The
Chickasaw are
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people originally from the region that would become the
Southeastern United StatesThe Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
(
MississippiMississippi 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...
,
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
). They are of the Muskogean language family and are federally recognized as the
Chickasaw NationThe Chickasaw Nation is a federally recognized Native American nation, located in Oklahoma. They are one of the members of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Five Civilized Tribes were differentiated from other Indian reservations in that they had semi-autonomous constitutional governments and...
.
Sometime prior to the first European contact, the Chickasaw migrated from western regions and moved east of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, where they settled mostly in present-day northeast Mississippi. That is where they encountered European explorers and traders, having relationships with French, English and Spanish during the colonial years. The Chickasaw were considered by the United States (US) as one of the
Five Civilized TribesThe Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
, as they adopted numerous practices of European Americans. They came into conflict with settlers encroaching on their territory, and were forced by the US to sell their country in 1832 and move to
Indian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
) during the era of
Indian RemovalIndian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
. Most Chickasaw now live in Oklahoma.
The Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma is the 13th largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. They are related to the
ChoctawThe Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and share a common history with them. The Chickasaw are divided in two groups: the
Impsaktea and the
Intcutwalipa.
Etymology
The name
Chickasaw, as noted by anthropologist John Swanton, belonged to a Chickasaw leader.
Chickasaw is the English spelling of
Chikashsha (tʃikaʃːa), meaning "rebel" or "comes from Chicsa".
History
The origin of the Chickasaw is uncertain. The noted 19th-century historian
Horatio CushmanHoratio Leonard Cushman was a Massachusetts manufacturer and politician who served in both branches of the city council, and as the eighth Mayor, of Taunton, Massachusetts.- Notes :...
thought the Chickasaw, along with the
ChoctawThe Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
, may have had origins in present-day
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and migrated north. More recent studies, such as work by the archeologist Patricia Galloway, theorize that the Chickasaw and Choctaw coalesced as distinct peoples in the 17th century from the remains of
Plaquemine cultureThe Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana. Good examples of this culture are the Medora Site in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, and the Anna, Emerald Mound, Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located...
and other groups whose ancestors had lived in the Lower Mississippi Valley for thousands of years. When Europeans first encountered them, the Chickasaw were living in villages in what is now
MississippiMississippi 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...
and some in present-day
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The Chickasaw may have been immigrants to the area. Their oral history supports this, indicating they moved along with the Choctaw from west of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
into present-day
MississippiMississippi 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...
in prehistoric times, which may be an extremely ancient account. The Mississippian and earlier moundbuilding cultures extended on the west side of the river to sites in present-day
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, so both accounts may be reconciled. Earlier
Native AmericanThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
cultures built monumental mound complexes in northern Louisiana as early as 3500 BCE.
Another version of the Chickasaw creation story is that they arose at
Nanih WaiyaNanih Waiya is an ancient earthwork mound in Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 0-300 CE. Since the 17th century, the historic Choctaw have venerated Nanih Waiya as their sacred origin location in traditional beliefs.Today the...
, a great earthwork
moundA mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
built about 300 CE by
WoodlandEcologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
peoples. It is also sacred to the Choctaw, who have a similar story about it. The mound was built about 1400 years before the coalescence of these peoples as ethnic groups.
The first European contact with the Chickasaw ancestors was in 1540, when
SpanishThe Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
explorer
Hernando De SotoHernando 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....
encountered them and stayed in one of their towns, most likely near present-day
Tupelo, MississippiTupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...
. After various disagreements, the American Indians attacked the De Soto expedition in a nighttime raid, nearly destroying the expedition. The Spanish moved on quickly.
The Chickasaw began to trade with the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
after the
colony of CarolinaThe Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
was founded in 1670. With British-supplied guns, the Chickasaw raided their neighbors and enemies the
ChoctawThe Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
, capturing some members and selling them into
slaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
to the British. When the Choctaw acquired guns from the French, power between the tribes became more equalized and the slave raids stopped.
Allied with the British, the Chickasaw were often at war with the
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Choctaw in the 18th century, such as in the
Battle of Ackia-Introduction:The Chickasaw Campaign of 1736 consisted of two pitched battles by the French and allies against Chickasaw fortified villages in present day Northeast Mississippi. Under the overall direction of the governor of Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, a force from Upper...
on May 26, 1736. Skirmishes continued until France ceded its claims to the region east of the Mississippi River after being defeated by the British in the
Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
.
In 1793-94 Chickasaw fought as allies of the new United States under General
Anthony WayneAnthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
against the Indians of the old
Northwest TerritoryThe Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
. The
ShawneeThe Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
and other Northwest Indians were defeated in the
Battle of Fallen TimbersThe Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory...
, August 20, 1794.
United States relations
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
(first U.S. President) and
Henry KnoxHenry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....
(first U.S. Secretary of War) 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 JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
continued it. The 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, such as
Benjamin HawkinsBenjamin Hawkins was an American planter, statesman, and United States Indian agent . He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite...
, who became Superintendent of Indian Affairs for all the territory south of the Ohio River. Such agents were to live among the Indians and to teach them, through example and instruction, how to live like whites. In the 19th century, the Chickasaw increasingly adopted European-American practices, as they established schools, adopted yeoman farming practices, converted to Christianity, and built homes in styles like their US neighbors.
Hopewell (1786)
The Chickasaw signed the
Treaty of HopewellThe Treaty of Hopewell is any of three different treaties signed at Hopewell Plantation. The plantation was owned by Andrew Pickens, and was located on the Seneca River in northwestern South Carolina. The treaties were signed between the Confederation Congress of the United States of America and...
in 1786. Article 11 of that treaty states: "The hatchet shall be forever buried, and the peace given by the United States of America, and friendship re-established between the said States on the one part, and the Chickasaw nation on the other part, shall be universal, and the contracting parties shall use their utmost endeavors to maintain the peace given as aforesaid, and friendship re-established." Benjamin Hawkins attended this signing.
The Colbert legacy (19th century)
In the 18th century, a
ScotsThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
trader by the name of James Logan Colbert settled in Chickasaw country and stayed there for the next 40 years, where he married three Chickasaw women in succession. Chickasaw chiefs and high-status women found such marriages of strategic benefit to the tribe, as it gave them advantages with traders over other groups. Colbert and his wives had numerous children, including seven sons: William, Jonathan, George, Levi, Samuel, Joseph, and Pittman (or James). The Chickasaw had a matrilineal sytem, in which children were considered born to the mother's
clanA clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
, and they took their status in the tribe from her family. Property and hereditary leadership passed through the maternal line, and the mother's eldest brother was the main male mentor of the children, especially of boys. Because of the status of their mothers, for nearly a century, the Colbert-Chickasaw descendants provided critical leadership during the tribe's greatest challenges. William Colbert once visited U.S. President
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. He also served with General
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
during the Creek Wars of 1813-14.
Third-generation Colberts, such as Holmes and Winchester, continued the family civic service and political prominence within the nation. They helped create the governmental foundation for the Chickasaw Nation in
Indian CountryIndian country is a term used to describe the many self-governing Native American communities throughout the United States. This usage is reflected in many places, both legal and colloquial...
(now known as
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
).
Holmes ColbertHolmes Colbert was a Native American leader of the Chickasaw Nation in what would become Oklahoma. Colbert wrote the Chickasaw Nation's constitution in the 1850s.-Early life and education:...
worked on writing the nation's constitution.
Removal era (1837)
Unlike other tribes who received land grants in exchange for ceding territory, the Chickasaw were to receive financial compensation of $3 million U.S. dollars from the United States for their lands east of the Mississippi River.
In 1836 the Chickasaws had reached an agreement that purchased land in Indian Territory from the previously removed Choctaw after a bitter five-year debate. They paid the Choctaws $530,000 for the westernmost part of Choctaw land. The first group of Chickasaw moved in 1837. The US did not pay the Chickasaw the $3 million dollars it owed them for nearly 30 years.
The Chickasaw gathered at Memphis, Tennessee on July 4, 1837 with all of their assets—belongings, livestock, and enslaved African Americans. Three thousand and one Chickasaw crossed the Mississippi River, following routes established by the Choctaw and Creek. During the journey, often called the
Trail of TearsThe Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
by all the Southeast tribes that had to make it, more than 500 Chickasaw died of
dysenteryDysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
and
smallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. Once in
Indian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, the less numerous Chickasaw merged with the Choctaw nation.
After several decades of mistrust, in the twentieth century, the Chickasaw re-established their independent government and established a Chickasaw Nation. It is now headquartered in
Ada, OklahomaAda is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,008 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the city population was estimated at 17,019....
.
Remnants of the South Carolina Chickasaw, known as the
Chaloklowa ChickasawThe Chaloklowa Chickasaws are a remnant of the Chickasaw tribe of the eastern United States that avoided the forced Indian removal during the 1830s to what is now Oklahoma....
, have reorganized their tribal government. In 2005 they gained official recognition from the state of South Carolina as a Native American tribe. They have their tribal headquarters at
Indiantown, South CarolinaIndiantown is an unincorporated community in rural Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. Prior to the arrival of Europeans to North America, it was the site of a Chickasaw village and the area was a favored hunting and fishing ground...
.
American Civil War (1861)
The Chickasaw Nation was the first of the Five Civilized Tribes to become allies of the
Confederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
As noted they held slaves. In addition, they resented the US government, which had forced them off their lands and failed to protect them against the Plains tribes in the West. In 1861, as tensions rose related to the sectional conflict, the US Army abandoned
Fort WashitaFort Washita is the former United States military post and National Historic Landmark located near Nida, Oklahoma on SH 199. Established in 1842 by General Zachary Taylor to protect citizens of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations from the plains indians it was later abandoned by Federal forces at...
, leaving the Chickasaw Nation defenseless against the Plains tribes. Confederate officials recruited the American Indian tribes with suggestions of an Indian state if they were victorious. The Chickasaw passed a resolution allying with the Confederacy, which was signed by Governor Cyrus Harris on May 25, 1861.
At the beginning of the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
,
Albert PikeAlbert Pike was an attorney, Confederate officer, writer, and Freemason. Pike is the only Confederate military officer or figure to be honored with an outdoor statue in Washington, D.C...
was appointed as Confederate envoy to Native Americans. In this capacity he negotiated several treaties, including the
Treaty with Choctaws and ChickasawsThe Treaty with Choctaws and Chickasaws was a treaty signed on July 12, 1861 between the Choctaw and Chickasaw and the Confederate States of America. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Albert Pike was appointed as Confederate envoy to Native Americans...
in July 1861. The treaty covered sixty-four terms, covering many subjects such as Choctaw and Chickasaw nation
sovereigntySovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
,
Confederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
citizenship possibilities, and an entitled delegate in the House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America. Because the Chickasaw sided with the Confederate States of America during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, they had to forfeit their claim.
Government
The Chickasaws were first combined with the
Choctaw NationThe Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland comprising twelve tribal districts. The Choctaw Nation maintains a special relationship with both the United States and Oklahoma governments...
and their area was called the Chickasaw District. Although originally the western boundary of the Choctaw Nation extended to the
100th meridianThe meridian 100° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
, virtually no Chickasaw lived west of the
Cross TimbersThe term Cross Timbers is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas...
. The area was subject to continual raiding by the
IndiansThe Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
on the Southern Plains. The United States eventually leased the area between the 100th and
98th meridiansThe meridian 98° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
for the use of the Plains tribes. The area was referred to as the "Leased District".
Treaties
| Treaty |
Year |
Signed with |
Where |
Main Purpose |
Ceded Land |
| Treaty with the Chickasaw |
1786 |
United States |
Hopwell, SC |
Peace and Protection provided by the U.S. and Define boundaries |
N/A |
| Treaty with the Chickasaw |
1801 |
United States |
Chickasaw Nation |
Right to make wagon road through the Chickasaw Nation, Acknowledge the protection provided by the U.S. |
(Not Available yet) |
| Treaty with the Chickasaw |
1805 |
United States |
Chickasaw Nation |
Eliminate debt to U.S. merchants and traders |
(Not Available yet) |
| Treaty of with the Chickasaw |
1816 |
United States |
Chickasaw Nation |
Cede land, provide allowances, and tracts reserved to Chickasaw Nation |
(Not Available yet) |
| Treaty of with the Chickasaw |
1818 |
United States |
Chickasaw Nation |
Cede land, payments for land cession, and Define boundaries |
(Not Available yet) |
| Treaty of Franklin (un-ratified) |
1830 |
United States |
Chickasaw Nation, See Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7, a Gothic revival building constructed in 1823, is the oldest public building in Franklin, Tennessee. It houses Hiram Lodge No. 7, founded in 1809, and is the oldest Masonic Hall in continuous use in Tennessee...
|
Cede lands east of the Mississippi River and provide protection for the 'weak' tribe |
(Not Available yet) |
| Treaty of Pontotoc |
1832 |
United States |
Chickasaw Nation |
Removal and Monetary gain from the sale of land |
6422400 acres (25,990.6 km²). |
Post-Civil War
Because of their siding with the Confederacy, after the Civil War the US government made a new peace treaty with the Chickasaw in 1866. It included the provision that they emancipate the slaves and provide those who wanted to stay in the Chickasaw Nation with full citizenship; they and their descendants became known as the Chickasaw Freedmen. Many of their descendants continue to live in Oklahoma. Today the Choctaw-Chickasaw Freedmen Association of Oklahoma represents their interests.
The Chickasaw Nation never gave citizenship to the Chickasaw freedmen. The only way blacks could become citizens at that time was to have Chickasaw parents or to petition for citizenship and go through the same process as any other race to gain citizenship, if they were of known Chickasaw descent. Because the Chickasaw Nation had working relations with the Confederacy and did not adopt their freedmen after the Civil War, they were penalized by the U.S. Government. It took over half of their lands, with no compensation, although the territory had been negotiated as Chickasaw property in previous treaties for their use after Removal.
Culture
The suffix
-mingo (Chickasaw:
minko) is used to identify a chieftain. For example,
TishomingoChief Tishomingo was one of the last full-blooded Chickasaw Chiefs. Tishomingo was born in approximately 1734 in what is now Lee County, Mississippi. He served with General Anthony Wayne against Shawnee Native Americans in the Northwest Territory and received a silver medal from president George...
was the name of a famous Chickasaw chief. The towns of
TishomingoTishomingo is a town in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. The population of the city of Tishomingo was 316 at the 2000 census. Its ZIP code is 38873..- History :...
in
MississippiTishomingo is a town in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. The population of the city of Tishomingo was 316 at the 2000 census. Its ZIP code is 38873..- History :...
and
OklahomaTishomingo is the largest city and the county seat of Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,162 at the 2000 census. It was the first capital of the Chickasaw Nation. Murray State College, a community college, with an annual enrollment of 1,600 students is located in...
were named for him, as was
Tishomingo CountyAs of the census of 2000 there were 19,163 people, 7,917 households, and 5,573 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 9,553 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
in Mississippi. South Carolina's
Black Mingo CreekBlack Mingo Creek is a tributary to the Black River in coastal South Carolina. It derives its name from mingo or minko, the Chickasaw word for chief. This area was a special hunting ground and a center of the eastern Chickasaw in colonial times....
was named after a colonial Chickasaw chief, who controlled the lands around it as a hunting ground. Sometimes the suffix is spelled
minko, but this most often occurs in older literary references.
In 2010, the tribe opened the Chickasaw Cultural Center in
Sulphur, OklahomaSulphur is a city in Murray County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,794 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Murray County.-Geography:Sulphur is located at ....
.
it includes the
Chikasha Inchokka’ Traditional Village, Honor Garden, Sky and Water pavilion, and several in-depth exhibits about the diverse culture of the Chickasaw.
Notable Chickasaw
- Bill Anoatubby
Bill Anoatubby is the present Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor in the administration of Gov. Overton James[-Early life:...
, Governor of the Chickasaw NationThe Chickasaw Nation is a federally recognized Native American nation, located in Oklahoma. They are one of the members of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Five Civilized Tribes were differentiated from other Indian reservations in that they had semi-autonomous constitutional governments and...
since 1987
- Amanda Cobb, professor of American studies at University of New Mexico, winner of American Book Award (2001) for her history Listening to Our Grandmothers' Stories: The Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw Females, 1852-1949.
- Levi Colbert
Levi Colbert , also known as Itawamba, was a Native American of the Chickasaw. Colbert was called Itte-wamba Mingo, meaning bench chief...
, Chickasaw language translator
- Tom Cole
Thomas Jeffery Cole is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a Deputy Minority Whip. The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2006 to 2008, he was, during his tenure, the fourth-ranking Republican leader in the...
, Republican U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma
- Molly Culver
Molly Culver is an American actress and model of 1/4 Chickasaw/Choctaw Native American descent . She is best known for portraying the role of Tasha Dexter on the syndicated TV series V.I.P....
, actress
- Hiawatha Estes
Hiawatha Thompson Estes was a California-based architect and author known for designing a large number of variations of the ubiquitous post-war ranch home, mass marketing plans of them, and publishing a number of books dealing with residential architecture.Estes was a Chickasaw Indian Nation member...
, architect
- Bee Ho Gray
Bee Ho Gray was a Western performer who spent fifty years displaying his skills in Wild West Shows, vaudeville, circus, silent films and radio...
, actor
- John Herrington
John Bennett Herrington is an American business executive, former US Navy officer and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of one Space Shuttle mission. He is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space....
, astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
; first Native American in space
- Linda Hogan
Linda K. Hogan is a Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories.She is currently the Chickasaw Nation's Writer in Residence.-Early life:Linda Hogan is Chickasaw...
, Writer-in-Residence of the Chickasaw Nation
- Miko Hughes
Miko John Hughes is an American actor best known for his film roles as a child actor as Gage Creed in Pet Sematary , as an autistic boy opposite Bruce Willis in Mercury Rising and as Dylan, Heather Langenkamp's son in Wes Craven's New Nightmare .-Career:Hughes started his acting career in a...
, actor
- Wahoo McDaniel
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:...
, pro wrestler, Pro Football
- Leona Mitchell
Leona Mitchell , is an African-American and Chickasaw operatic soprano and an Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductee....
, opera singer
- Rodd Redwing
Rodd Redwing , , was a Native American actor, noted for being the world’s greatest quick-draw artist with six-guns...
, actor
- Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a Chickasaw classical composer and pianist. He is one of a handful of American Indian classical composers, and his compositions are based on American Indian history and culture....
, composer and pianist
- Fred Waite
Fred Waite, , was a Chickasaw cowboy who joined Billy the Kid's gang. He left the gang to return to his people....
, cowboy and Chickasaw Nation statesman
- Jack Brisco
Freddie Joe Brisco was an American professional wrestler, better known as Jack Brisco or Uvalde Slim. He performed for various territories of the National Wrestling Alliance , becoming a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time NWA Tag Team Champion with his brother Gerald Brisco...
and Gerry Brisco, pro-wrestling tag team
- Te Ata (Mary Francis) Thompson, Chickasaw storyteller and public speaker
- Travis Childers
Travis Wayne Childers is the former U.S. Representative from , serving from the 2008 special election until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes much of the northern portion of the state including New Albany, Columbus, Oxford, Southaven, and Tupelo...
, U.S. Congressman from Mississippi
See also
- African-Native Americans
Black Native Americans is a term that refers to people of African-American descent, usually with significant Native American ancestry, who also have strong ties to Native American culture, social, and historical traditions....
- Chickasaw Nation
The Chickasaw Nation is a federally recognized Native American nation, located in Oklahoma. They are one of the members of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Five Civilized Tribes were differentiated from other Indian reservations in that they had semi-autonomous constitutional governments and...
- Chickasaw language
The Chickasaw language is a Native American language of the Muskogean family. It is agglutinative and follows the pattern of subject–object–verb. The language is closely related to, though perhaps not entirely mutually intelligible with, Choctaw...
- List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
- Chickasaw Wars
The Chickasaw Wars were fought in the 18th century between the Chickasaw allied with the British against the French and their allies the Choctaws and Illini. The Province of Louisiana extended from Illinois to New Orleans, and the French fought to secure their communications along the Mississippi...
Additional reading
- Calloway, Colin G., The American Revolution in Indian Country. Cambridge University Press, 1995. see google.com
- Daniel F. Littlefield Jr., The Chickasaw Freedmen: A People without a Country, (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1980).
External links