Chickasaw Nation

The Mississippian Cultures developed between ~850-950CE around the Mississippi River with some regional variations. This was a period of increasing sociopolitical complexity, with the intensification of agriculture, settlements in larger towns or chiefdoms, as well as the formation of strategic alliances to facilitate communication. There is evidence of the organization of labor from the mounds built that remain today, as well as the skills of artisans and craftmanship from the elaborate and intricate remains of burials.[11] Furthermore, as chiefdoms arose within the Chickasaw Nation in addition to across the Southeast, the increased social complexity and population growth were sustained by effective and widespread farming practices. While the origins of the Chickasaw continue to remain uncertain, there have been a number of proposed theories by anthropologists and historians. One theory is that the Chickasaw were at one time a part of the Choctaw and later branched off, given their close connections linguistically and geographically.[12] Another is that they were descendants of the pre-historic Mississippian tribes, having migrated from the West given their oral histories.[13] According to some of their oral stories, the Chickasaw first settled in the Chickasaw Old Fields, what is currently northern Alabama today, and later re-established themselves near the Tombigbee River.[14]

Hernando de Soto is credited as being the first European to contact the Chickasaw during his travels of 1540, and along with his army, were some of the first, and last, European explorers to come into contact with the Mississippian cultures and nations of the Southeast. He discovered them to be an agrarian nation with the political organization of a chiefdom governmental system, with the head chief residing in the largest and main temple mound in the chiefdom, with the remaining family lineage and commoners spreading out across the villages.[15] After an uneasy truce regarding letting the Spanish stay in their camps for the winter and surviving on the tribe's food supply, the Chickasaws planned a surprise night attack on Desoto and his men as they were in preparation to leave months later. Thus they successfully sent a defiant message to their European enemies not to return to their land. As a result, 150 years passed before the Chickasaw received another European expedition.[16]

The next encounter the Chickasaw Nation had with European settlers was with French colonists, Robert La Salle and Henri Tonti.[17] Not long after, by the end of the 17th century, the Chickasaw Nation had established successful trade relationships with the British in the Carolinas as well as the French. In exchange for hides and slaves, the Chickasaw obtained metal tools, guns, and other supplies from the Europeans.[18] The Chickasaw had a smaller population, of around 3,500-4,000 people, in comparison to their surrounding neighbors such as the Choctaw, with a population of about 20,000.[19] However, there became increased efforts by the English and the French to establish and maintain strong alliances with the Chickasaw Nation as the struggles for power in the area relied primarily upon the allying of not only the Chickasaw, but the surrounding sovereign tribes in the region as well. Their effective trade routes later became the focal point of the wars fought between Great Britain and France.[20] During the colonial period, some Chickasaw towns traded with French colonists from La Louisiane, including their settlements at Biloxi, or Mobile.

After the American Revolutionary War, the new state of Georgia was trying to strengthen its claim to western lands, which it said went to the Mississippi River under its colonial charter. It also wanted to satisfy a great demand by planters for land to develop, and the state government, including the governor, made deals to favor political insiders. Various development companies formed to speculate in land sales. After a scandal in the late 1780s, another developed in the 1790s. In what was referred to as the Yazoo land scandal of January 1795, the state of Georgia sold 22 million acres of its western lands to four land companies, although this territory was occupied by the Chickasaw and other tribes, and there were other European nations with some sovereignty in the area.[21] This was the second Yazoo land sale, which generated outrage when the details were publicized. Reformers passed a state law forcing the annulment of this sale in February 1796.[22] But the Georgia-Mississippi Company had already sold part of its holdings to the New England Mississippi Company, and it had sold portions to settlers. Conflicts arose as settlers tried to claim and develop these lands. Georgia finally ceded its claim to the US in 1810, but the issues took nearly another decade to resolve.

Abraham Bishop of New Haven, Connecticut, wrote a 1797 pamphlet to address the land speculation initiated by the Georgia-Mississippi Company. Within this discussion, he wrote about the Chickasaw and their territory in what became Mississippi:

The Chickasaws are a nation of Indians who inhabit the country on the east side of the Mississippi, on the head branches of the Tombeckbe (sic), Mobille (sic) and Yazoo rivers. Their country is an extensive plain, tolerably well watered from springs, and a pretty good soil. They have seven towns, and their number of fighting men is estimated at 575.[23]

The Chickasaw sold a section of their lands with the Treaty of Tuscaloosa, resulting in the loss of what became known as the Jackson Purchase, in 1818. This area included western Kentucky and western Tennessee, both areas not heavily populated by members of the tribe. They remained in their primary homeland of northern Mississippi and northwest Alabama until the 1830s. After decades of increasing pressure by federal and state governments to cede their land, as European Americans were eager to move into their territory and had already begun to do so as squatters or under fraudulent land sales, the Chickasaw finally agreed to cede their remaining Mississippi Homeland to the U.S. under the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek and relocate west of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory.

Map of Chickasaw Nation, 1891

The Chickasaw removal is one of the most traumatic episodes in the history of the nation. As a result of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Chickasaw Nation was forced to move to Indian territory, suffering a significant decline in population. However, due to the negotiating skills of the Chickasaw leaders, they were led to favorable sales of their land in Mississippi. Of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Chickasaw were one of the last ones to move. In 1837, the Chickasaw and Choctaw signed the Treaty of Doaksville,[24] by which the Chickasaw purchased the western lands of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. Their area in the western area of the nation was called the Chickasaw District. It consisted of what are now Panola, Wichita, Caddo, and Perry counties.

Although originally the western boundary of the Choctaw Nation extended to the 100th meridian, virtually no Chickasaw lived west of the Cross Timbers, due to continual raiding by the Plains Indians of the southern region. The United States eventually leased the area between the 100th and 98th meridians for the use of the Plains tribes. The area was referred to as the "Leased District".[25]

The division of the Choctaw Nation was ratified by the Choctaw–Chickasaw Treaty of 1854. The Chickasaw constitution, establishing the nation as separate from the Choctaw, was signed August 30, 1856, in their new capital of Tishomingo (now Tishomingo, Oklahoma). The first Chickasaw governor was Cyrus Harris. The nation consisted of four divisions; Tishomingo County, Pontotoc County, Pickens County, and Panola County. Law enforcement in the nation was provided by the Chickasaw Lighthorsemen. Non-Indians fell under the jurisdiction of the Federal court at Fort Smith.

Following the Civil War, the United States forced the Chickasaw Nation into a new peace treaty due to their support for the Confederacy. Under the new treaty, the Chickasaw (and Choctaw) ceded the "Leased District" to the United States.

In 1907, when Oklahoma entered the union as the 46th state, the role of tribal governments in Indian Territories ceased, and as a result, the Chickasaw people were then granted United States citizenship. For decades, the United States appointed representatives for the Chickasaw Nation until 1971. Douglas H. Johnston was the first man to serve in this capacity. Governor Johnston served the Chickasaw Nation from 1906 until his death in 1939 at age 83. Though it may have seemed like the federal government finally achieved their goal of completely assimilating the Chickasaw Nation into mainstream American life, the Chickasaw people continued to practice traditional activities and gather together socially, believing that the community involvement would sustain their culture, language, and core beliefs and values. This gave rise to the movement towards which the Chickasaw would govern themselves.

During the 1960s and the period of the civil rights movement, Native American Indian activism was also on the rise. A group of Chickasaw met at Seeley Chapel, a small country church near Connerville, Oklahoma, to work toward the re-establishment of its government. With the passage of Public Law 91-495, their tribal government was recognized by the United States. In 1971, the people held their first tribal election since 1904. They elected Overton James by a landslide as governor of the Chickasaw Nation. Thus, the Chickasaw communities became even closer in support of one another for the greater good of the Chickasaw peoples.

Since the 1980s, the tribal government has focused on building an economically diverse base to generate funds that will support programs and services to Indian people.

Chikashshanompa’, a traditionally oral language, is the primary and official language of the Chickasaw Nation. Over 3,000 years old,[26] Chikashshanompa’ is part of the Muskogean language family and is very similar to the Choctaw language. There has been a great decline over the years in the number of speakers, as the language is spoken by less than two hundred people today, with the majority being Chickasaw elders.[27] The Chickasaw language was often discouraged in students attending school and was often discouraged in even tribally run schools.[28] Recently, the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma has promoted the Chickasaw Language Revitalization Program enacted in 2007. The program focuses on the Master Apprentice Program, which pairs a language-learning student with an individual already fluent in Chikashshanompa’ in attempts to gain conversational fluency.[29] Other attempts at language revitalization have included establishing university language courses, creating a language learning app, youth language clubs, and more.

At the core of Chickasaw religious beliefs and traditions is the supreme deity Aba' Binni'li' (Sitting or Dwelling Above), the spirit of fire and giver of life, light, and warmth. Aba' Binni'li' is believed to live above the clouds along with a number of other lesser deities such as the spirits of the sky, clouds, evil spirits, and more.[30] The Chickasaws also believe in a life after death, believing that those who lead a good life will follow the path to heaven while those following an evil path suffer in the land of the witches. Corpses were to be buried under their homes, facing west with faces painted red, and be surrounded by their individual possessions.

The Chickasaw Nation follows the traditional monogamous marriage system,[31] with the groom obtaining the blessings of the wife’s parents and following with a simple ceremony soon after. Marriage ceremonies were all arranged by women. Adultery is a misdemeanor seriously looked down upon with severe private as well as public consequences since this was thought to bring shame and dishonor to the families.[32] As the Chickasaws practice matrilineal descent, children usually follow their mother’s house/clan name.

The Green Corn Festival is one of the largest and most important ceremonies of the Chickasaw Nation. The festival is an important religious ceremony that takes place in the latter of summer, lasting two to eight days serving as a religious renewal in addition to thanksgiving, as all members of the tribe give thanks for the year’s corn harvest and pray to Aba' Binni'li'.[33] Major events held during the celebration includes a two-day fast, a purification ceremony, the forgiveness of minor sins, the Stomp Dance (the most well-known traditional dances of the Chickasaw), major ball games, and more.[34]