choctaw |religions = Protestantism, traditional beliefs |related = Chickasaw, Five Civilized Tribes
other Native American groups }}
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States (Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana) of the Muskogean linguistic group. The word Choctaw (also known as Chahta, Chato, Tchakta, and Chocktaw) may have derived from the Castilian word "chato" meaning wineglass or flat. They were a part of the Mississippian culture which was located throughout the Mississippi River valley. The early Spanish explorers are believed to have encountered their antecedents. In the 19th century, Choctaws were known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" because they'd integrated numerous cultural and technological practices of their European American colonial neighbors. Although smaller Choctaw groups are located in the southern region, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians are the two primary Choctaw associations.
During the American Revolution most Choctaws supported the thirteen colonies so that the European-Americans may win their independence from the British Empire. After a series of treaties with the United States, Andrew Jackson made the Choctaw exiles a model of Indian removal as the first to march the Trail of Tears. In 1831 when the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was ratified, Choctaws who chose to stay in the newly formed state of Mississippi were the first major non-European ethnic group to become U.S. citizens. They are also remembered for their generosity in providing humanitarian relief during the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), twenty years prior to the founding of the Red Cross. During the American Civil War the Choctaw in both Oklahoma and Mississippi mostly sided with the Confederate States of America. In World War I, they served in the U.S. Army as codetalkers using the Choctaw language. The Choctaw are known for their economic success and for setting an unparalleled precedent in Indian Country.

History

New World antiquity

Nearly 12,000 years ago, Native Americans or Paleo-indians appeared in the what today is referred to as the South. Paleoindians in the Southeast were fairly generalized hunter-gatherers who pursued a wide range of animals including the megafauna that soon became extinct following the end of the Pleistocene age. Cushman writes, "the ancient Choctaw through their tradition (said) 'they saw the mighty beasts of the forests, whose tread shook 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. The companion story describes their journey from the west.
Patricia Galloway argues from fragmentary archaeological and cartographic evidence that the Choctaw didn't exist as a unified people before the 17th century, and only at that time did various southeastern peoples, who are 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.

Post Columbian era

The antecedents of the Choctaw were part of the Mississippian culture in the Mississippi river valley. At the time that the Spanish made their first forays inland from the gulf shores, the political centers of the Mississippians were already in decline or gone. The region is best described as a collection of moderately-sized native chiefdoms (such as the Coosa chiefdom on the Coosa River) interspersed with completely autonomous villages and tribal groups. The Mississippian culture is what the earliest Spanish explorers encountered, beginning on April 2, 1513, with Juan Ponce De León's Florida landing and the 1526 Lucas Vázquez De Ayllón expedition in South Carolina.

Pánfilo De Narváez (1528)

In 1528, Pánfilo De Narváez travelled through what was likely the Mobile Bay area, encountering southeastern Native Americans like the Apalachee. A devastating storm, possibly a hurricane, destroyed their vessels leaving them to journey on foot on along the coastline. Only four men survived the expedition: Álvar Núñez Cabeza De Vaca, Alonso Del Castillo Maldonado, Andrés Dorantes De Carranza and Estevanico. Cabeza De Vaca, whose La Relación chronicles the nine year journey from Florida to California, was a fortune-seeking Spanish nobleman and served as the expedition's treasurer. Upon returning to Spain, the Narváez expedition created a sensation after Cabeza De Vaca published La Relación which paved the way for the journeys of Marcos De Niza, Hernando De Soto, and Francisco Vázquez De Coronado. When Niza returned to New Spain, they told the stories of cities with great riches, like Cíbola.

Hernando De Soto (1540)

After Cabeza De Vaca returned to Spain, he described to the Court of Hernando that the New World was the "richest country in the world." De Soto, convinced of the "riches", wanted Cabeza De Vaca to go on the expedition, but Cabeza De Vaca later declined his offer because of a payment dispute of a ship. From 1540–1543, Hernando De Soto travelled through Florida and Georgia, and then down into the Alabama and Mississippi area that would later be inhabited by the Choctaw.
De Soto had the best-equipped army at the time. His successes were well-known throughout Spain, and many people from all 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 antecedents of the Choctaw, so they decided to defend their country. This battle, known as 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.

Impact of Old World diseases

Although Old World diseases had a devastating impact in the New World, the impact of European diseases upon the Choctaw is unclear. Reports of De Soto’s journeys don't describe illness among his men, although pigs traveling with them often escaped and may have been carriers of dangerous microbes. The two subsequent brief forays into the Southeast by Tristán De Luna y Arellano in 1559 and Juan Pardo in 1565–1567 don't provide any evidence for widespread epidemics. After Pardo, the historical picture ends. There would be no official European contact for a century, and during that time the group identities will transform.

Le Moyne d'Iberville (1699)

The first direct contact recorded between the Choctaw and a European was with Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in 1699; indirect contact had likely occurred between the Choctaw and British settlers through other tribes, including the Creek and Chickasaw. The Choctaw, along with other tribes, had formed a relationship with French Louisana. Illegal fur trading may have led to further unofficial contact. The archaeological record for this period between 1567 and 1699 isn't 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 this occurred isn't clear, but in the space of several generations, a new culture had been born (albeit with a strong Mississippian background).

United States relations

George Washington and Henry Knox proposed the cultural transformation of Native Americans. Washington believed that Native Americans were equals but that their society was inferior. He formulated a policy to encourage the "civilizing" process, and Thomas Jefferson continued it. Noted Andrew Jackson historian Robert Remini wrote "they presumed that once the Indians adopted the practice of private property, built homes, farmed, educated their children, and embraced Christianity, these Native Americans would win acceptance from white Americans." Washington's six-point plan included impartial justice toward Indians; regulated buying of Indian lands; promotion of commerce; promotion of experiments to civilize or improve Indian society; presidential authority to give presents; and punishing those who violated Indian rights. The government appointed agents, like Benjamin Hawkins, to live among the Indians and to teach them, through example and instruction, how to live like whites. After the Revolutionary War, the Choctaws were reluctant to ally themselves with countries hostile to the U.S. John R. Swanton wrote, "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 influence of Apushmataha, greatest of all Choctaw chiefs."
Ferguson also writes that "1783 [wasthe] End of American Revolution. Franchimastabe, Choctaw head chief, went to Savannah, Georgia to secure American trade." Some Choctaw scouts served with U.S. General Anthony Wayne in the Northwest Indian War.

Hopewell (1786)

Starting in October 1785, Taboca led over 125 Choctaws to the Keowee, near Seneca Old Town, now known as Hopewell, South Carolina. After two months of travel they met with U.S. representatives Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, and Joseph Martin.
In high Choctaw ceremonial symbolism, they named, adopted, smoked, and performed dances, revealing the complex and serious nature of Choctaw diplomacy. One such dance was the eagle tail dance. They explained that the Bald Eagle, who has direct contact with the upper world of the sun, is a symbol of peace. Choctaw women painted in white would adopt and name commissioners as kin.Smoking sealed agreements between peoples and sanctified peace between the two nations. After the rituals, the Choctaws asked for John Woods to live with them to improve communication with the U.S. and in exchange allow Taboca to visit the United States Congress.
The treaty required the return of escaped slaves, turning over of any Choctaws who had been convicted of crimes by the U.S., establishment of borderlines between the U.S. and Choctaw Nation, and the return of any property which had been captured during the Revolutionary War.

War of 1812

Early in 1811, Tecumseh came to garner support for his British-backed attempt to recover lands from the United States settlers. As chief for the Six Towns district, Pushmataha strongly resisted such a plan, arguing that the Choctaw and their neighbors the Chickasaw had always lived in peace with white Americans, had learned valuable skills and technologies, and had received honest treatment and fair trade. The joint Choctaw-Chickasaw council then voted against alliance with Tecumseh. On Tecumseh's departure, Pushmataha accused him of tyranny over his own Shawnee tribe and other tribes. Pushmataha warned Tecumeseh that he'd fight against those who fought the United States.
   With the outbreak of war, Pushmataha led the Choctaws in alliance with the U.S., arguing in favor of opposing the Creek alliance with Britain after the massacre at Fort Mims. He arrived at St. Stephens, Alabama in mid-1813 with an offer of alliance and recruitment. He was escorted to Mobile to speak with General Flournoy, then commanding the district. Flournoy initially declined Pushmataha's offer, offending the chief. However, Flournoy's staff quickly convinced him to reverse his decision, and a courier with a message accepting the offer of alliance caught up with Pushmataha at St. Stephens.
   Returning to Choctaw territory, Pushmataha raised a company of 125 Choctaw warriors with a rousing speech and was commissioned (as either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Brigadier General) in the United States Army at St. Stephens. After observing that the officers and their wives would promenade along the Alabama River, Pushmataha summoned his own wife to St. Stephens and also took part in this custom, helping to elevate women's status in his tribe.
   Pushmataha joined the U.S. Army under General Claiborne in mid-November, and 125 Choctaw warriors took part in an attack on Creek forces at Kantachi, or Econochaca, Alabama, on 23 December 1813. On October 18, the Treaty of Doak's Stand was signed.
   After ceding nearly 11 million acres, the Choctaw emigrated in three stages: the first in the fall of 1831, the second in 1832 and the last in 1833. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 25, 1831, and the President was anxious to make it a model of removal.}}
Alexis de Tocqueville, noted French political thinker and historian, witnessed the Choctaw removals while in Memphis, Tennessee in 1831,
Approximately 5,000–6,000 Choctaws remained in Mississippi in 1831 after the initial removal efforts. For the next ten years they were objects of increasing legal conflict, racism, harassment, and intimidation. The Choctaws describe their situation in 1849, "we have had our habitations torn down and burned, our fences destroyed, cattle turned into our fields and we ourselves have been scourged, manacled, fettered and otherwise personally abused, until by such treatment some of our best men have died." The removals continued well into the early 20th century. In 1903, three hundred Mississippi Choctaws were persuaded to move to the Nation in Oklahoma.

American Civil War (1861)

Peter Pitchlynn, who was in Washington City in 1861 when the war started, immediately returned home, hoping to escape the expected strife. He had been there to address national affairs of the Choctaws.
In Oklahoma, Jackson McCurtain, who would later become a district chief, was elected as representative from Sugar Loaf County to the National Council in October 1859. On June 22, 1861, he enlisted in the First Regiment of Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles. He was commissioned Captain of Company G under the command of Colonel Douglas H. Cooper of the Confederate Army. In 1862 he became a Lieutenant Colonel of the First Choctaw Battalion.
The Confederacy wanted to recruit Indians in 1862, so they opened up a recruiting camp in Mobile, Alabama "at the foot of Stone Street." The Mobile Advertiser and Register would advertise for a chance at military service.
Mississippi Choctaws were captured in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and several died in a Union prison in New York. Estevanico, part of the Pánfilo de Narváez expedition, became the first documented person born in Africa known to have set foot in what is now the southern United States. Slavery was a part of European culture which the Choctaws adapted.

Code talkers (1917)

In the closing days of World War I, A group of Choctaws serving in the U.S. Army used their native language as a secret code. The Choctaws were the forerunners to Native Americans from various nations, most notably the Navajo, who served as telephone
Eventually fourteen Choctaw Indian men in the Army's 36th Division, trained to use their language, helped the American Expeditionary Force win several key battles in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign in France, the final big German push of the war. Within 24 hours after the Choctaw language was pressed into service, the tide of the battle had turned, and in less than 72 hours the Germans were retreating and the Allies were on full attack. The 14 Choctaw Code Talkers were Albert Billy, Mitchell Bobb, Victor Brown, Ben Caterby, James Edwards, Tobias Frazer, Ben Hampton, Solomon Louis, Pete Maytubby, Jeff Nelson, Joseph Oklahombi, Robert Taylor, Calvin Wilson, and Walter Veach.

World War II (1941)

World War II was a significant turning point for Choctaws and Native Americans in general. Although the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek stated Mississippi Choctaws had U.S. citizenship, they were treated as if they were not citizens, and they didn't have other amenities citizens had. A Mississippi Choctaw veteran stated, "Indians were not supposed to go in the military back then ... the military was mainly for whites. My category was white instead of Indian. I don't know why they did that. Even though Indians weren't citizens of this country, couldn't register to vote, didn't have a draft card or anything, they took us anyway." Van Barfoot, a Choctaw from Mississippi, who was a Second Lieutenant and Sgt. in the U.S. Army, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry Division received the Medal of Honor.

Post war era

In 1945, land in Neshoba County, Mississippi the surrounding counties was set aside as a federal Indian reservation. There are eight communities of reservation land: Bogue Chitto, Bogue Homa, Conehatta, Crystal Ridge, Pearl River, Red Water, Tucker, and Standing Pine. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 allowed the Mississippi Choctaws to become re-organized on April 20, 1945 as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
In the 1950s, Phillip Martin, who had served in the U. S. Army in Europe during World War II, intended only to visit Neshoba county; but after seeing the poverty of his people, he was compelled by conscience to stay. Will Campbell witnessed the destitution of the Choctaw. He would later write, "the thing I remember the most ... was the depressing sight of the Choctaws, their shanties along the country roads, grown men lounging on the dirt streets of their villages in demeaning idleness, sometimes drinking from a common bottle, sharing a roll-your-own cigarette, their half-clad children a picture of hurting that would never end. Unless repealed by the federal government, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma would effectively be terminated as a sovereign nation as of August 25, 1970. The end of racial segregation permitted the Choctaws to participate in institutions that were reserved exclusively for white patrons.
On June 21, 1964 James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner (renowned civil rights workers) disappeared; their remains were later found in a newly constructed dam. A crucial turning point in the FBI investigation came when the charred remains of the murdered Mississippi civil rights workers' station wagon was found on a Mississippi Choctaw reservation.

Recent history

   In the 1970s, the Choctaws repudiated the Indian activism. The Oklahoma Choctaw sought a local grassroots solution to reclaim their cultural identity and sovereignty as a nation. 1975 also marked the year that the United States Congress passed the landmark Indian Self-determination and Education Act.
   In 1987 the Supreme Court of the United States recognized that federally recognized tribes could operate gaming facilities free from state regulation. U.S. Congress soon enacted the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which sets the terms for how Native American tribes are permitted to operate casinos. In 1992 Governor Kirk Fordice finally gave permission, after a long wait under the Ray Mabus administration, for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw to develop a Class III gaming casino and resort.
   The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) has one of the largest casinos located in Choctaw, Mississippi. The Silver Star Casino opened its doors in 1994. The Golden Moon Casino opened in 2002. The casinos are collectively known as the Pearl River Resort. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma also operates the Choctaw Casino Resort and Choctaw Casino Bingo, popular gaming destinations in Durant (near the Oklahoma-Texas border) for residents of Southern Oklahoma and North Texas, most notably the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon inflated and divided profits from $15 million in payment from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Congressional hearings were held and charges were brought against Abramoff and Scanlon. In an e-mail sent January 29, 2002, Abramoff tells Scanlon "I have to meet with the monkeys from the Choctaw tribal council."
   After nearly two hundred 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.

Treaties

Land was the most valuable asset Native Americans held in collective stewardship. Choctaw land was systematcially obtained through treaties, legislation, and threats of warfare. Although there were many treaties with Great Britain, France, and Spain; nine treaties were signed between the Choctaws and the United States. Some treaties, like the Treaty of San Lorenzo, indirectly affected the Choctaws.

Reservations

Reservations can be found in Alabama-(MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians), Louisiana-(Jena Band of Choctaw Indians; United Houma Nation; Choctaw-Apache of Ebarb; Bayou Lacombe Choctaw; Clifton Choctaw), Mississippi-(Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians), and Oklahoma-(Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). Other population centers include California and Chicago.

Culture

European-American influences; however, interaction with Spain, France, and England greatly shaped it as well. They were known for their rapid incorporation of modernity, developing a written language, transitioning to yeoman farming methods, and accepting European-Americans and African-Americans into their society. In mid-summer the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians celebrate their culture during the Choctaw Indian Fair with ball games, dancing, cooking and entertainment.

Language

Chata Anumpa: Hattak yuka keyu hokʊtto yakohmit itibachʊfat hieli kʊt, nan isht imaiʊlhpiesa atokmʊt itilawashke; yohmi ha hattak nana hohkia, keyukmʊt kanohmi hohkia okla moma nana isht aim aiʊlhpiesa, micha isht aimaiʊlhtoba he aima ka kanohmi bano hosh isht ik imaiʊlhpieso kashke. Amba moma kʊt nana isht imachukma chi ho tuksʊli hokmakashke.
English Language: That all free men, when they form a special compact, are equal in rights, and that no man or set of men are entitled to exclusive, separate public emolument or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services.

Religion

The Choctaws believed in a good spirit and an evil spirit, and they may have been sun, or Hushtahli, worshipers. Swanton 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 ..." }}
   Prayers may have been introduced by missionaries; however, Choctaw prophets were known to have addressed the sun. Swanton writes, "an old Choctaw informed Wright that before the arrival of the missionaries, they'd 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 ...'" When disputes arouse between Choctaw communities, stickball provided a civil way to settle issues. The stickball games would involve as few as twenty or as many as 300 players. 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. A Jesuit priest referenced stickball in 1729, and George Catlin painted the subject. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians continue to practice the sport.
   Chunke was a game that consisted of a stone shaped disk that was about 1–2 inches in length. The disk was thrown down a 200 foot corridor so that it could roll past the players at great speed. The disk would roll down the corridor, and players would throw wooden shafts at the moving disk. The object of the game was to strike the disk or prevent your opponents from hitting it. The game is no longer practiced.
   Other games included a corn, cane, and moccasin games. The corn game included 5–7 kernals of corn. One side was blackened and the other side white. Points were assigned for each color. One point was awarded for the black side and 5-7 points for the white side. There were usually only two players.

Traditional Clothing

The colorful dresses worn by today's Choctaw are made by hand and adapted from 19th century European-American designs. Choctaws today wear Choctaw clothing mainly for special events. Choctaw elders, especially the Choctaw women, dress in their traditional garb every day. Choctaw dresses are trimmed by full diamond, half diamond or circle and crosses that represent stickball sticks.

Influential leaders

Tuscaloosa (?-d. October 1540) retaliated against Hernando de Soto at the Battle of Mabilia. The battle was the first major conflict in North America between Native Americans and Europeans.
Franchimastabe (?- d. 1800s) was a transitional benefactor and a contemporary of Taboca. To some Americans he was the "leading chief of the Choctaws." He led a war party with British forces against American rebels.
Taboca (?- d. 1800s) was a traditional "prophet-chief" who led a delegation starting in October 1785 to Hopewell, South Carolina.
Apuckshunubbee (c. 1740-d. 1824) was chief of the Okla Falaya (Tall People) district in old Choctaw nation. He died in Kentucky on his way to Washington D.C. to conduct negotiations.
Pushmataha (Apushmataha) (b. 1760s-d. December 24, 1824) was a chief in old Choctaw nation. He negotiated treaties with the United States and fought on the American's side in the War of 1812. He died in Washington D.C. and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C.
Mosholatubbee (b. 1770-d. 1836) was a chief in the Choctaw nation before the removal and after. He went to Washington D.C. to negotiate for the tribe in 1824 and was the only major leader to return.
Greenwood LeFlore (b. June 3, 1800–d. August 31, 1865) was a District Chief of the Choctaws in Mississippi. He was a influential state representative and senator in Mississippi.
George W. Harkins (b. 1810-d. 1890) was a district Choctaw chief in Indian Territory (1850-1857) prior to the Civil War and author of the "Farewell Letter to the American People".
Peter Pitchlynn (b. January 30, 1806-d. January 17, 1881) was a highly influential leader during the removal era and long after. He represented the Choctaws in Washington D.C. for some years and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery. Charles Dickens described him "as stately and complete a gentleman of nature's making as ever I beheld."
Phillip Martin (b. March 13, 1926) was the Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians from 1979-2007 and worked in tribal government for over fifty years. He encouraged outside investment and reduced unemployment to nearly 0% on the reservation.

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