The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians ( cho, Mississippi Chahta) is one of three
federally recognized tribes
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
of
Choctaw
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
Native Americans, and the only one in the state of Mississippi. On April 20, 1945, this tribe organized under the
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...
. Their
reservation in included lands in
Neshoba, Leake, Newton, Scott, Jones, Attala, Kemper, and Winston counties. The Mississippi Choctaw regained stewardship of their mother mound,
Nanih Waiya
Nanih Waiya (alternately spelled Nunih Waya) is an ancient platform mound in southern Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 300 to 600 CE. Since the 17th century, the Choctaw have v ...
mounds and cave in 2008. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw have declared August 18 as a tribal holiday to celebrate their regaining control of the sacred site. The other two Choctaw groups are the
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United S ...
, the third largest tribe in the United States, and the
Jena Band of Choctaw Indians
The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians ( cho, Jena Chahta) are one of three federally recognized Choctaw tribes in the United States. They are based in La Salle, Catahoula, and Grant parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The Jena Band received fede ...
, located in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
.
History
Indian Removal
![Choctaw group](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Choctaw_group.png)
The historic Choctaw had emerged as a tribe and occupied substantial territory in what is now considered the State of Mississippi. In the early nineteenth century, they were under increasing pressure by European Americans, who wanted to acquire their land for agricultural development. President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
gained congressional passage of the
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...
in 1830 to accomplish this and extinguish Native American land claims in the Southeast.
The chiefs signed the
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty which was signed on September 27, 1830, and proclaimed on February 24, 1831, between the Choctaw American Indian tribe and the United States Government. This treaty was the first removal treaty wh ...
with the United States, which was ratified by the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
on February 25, 1831. President Jackson was anxious to make the Choctaw
removal a model for other tribes to be taken out of the Southeast to territory well west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. After ceding close to , the Choctaw were to emigrate in three stages; the first in the fall of 1831, the second in 1832, and the last in 1833.
[
] Although the removals continued into the early 20th century, some Choctaw remained in Mississippi. They continued to live in their ancient homeland. According to the terms of removal, the nearly 5000 Choctaw who remained in Mississippi became citizens of the state and the United States.
[
]
For the next ten years, they were subject to increasing legal conflict, harassment, and intimidation by white settlers.
Racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
against them was rampant. A Choctaw described their situation in 1849 as follows: "We have had our habitations torn down and burned, our fences destroyed, cattle turned into our fields and we ourselves have been
scourge
A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather.
Etymology
The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgi ...
d,
manacle
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that ...
d,
fetter
Legcuffs are physical restraints used on the ankles of a person to allow walking only with a restricted stride and to prevent running and effective physical resistance. Frequently used alternative terms are leg cuffs, (leg/ankle) shackles, foot ...
ed and otherwise personally abused, until by such treatment some of our best men have died."
American Civil War and Reconstruction
The Mississippi Choctaw participated in the American Civil War.
After the Confederate conscription act was passed, most Choctaw men were enrolled and formed the 1st Choctaw Battalion. While the enlisted were Choctaw Indians, all commissioned officers were white men. The battalion was headquartered at
Newton Station, Mississippi and consisted of two companies of 101 soldiers. However, the battalion had members who deserted, and it was disbanded a few months after formation. While the 1st Choctaw Battalion was standing down, Spann's Independent Scouts was forming. Many Mississippi Choctaw men enrolled in this battalion and continued participation in the war until the surrender.
Conditions declined for the Choctaw after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
. As conservative white Democrats worked to restore white supremacy and eliminate black suffrage, they passed a new constitution in 1890 that effectively
disenfranchised
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
blacks through creating barriers to voter registration.
[Michael Perman.''Struggle for Mastery: Disfranchisement in the South, 1888–1908''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001, Introduction] In addition, under racial segregation and
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
laws, the whites included all people of color in the category of "other" or Negro (black), and required them to use segregated facilities.
Delegation to Washington, D.C.
![Wesley_Johnson_with_Delegates](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Wesley_Johnson_with_Delegates.jpg)
By 1907, the Mississippi Choctaw were in decline. The Dawes Commission had sent a large number of the Mississippi Choctaws to Indian Territory, and only 1,253 members remained.
Meetings were held in 1913 to try to find a solution.
Wesley Johnson was elected chief of the newly formed Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana Choctaw Council at a 1913 meeting.
After some deliberation, the council selected delegates to send to Washington, D.C. to bring attention to the Choctaw's plight. Historian Robert Bruce Ferguson wrote in his 2015 article that:
In late January 1914, Chief Wesley Johnson and his delegates (Culbertson Davis and Emil John) traveled to Washington, D.C. ... While they were in Washington, Johnson, Davis, and John met with numerous senators & representatives and persuaded the federals to bring the Choctaw case before Congress. On February 5th, their mission culminated with the meeting of President Woodrow Wilson. Culbertson Davis presented a beaded Choctaw belt as a token of goodwill to the President.
Nearly two years after the trip to Washington, the Indian Appropriations Act of 1916 was passed. A stipulation allowed $1,000 for an investigation on the Mississippi Choctaws' condition. John R.T. Reeves was to "investigate the condition of the Indians living in Mississippi and report to Congress ..."
Reeves submitted his report on November 6, 1916.
Hearing at Union, Mississippi
In March 1917, federal representatives held hearings, attended by around 100 Choctaws, to examine the needs of the Mississippi Choctaw.
Some of the congressmen who presided over the hearings were:
Charles D. Carter of Oklahoma,
William W. Hastings of Oklahoma,
Carl T. Hayden
Carl Trumbull Hayden (October 2, 1877 – January 25, 1972) was an American politician. Representing Arizona in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1969, he was the first U.S. Senator to serve seven terms. Serving as the state's first United Sta ...
of Arizona,
John N. Tillman of Arkansas, and
William W. Venable
William Webb Venable (September 25, 1880 – August 2, 1948) was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.
Born in Clinton, Mississippi, Venable moved with his parents to Memphis, Tennessee, returned to Clinton, Mississippi, in 1891.
He attended ...
of Mississippi.
These hearings resulted in improvements such as improved access to health care, housing, and schools.
The Mississippi Choctaw's improvements may have continued if it wasn't dramatically interrupted by world events. World War I slowed down progress for the Indians as Washington's bureaucracy focused on the war. Some Mississippi Choctaw served during the war. The Spanish Influenza also slowed progress as many Choctaws were killed by the pandemic.
1930s and reorganization
During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and the
Roosevelt administration, officials began numerous initiatives to alleviate some of the social and economic conditions in the South. The 1933 ''Special Narrative Report'' described the dismal state of welfare of the Mississippi Choctaw, whose population by 1930 had declined to 1,665 people.
[
] John Collier, the US Commissioner for Indian Affairs (now BIA), used the report as instrumental support in a proposal to re-organize the Mississippi Choctaw as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. This enabled them to establish their own tribal government, as well as to have a beneficial relationship with the federal government.
In 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...
. This law proved critical for survival of the Mississippi Choctaw, Alabama Choctaw and other tribal peoples, who also reorganized in that era. Baxter York, Emmett York, and Joe Chitto worked on gaining recognition for the Choctaw.
[
] They realized that they needed to adopt a constitution.
A rival organization, the
Mississippi Choctaw Indian Federation, opposed federal tribal recognition because of fears of dominance by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
(BIA). They disbanded after leaders of the opposition were moved to another jurisdiction.
The first Tribal Council members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw were Baxter and Emmett York, with Joe Chitto serving as the first chairperson.
World War II and 1940s
With the tribe's adoption of an elected, representative government, in 1944 the Secretary of the Interior declared that would be held in trust for the Choctaw of Mississippi, as was done for other federally recognized tribes on reservations. Lands in
Neshoba and surrounding counties were set aside as a federal
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
. Eight communities were included in the reservation land:
Bogue Chitto, Bogue Homa,
Conehatta, Crystal Ridge,
Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
,
Red Water,
Tucker
Tucker may refer to:
Places United States
* Tucker, Arkansas
* Tucker, Georgia
* Tucker, Mississippi
* Tucker, Missouri
* Tucker, Utah, ghost town
* Tucker County, West Virginia
Outer space
* Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the s ...
, and
Standing Pine.
Under the Indian Reorganization Act, the Mississippi Choctaw re-organized on April 20, 1945, as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. This gave them sovereignty and independence from the state government. The latter continued to be dominated by conservative whites of the Democratic Party, who maintained legal racial segregation and disenfranchisement well into the late twentieth century.
Post-Reorganization, Korean War, and 1950s
In the 1950s, successive Republican administrations (supported by conservative Democrats in
the South, which was still a one-party region) became impatient with the gradual assimilation of Native Americans. Republicans proposed to terminate the special status of those tribes that they thought were more fully assimilated. In 1959, the Choctaw Termination Act was passed. Congress settled on a policy to
terminate tribes as quickly as possible, believing that was a route of assimilation. In the same period, out of concern for the isolation of many Native Americans on reservations in rural areas, where jobs were scarce, the federal government created relocation programs to cities to try to expand job and cultural opportunities for
American Indians. Indian policy experts hoped to expedite assimilation of Native Americans to the larger American society, which was becoming increasingly urbanized.
The Choctaw people continued to struggle economically due to bigotry, cultural isolation, and lack of jobs in their rural area. With reorganization and establishment of tribal government, however, over the next decades they took control of their "schools, health care facilities, legal and judicial systems, and social service programs."
Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War, and 1960s
![Hattack_micha_vllanakni](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Hattack_micha_vllanakni.jpg)
In the Civil Rights era, roughly between 1965 and 1982, Native Americans renewed their commitments to the value of their ancient heritage. Working to celebrate their own strengths and to exercise appropriate rights, they dramatically reversed the trend toward abandonment of Indian culture and tradition.
[
] During the 1960s, Community Action programs connected with Native Americans were based on citizen participation. Democratic President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
decided against implementing additional termination of tribal status. He did enact some of the last terminations in process, such as that of the
Ponca
The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...
. Both presidents
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
and Republican
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
repudiated termination of the federal government's special relationships with Native American tribes.
The Choctaw witnessed the social forces that brought
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer, also known as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a volunteer campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi. ...
to their ancient homeland. The Civil Rights Era produced significant social change for the Choctaw in Mississippi, as their civil rights were also enhanced as conditions changed for African Americans. Prior to the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
, most jobs had been given to whites, with blacks coming second in precedence.
The Choctaw, who for 150 years had identified neither as white nor black, but were discriminated against as people of color, were "left where they had always been"—in poverty.
Donna Ladd
Donna K. Ladd (born October 9, 1961) is an American investigative journalist who co-founded the '' Jackson Free Press'', a community magazine,Kuldell, Heather (2007-06-15). "AAN Announces AltWeekly Awards Winners". Association of Alternative Newsm ...
wrote that a Choctaw, now in her 40s, remembers "as a little girl, she thought that a 'white only' sign in a local store meant she could only order white, or vanilla, ice cream. It was a small story, but one that shows how a third race can easily get left out of the attempts for understanding."
[
] The end of legalized
racial segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
permitted the Choctaw to participate in public institutions and facilities that had been reserved exclusively for white patrons.
In another major change for state and the federal government, politicians began to support institutionalized gambling to support state programs. Starting with New Hampshire in 1963, numerous state legislatures passed new laws to establish state-run lotteries and other gambling enterprises in order to raise money for government services. Native American tribes began to study gambling enterprises as a means to raise revenues on their reservations to support the economic welfare of their tribes.
1970s and economic development
In the 1970s, the Choctaw repudiated the extremes of Indian activism. Soon after this, Congress passed the landmark
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975
The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (Public Law 93-638) authorized the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and some other government agencies to enter into contracts with, a ...
, completing a 15-year period of federal policy reform with regard to American Indian tribes. The legislation included authorizing tribes to negotiate contracts with the BIA to manage more of their own educational and social service programs. In addition, it provided direct grants to help tribes develop plans for assuming responsibility. It also provided for Indian parents' involvement on school boards.
[William C. Canby, Jr., ''American Indian Law in a Nut Shell'', St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., pp. 23–33]
The American Indian Policy Review Commission, under the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, on May 19, 1977, officially published federal acknowledgement or recognition of the Choctaw Nation of Indians in the original homeland of Mobile and Washington counties of Alabama (the original Mississippi Territory and the same locale as the various Treaties with the Choctaw Nation of Indians on the Tombigbee in 1820 and named again in Alabama in the Choctaw Treaty of 1866). These Alabama Choctaw had been accounted for in the Mississippi Choctaw Jurisdictional Act of 1936, but have been left out of the annals of history under the Color of Law since at least 1937. In 1979 the
MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians
The MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians is a state-recognized tribe, located in southwest Alabama, with a population largely based in southern Washington County and some membership in northern Mobile County.
The term ''MOWA'' is a portmanteau of Mobil ...
was recognized by the state of Alabama; it does not have formal federal recognition.
Leadership
Phillip Martin, who had served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, returned to
Neshoba County, Mississippi to visit his former home. After seeing the poverty of his people, he decided to stay to help.
[
] Will D. Campbell, a Baptist minister and civil rights activist, also witnessed the destitution of the Choctaw in the postwar years. 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.
Martin served as chairperson in various Choctaw committees up until 1977. That year he was elected as Chief, or ''Miko'', of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. He served a total of 30 years, being re-elected until 2007.
Beginning in 1979, the tribal council worked on a variety of economic development initiatives, first geared toward attracting industry to the reservation. They had people available to work, natural resources, and no taxes. Industries have included automotive parts, greeting cards, direct mail and printing, and plastic-molding.
1980s–1990s
In 1987 the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled that
federally recognized tribes
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
could operate gaming facilities on their sovereign reservation land free from state regulation. In 1988 the U.S. Congress enacted the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (, ''et seq.'') is a 1988 United States federal law that establishes the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming. There was no federal gaming structure before this act. The stated purposes of the act ...
(IGRA); it set the terms for Native American tribes to operate
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
s and negotiate terms with states, for instance, paying a portion of revenues in lieu of taxes.
The administration of Governor
Ray Mabus
Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State Auditor ...
had delayed action on Indian gaming in Mississippi, but in 1992 Governor
Kirk Fordice
Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice Jr. () (February 10, 1934 – September 7, 2004), was an American politician and businessman who served as the 61st Governor of Mississippi from 1992 to 2000. He was the first Republican governor of the stat ...
gave permission for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw to develop Class III gaming. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) now has one of the largest casino resorts in the nation; it is located in
Choctaw, Mississippi. The Silver Star Casino opened in 1994. The Golden Moon Casino opened in 2002. The casinos are collectively known as the
Pearl River Resort.
21st century
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has become one of the state's largest employers. During the early 21st century, they ran 19 businesses and employed 7,800 people.
Purporting to represent Native Americans before Congress and state governments to aid them in setting up gaming on their reservation, lobbyists
Jack Abramoff
Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
and
Michael Scanlon
Michael Scanlon (also known as Sean Scanlon) is a former communications director for Rep. Tom DeLay, lobbyist, and public relations executive who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges related to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. He is curre ...
used fraudulent means to gain profits of $15 million in payment from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Abramoff expressed contempt for many of his clients. In an E-mail sent January 29, 2002, Abramoff told Scanlon, "I have to meet with the monkeys from the Choctaw tribal council."
[
]
Congressional hearings on the Abramoff scandal were held by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2006. Federal charges were brought against Abramoff and Scanlon.
[
]
In 2002, the United States Congress formally recognized the entire Choctaw Nation in 25 U.S.C. 1779, including those Choctaw in Mobile and Washington counties, Alabama. They were described as Full-Blooded Choctaw equally and in the same Mississippi Choctaw Jurisdictional Act of 1934, by which the Mississippi Band of Choctaw reorganized.
Return of Nanih Waiya
After nearly two hundred years, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw regained stewardship of
Nanih Waiya
Nanih Waiya (alternately spelled Nunih Waya) is an ancient platform mound in southern Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 300 to 600 CE. Since the 17th century, the Choctaw have v ...
from the state of Mississippi. Nanih Waiya is a platform mound with adjacent conical mound and remnants of an earthwork embankment. The earliest dates for construction of the earthworks are from 100 to 400 CE. Choctaw people venerated this site and nearby Nanih Waiya Cave as their place of origin and the home of their ancestors. For years the state protected the site as a Mississippi state park. It returned ''Nanih Waiya'' to the Choctaw in 2006, under Mississippi Legislature State Bill 2803.
The deed was signed on August 18, 2008, which the Choctaw have made a tribal holiday. They have celebrated the day since, and made it an occasion for telling stories of their origin and history, serving traditional foods, and conducting related dances.
[DEBBIE BURT MYERS, "Nanih Waiya Day includes traditional Choctaw dance, food"](_blank)
''The Neshoba Democrat'', 18 August 2010, accessed 11 October 2011
Government
The current Miko or tribal chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is Cyrus Ben. Ben was elected in 2019, defeating incumbent tribal chief
Phyliss J. Anderson. Ben is the youngest tribal chief elected.
In July 2007, Beasley Denson was elected to replace the previous Chief Philip Martin. He served until 2011. Under Denson, the title of Chief was changed to ''Miko'', the Choctaw name for the tribe's leader.
Martin had been democratically elected for seven consecutive terms. Martin had reduced the tribe's 70% unemployment rate in 1997 to less than 3% unemployment in 2007. During his tenure, he led the tribe to become the third-largest employer in Mississippi.
Locations
![2300R Mississippi Choctaw Reservation Locator Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/2300R_Mississippi_Choctaw_Reservation_Locator_Map.svg)
Old Choctaw country included dozens of towns, such as Lukfata, Koweh Chito, Oka Hullo, Pante, Osapa Chito, Oka Cooply, and Yanni Achukma, located in and around Neshoba and Kemper counties.
The Choctaw regularly traveled hundreds of miles from their homes for long periods of time, moving to seasonal hunting grounds in the winter. They set out early in the fall and returned to their reserved lands at the opening of spring to plant their gardens. At that time they visited the Europeans at Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Brooksville, and Crawford, and the region where Yazoo City now is located.
Presently, the Mississippi Choctaw Indian Reservation has eight communities.
*
Bogue Chitto or "Bok Cito", Mississippi
*Bogue Homa
*
Conehatta
*Crystal Ridge
*
Henning, Tennessee
Henning is a town in Lauderdale County, Tennessee. The population was 945 at the 2010 census.
History
The infamous Battle of Fort Pillow, a Civil War victory for the Confederates, took place near Henning. Here, nearly 300 black troops serving in ...
*
Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
*
Red Water
*
Tucker
Tucker may refer to:
Places United States
* Tucker, Arkansas
* Tucker, Georgia
* Tucker, Mississippi
* Tucker, Missouri
* Tucker, Utah, ghost town
* Tucker County, West Virginia
Outer space
* Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the s ...
*
Standing Pine
These communities are located in parts of nine counties throughout the state. The largest concentration of land is in
Neshoba County, at , which comprises more than two-thirds of the reservation's land area and holds more than 62 percent of its population, as of the
2000 census. The total land area is 84.282 km
2 (32.541 sq mi), and its official total resident population was 5,190 persons. The nine counties are Neshoba,
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
,
Leake,
Kemper,
Jones
Jones may refer to:
People
*Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname
*List of people with surname Jones
* Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter
Arts and entertainment
* Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...
,
Winston,
Attala,
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Qu ...
, and
Scott counties.
Notable people
*
Beasley Denson, tribal chief, 2007—2011
*
Jeffrey Gibson
Jeffrey A. Gibson (born 1972)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol. 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee painter, and sculptor. He has lived and worked in Brooklyn; Hudson, New York; and Ge ...
, artist
*
Phillip Martin, tribal chief, 1978—2007
*
Powtawche Valerino
Powtawche N. Valerino is an American mechanical engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She worked as a navigation engineer for the Cassini mission.
Early life and education
Valerino was born to a Mississippi Choctaw mother and African ...
, engineer
See also
*
Choctaw
The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
*
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United S ...
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Jena Band of Choctaw Indians
The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians ( cho, Jena Chahta) are one of three federally recognized Choctaw tribes in the United States. They are based in La Salle, Catahoula, and Grant parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The Jena Band received fede ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mississippi Band Of Choctaw Indians
Native American tribes in Mississippi
Federally recognized tribes in the United States