The Chakchiuma were a Native American tribe of the upper Yazoo River

Yazoo River

The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...

 region of what is today the state of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. They are at times confused with the Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

.

The Chakchiuma are thought to be the ancestors of the Houma tribe

Houma Tribe

The Houma people are a Native America tribe. They belong to the United Houma Nation, a state recognized tribe in Louisiana. They primarily live in East and West Feliciana, and Pointe Coupee Parishes, about 100 miles north of the town of Houma named for them, west of the mouth of the Mississippi...

 and some believe Houma is an alternate pronunciation of Chakchiuma.

History

The first historical reference to the Chakchiuma is found when Hernando de Soto

Hernando de Soto (explorer)

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....

 sent a contingent of troops against them while he was staying with the Chickasaw

Chickasaw

The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...

. At this early time the tribe is known as the Sacchuma and Saquechuma in the sources.

In 1700 the Quapaw

Quapaw

The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...

 were convinced by English traders to try to take some of the Chakchiuma as captives to sell to these traders so they could ship them to the English colonies to be used as slaves. The Quapaw failed in this endeavor.

The Chakchiuma participated on the French side in the Yazoo War. In about 1739 the Chakchiuma were involved in hostilities, primarily with the Chickasaw, that led to their destruction as an independent tribe and their being incorporated into the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes.

Historical populations

Based on Bienville's claim that there were 400 families of the Chakchiuma in 1702, this would place their numbers at that date around or above 2000. By 1704 their numbers had fallen to only 80 families, which almost certainly was below 500 people.