Choctaw

The Choctaw autonym is Chahta. The proper noun "Choctaw" is an anglization of "Chahta." Anthropologist John R. Swanton reports that the Choctaw derived their name from an early leader of the Choctaw people. Swanton's report was taken directly from the Choctaw people as they recounted a story of their early history regarding a journey to seek a new homeland. On this journey, the ancestral group of people divided into two groups over different interpretations of a totem the people were consulting on how they might proceed on their journey. A leader named "Chahta" proposes that the totem indicates they should proceed to the north while another leader, Chahta's brother "Chiksa'", proposes the indication is to proceed to the east. The people chose which leader they would follow which split them into two groups. Those who followed Chahta became the Chahta or Choctaw people and those who followed Chiksa' became the Chiksa' or Chickasaw people.^[9] Henry Halbert, a historian, suggests that the name is derived from the Choctaw phrase Hacha hatak (river people).^[10] This view has little support.

One Choctaw origin story relates how in pre-historic times the Choctaw people lived in areas near or around what is now known as the Yucatan Peninsula. This story explains that when the ancient South American homeland of the Choctaw people became overcrowded many of them sailed across the sea to the land of present-day Alabama and Mississippi in North America. (Caitlin, Letters and Notes, 1841) A Choctaw origin in South America is supported by DNA evidence as well as the similarities between the beliefs, art, and customs of the people of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex in North America and the Indigenous peoples of South America.^[11] The ancestral people of the Choctaw and other indigenous peoples in North America have participated in the evolution of their respective North American cultures for hundreds and even thousands of years. However, the Choctaw people as they are known today are believed to have coalesced during the 16th century. The original peoples involved in this coalescence likely formed in Alabama and were made up of populations such as the Plaquemine culture. Prior to their arrival in the Americas the founding populations of both North and South American indigenous peoples are generally explained to be Beringian populations broken down into several groups which are illuminated within the fields of Archeology, Anthropology, and Genomics. Advances in DNA science and technology are allowing for many breakthroughs in the study of the genetic history of the Indigenous peoples of North and South America. Until modern times the connection between North and South American indigenous people was unknown in modern scholarship.

 

The Choctaw language is a member of the Muskogean language family. The Choctaw language was well known among the American frontiersmen of the early 19th century. In 1870, a Christian Missionary and fluent Choctaw speaker Cyrus Byington published a Choctaw Dictionary Grammar of the Choctaw Language. Revised additions include contributions from American historian Henry S. Halbert, who was also a fluent Choctaw speaker, and Anthropologist John R. Swanton.

Choctaw or Chahta, as it is called in the native language, is closely related to the Chickasaw language. Some linguists consider Choctaw and Chickasaw to be dialects of a singular original language. This idea is supported by Choctaw and Chickasaw origin stories which both state that the Choctaw and Chickasaw people arose out of a singular ancestral people.^[12]

The Choctaw language is at the heart of Choctaw tribal culture, tradition, and identity. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma currently offers courses in the Choctaw language.^[13] Choctaw is regularly spoken as part of daily life on the Mississippi Choctaw reservation. Although Choctaw had begun to diminish in the 20th century it remains a living language and in recent years has shown a resurgence among the people of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Yowani Choctaws.

The written Choctaw language is based upon the English version of the Roman alphabet and was developed in conjunction with the "civilization program" of the United States in the early 19th century. Byington's alphabet and a version modified by John Swanton is seen here.

 

 

The following table is an example of Choctaw text and its translation:

The traditional Choctaw belief system evolved out of the North American Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. The Choctaw believed in a good spirit and an evil spirit. They may have been sun, or Hvshtahli, worshippers. The historian John Swanton wrote,

[T]he 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 ...^[15]

The word nanpisa (the one who sees) expressed the reverence the Choctaw had for the sun.^[16]

Anthropologist theorize that the Mississippian ancestors of the Choctaw placed the sun at the center of their cosmological system. Mid-eighteenth-century Choctaws did view the sun as a being endowed with life. Choctaw diplomats, for example, spoke only on sunny days. If the day of a conference were cloudy or rainy, Choctaws delayed the meeting until the sun returned, usually on the pretext that they needed more time to discuss particulars. They believed the sun made sure that all talks were honest. The sun as a symbol of great power and reverence is a major component of southeastern Indian cultures.

— Greg O'Brien, Choctaws in a Revolutionary Age, 1750–1830^[17]

Choctaw prophets were known to have addressed the sun. John Swanton wrote, "an old Choctaw informed Wright that before the arrival of the missionaries, they had no conception of prayer. He added, "I have indeed heard it asserted by some, that anciently their hopaii, or prophets, on some occasions were accustomed to address the sun ..."^[15]

 

Choctaw culture as it's understood today has its historical roots going back to the 16th century. Prior to this period what is known of the Choctaw culture comes from oral traditions and the obvious participation of the Choctaw people in the wider Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. From at least the 16th century until the present-day a definable Choctaw culture has been expressed through rich traditions of song, dance, dress, beading, pottery, basketry, and stickball.^[18] Choctaw people maintain their ancient traditions in their personal and daily lives as well as participating in community events. One example is the mid-summer Choctaw Indian Fair hosted by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. This event hosts Choctaw people from all over world and includes hospitality and events such as cooking, entertainment, dancing, and stickball.^[19] The Choctaw culture is an ancient culture that continues to thrive within the nations and communities of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma in Oklahoma, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Mississippi, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians in Louisiana, and the Yowani Choctaws in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, and in Oklahoma as part of the Caddo Confederacy.

The traditional Choctaw tribal structure prioritized two distinct moieties: Imoklashas (elders) and Inhulalatas (youth). Each moiety had several iksas or clans and in rare cases a totemic clan. Identity for the Choctaw people was established first by moiety and second as part of the individuals iksa. The Choctaw people existed in a matrilineal kinship system, with children born into the iksa of their mother and the mother's iksa conferring her children's social status. Another tradition of this maternally oriented system was the role of the maternal uncle as an important figure in the lives of his sister's children. Maternal uncles acted as fathers and caretakers to the children of their sisters. The Choctaw people's adoration of woman and the Mother goddess was also reflected in their religious and spiritual reverence for the sacred mound of Nanih Waiya which is known as the "Mother Mound." Nanih Waiya is a great earthwork platform mound located in central-east Mississippi. This site remains a place of female pilgrimage for prayer, song, and dance to this day.

Early American writings record some of the names of the historical Choctaw iksas. Anthropologist John R. Swanton made his contribution through his 1931 book Source material for the social and ceremonial life of the Choctaw Indians. The main iksas holding significant sway over all others at the time of his writings were the Okla Falaya meaning "Long People", the eastern Okla Tannap meaning "People on the Other Side", and the southern Okla Hannali meaning "Six Towns People." Swanton reported from both personal contact and previous scholarship in his writings. The names of the known iksas when Swanton's aforementioned book was published are as follows:

• Bok Chito or Bogue Chitto, meaning "Big Stream"
• Biasha meaning "Mulberry Place"
• Okla Untuklo meaning "Seven Towns"
• Yakan-Okani meaning "Land Creek"
• Haiyip Atokola meaning "Second Lake" or "Two Lakes"
• Chickashahe possibly meaning "Chickasaw Potato"
• Kushak meaning "Reedbrake People" or the name of a bird found in the reedbrakes.
• Spani Okla meaning "Spanish People"
• Obala Chaha meaning may relate to the location of Turkey Creek.
• Koe chito meaning "Panther"
• Bok Falaia meaning "Long Creek"
• Yanabe meaning unknown
• Yashu meaning unknown
• Abeka meaning unknown
• Lukfata meaning unknown
• Haiyowani, Yowani Choctaws, meaning "caterpillar of the June Bug", also the name of a village of the Yowani.^[20]

After the U.S. government had broken several treaties with the Choctaw people, and eventually when the Choctaw were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in Mississippi during the American tragedy of the Trail of Tears, the Choctaw reestablished themselves in Indian Territory according to the three most powerful districts in their lost homeland. The Choctaw named these three districts after the leading chiefs from each of those districts. Moshulatubbee was the name given for the district of the Okla Tannap, Apuckshunubbee was given for Okla Falaya, and Pushmataha was given for Okla Hannali.

Early Choctaw communities worked communally and shared their harvest.^[21][22] They had trouble understanding why English settlers allowed their poor to suffer from hunger.^[23] In Ireland, the generosity of the Choctaw nation during their Great Famine in the mid-nineteenth century is remembered to this day and recently marked by a sculpture, 'Kindred Spirits', in a park at Midleton, Cork.^[24][25]

Both, the Chickasaw and the Choctaw Indians traditionally made three kinds of buildings, per family, consisting of 1) a summer house (made into an oblong square), 2) a corn house (also made into an oblong square), and 3) a winter house, which latter was made circular, and was also known as the 'hot house'.^[26]

 

The colorful dresses worn by today's Choctaw are made by hand. They are based on designs of their ancestors, who adapted 19th-century European-American styles to their needs. Today many Choctaw wear such traditional clothing mainly for special events. Choctaw elders, especially the 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.^[27]

 

Choctaw stickball, the oldest field sport in North America, was also known as the "little brother of war" because of its roughness and substitution for war.^[28] When disputes arose 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.

Chunkey was a game using a disk-shaped stone that was about 1–2 inches in length.^[15]: 155 Players would throw the disk down a 200-foot (61 m) corridor so that it could roll past the players at great speed. As the disk rolled down the corridor, players would throw wooden shafts at it. The object of the game was to strike the disk or prevent your opponents from hitting it.^[15]: 155

Other games included using corn, cane, and moccasins.^[29] The corn game used five to seven kernels of corn. One side was blackened and the other side white. Players won points based on each color. One point was awarded for the black side and 5–7 points for the white side. There were usually only two players.^[29]

Land was the most valuable asset, which the Native Americans held in collective stewardship. The United States systematically obtained Choctaw land for conventional European-American settlement through treaties, legislation, and threats of warfare. Although the Choctaw made treaties with Great Britain, France, Spain, and the Confederate States of America; the nation signed only nine treaties with the United States.^[30] Some treaties which the US made with other nations, such as the Treaty of San Lorenzo, indirectly affected the Choctaw.

Reservations can be found in Louisiana (Jena Band of Choctaw Indians), Mississippi (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians), and Oklahoma (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). The Oklahoma reservation is defined by treaty. Other population centers can be found throughout the United States.

The Choctaw coalesced as a people in the 16th century and had developed at least three distinct political and geographical divisions prior to European contact: the western Okla Falaya ("Long People"), the eastern Okla Tannap ("People on the Other Side"), and the southern Okla Hannali ("Six Towns People"). Eventually, these different groups would create distinct, independent alliances with nearby European powers.

The Choctaw were first noted by Europeans in French written records of the 17th century.^[31] Early Spanish explorers of the mid-16th century in the Southeast encountered ancestral Mississippian culture villages and chiefs.^[32] Eventually, the Spanish, French, and English would all, through their various explorers, governments, and peoples, discover the Choctaw as a complex society with firmly established tribal governments, alliances, religious practice, and culture.

Early contact between the Choctaw and Europeans include the French, based on the Gulf Coast and in Louisiana; the English of the Southeast; and Spain in Florida and Louisiana during the colonial era. These interactions introduced Choctaw communities to new and extensive social interactions and trade with Europeans, including more formal interactions with the governments of Spain, France, and England. These relationships with Europeans were influential in shaping the modern Choctaw people. After the United States was formed and its settlers began to move into the Southeast, the Choctaw were among the Five Civilized Tribes, who adopted many of their ways. Many Choctaw transitioned to yeoman farming methods and incorporated European Americans and African Americans (as tribal members, prisoners, and slaves) into their society.

Most Choctaw allied with the Americans during the American Revolution, War of 1812, and the Red Stick War, most notably at the Battle of New Orleans. European Americans considered the Choctaw to be one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" of the Southeast. The Choctaw and the United States agreed to a total of nine treaties. By the last three, the US gained vast land cessions in the Southeast. As part of Indian Removal, despite not having waged war against the United States, the majority of Choctaw were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory from 1831 to 1833.^[33][34] The Choctaw government in Indian Territory maintained the tri-union tradition of their homeland by having three governmental districts. Each district had its own chief, who together with the town chiefs, sat on the Choctaw National Council.

Those Choctaw who chose to stay in the state of Mississippi were considered state and U.S. citizens; they were one of the first major non-European ethnic groups to be granted citizenship.^[35][36][37] Article 14 in the 1830 treaty with the Choctaw stated Choctaws may wish to become citizens of the United States under the 14th Article of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek on all of the combined lands which were consolidated under Article I from all previous treaties between the United States and the Choctaw.^[38]

During the American Civil War, the Choctaw in both Indian Territory and Mississippi mostly sided with the Confederate States of America. Under the late 19th-century Dawes Act and Curtis Acts, the US federal government broke up tribal land holdings and dissolved tribal governments in Indian Territory in order to extinguish Indian land claims before the admission of Oklahoma as a state in 1907. From that period, for several decades the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs appointed chiefs of the Choctaw and other tribes in the former Indian Territory.

During World War I, Choctaw soldiers served in the US military as some of the first Native American codetalkers, using the Choctaw language. Since the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the Choctaw people in three areas have reconstituted their governments and gained federal recognition. The largest are the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, followed by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, respectively.

Since the 20th century, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians were federally recognized in 1945,^[39] the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma in 1971,^[40] and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians in 1995.^[41] The Choctaw Apache Tribe of Ebarb (House Concurrent Resolution 2), Clifton Choctaw Band (House Concurrent Resolution 3), and Louisiana Band of Choctaw (Senate Concurrent Resolution 3), all based in Louisiana, were state-recognized in 1978.^[42][43][44] The MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians was state-recognized by the Alabama legislature in 1979,^[45] and again in 1984 during the establishment of the Alabama Indian Commission through Alabama Code 41-9-708.^[46]

The highest of early estimates - possibly representing the population peak - is that of Le Page du Pratz who estimated the Choctaw at 25,000 warriors (and therefore around 125,000 people) in year 1718.^[47] Other estimates from that time period were usually lower, but it is possible that they represented only a part of the tribe. Similar figures were given by St. Denis who estimated the Choctaw at 18,000 warriors (or 90,000 people) in 1714 and by W. Bull who estimated them at 16,000 warriors (or 80,000 people) in 1738. According to B. R. Carroll the Choctaw were reckoned by the French to be the most numerous nation of Indians in America and consisted of many thousand men.^[48] John R. Swanton enumerated a total of 102 Choctaw villages and towns in his book.^[49] Robert Rogers estimated the Choctaw at 10,000 warriors in 1775 (indicating a total population of 50,000). According to Gilbert Imlay they mustered 6,000 warriors around the year 1800 (implying a total population of 30,000). Jedidiah Morse estimated the Choctaw at 25,000 people in about year 1820.^[50] A census taken in 1830, shortly before the removal, reported a total population of 19,554.^[51] A report by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs dated 25 November 1841 indicates that by then 15,177 Choctaws had already moved to Oklahoma (Indian Territory).^[52] Few thousand more emigratted to the west in subsequent years. The Indian Office in 1856 reported the number of the Choctaws as 22,707. Emmanuel Domenech estimated the Choctaw at up to 25,000 people in about 1860.^[53] Enumeration published in 1886 counted 18,000 Choctaws in Oklahoma as of year 1884.^[54] The census of 1910 counted 15,917 Choctaws. Around years 1916–1919 there were in Oklahoma 17,488 Choctaws by blood, 1,651 by intermarriage and 6,029 freedmen, and in addition to that there were also at that time 3,099 Mississippi Choctaws and around 200 Choctaws living elsewhere.

In the 20th and 21st centuries Choctaw population has rebounded, in 2020 they numbered 254,154 (including 90,973 in Oklahoma).^[55]

• Tuscaloosa (died 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 (died 19th century) 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. Franchasmatabe attended the treaty talks of 1801 near Mobile, Alabama.
• Taboca (died 19th century) was a traditional "prophet-chief" who led a delegation starting in October 1785 to Hopewell, South Carolina.
• Apuckshunubbee (c. 1740–1824) 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) (1760s–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 (1770–1836) was a chief in the Choctaw nation before the removal and after. He went to Washington City to negotiate for the tribe in 1824 and was the only major leader to return. In the summer of 1830, he ran for a seat in the Congress of the United States to represent the state of Mississippi.
• Greenwood LeFlore (June 3, 1800 – August 31, 1865) was a District Chief of the Choctaws in Mississippi. He was an influential state representative and senator in Mississippi.
• George W. Harkins (1810–1890) 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 (January 30, 1806 – 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."
• Wesley Johnson (c. 1849 – 1925) was elected chief on May 10, 1913, in Meridian, Mississippi. He would lead the Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana Choctaw Council's delegation to Washington, D. C. in February 1914 where he met President Woodrow Wilson and many members of congress. There he expressed the dire situation of the Mississippi Choctaws. Wesley Johnson represented the Alabama Delegation from Southwest Alabama in Mobile and Washington Counties. Wesley Johnson was also known as Wesley Wakatubee.
• Phillip Martin (March 13, 1926 – February 4, 2010) was the Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians from 1979 to 2007 and worked in tribal government for over fifty years. He encouraged outside investment and reduced unemployment to nearly 0% on the reservation.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Choctaw.

• William Bartram
• Chacato
• Choctaw culture
• Choctaw mythology
• Choctaw Trail of Tears
• Cyrus Byington
• Gideon Lincecum
• Steven Charleston
• List of Choctaw Treaties
• List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
• okay ("okeh", etymology)
• Bulbancha
• Sarah Sense, Chitimacha/Choctaw artist

• Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (official site)
• Jena Band of Choctaw Indians (official site)
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (official site)

• Choctaw Indian Fair
• "Choctaws" by Dr. D.L. Birchfield
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Choctaws" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Choctaw, Oklahoma Historical Society
• J. L. Hargett Collection of Choctaw Nation Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.