Pushmataha District was one of three administrative super-regions comprising the former

Choctaw Nation 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 St ...

in the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

. Also called the Third District, it encompassed the southwestern one-third of the nation. The Pushmataha District was named in honor of

Pushmataha Pushmataha (c. 1764 – December 24, 1824; also spelled Pooshawattaha, Pooshamallaha, or Poosha Matthaw), the "Indian General", was one of the three regional chiefs of the major divisions of the Choctaw in the 19th century. Many historians cons ...

, a revered Choctaw warrior and statesman who was chief of ''Okla Hannali'', the Six Towns District, one of the three historic, major clan divisions of the Choctaw in their historic territory of the Southeast. The other two districts were the

Apukshunnubbee District Apukshunnubbee District was one of three administrative super-regions comprising the former Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. Also called the Second District, it encompassed the southeastern one-third of the nation. The Apukshunnubbee District ...

and

Moshulatubbee District Moshulatubbee District was one of three administrative super-regions comprising the former Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory. Also called the First District, it encompassed the northern one-third of the nation. In some historic records it is ...

History

These three districts were established when the Choctaw Nation relocated via the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

to the Indian Territory. They were originally intended to provide homes for settlers from the three major clans or groupings of Choctaw Indians comprising the nation. Over time, the clan affiliations and allegiances rapidly became less important after the Choctaw reached Indian Territory, in part because the geography was different, and there was great disruption due to population loss in the removal. The districts' importance in the political life of the nation gradually waned, and the three district chiefs lost power and authority to the principal chief of the Nation. Eventually the principal chief became the chief. No longer a "first among equals", he became the sole political leader. In judicial affairs, however, the three districts and their seats of government retained their historic influence.

Crimes In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

and

criminals In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

not tried at the county level were bucked to the district level automatically, and court days were the busiest days of the year in the district seats of government. Pushmataha District's final and most important administrative seat of government was

Mayhew, Indian Territory Mayhew, Indian Territory, located two miles north of present-day Boswell, Oklahoma, was the seat of government of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation, in the Indian Territory. It was located in Jackson County, Choctaw Nation, the count ...

. This was started as a former

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

station. Present-day Boswell, Oklahoma developed about two miles south of its location. The first district seat was Tiak Heli, "between the forks of the Boggy" ("or Boggies"), as it was called. The site was difficult to reach, being situated between the small rivers of Clear Boggy Creek and

Muddy Boggy Creek Muddy Boggy Creek, also known as the Muddy Boggy River, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011 river in south central Oklahoma. The stream headwaters arise jus ...

. Few ferries operated on the rivers to provide convenient crossings. When the court house at Tiak Heli burned in the last part of the 19th century, the district moved its administrative center to Mayhew. Present-day Sunkist, Oklahoma (in southeastern Atoka County) developed about one-half mile west of that historic community. "I never understood why court was held in the forks of the Boggy, forcing everyone who attended to cross a river," an early-day

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

said decades later. He thought the district seat was likely considered to be in the center of general population. But, he said, "There were no

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

, nor bridges above the forks of the Boggy." Another settler recalled the post oak tree was used as the "whipping tree". Judges of the Choctaw district courts sentenced some criminals to whippings as punishment. As of 1937, the tree was still in existence. Included in the Pushmataha District were the Choctaw Nation counties of Atoka, Jack's Fork,

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

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 Kiamitia (Kiamichi). As Oklahoma's statehood loomed, the Pushmataha District, and its constituent counties, slowly wound down their governmental functions as the United States Courts in the Indian Territory assumed their powers. On November 16, 1907—Oklahoma's Statehood Day—the district and its counties disappeared forever. Old Choctaw Nation Districts

The territory of the former Pushmataha District is incorporated into the present-day Oklahoma counties of Atoka, Bryan, Choctaw,

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

, and

.John W. Morris, ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'', plate 38.

References

{{reflist Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Pre-statehood history of Oklahoma 1907 disestablishments in Oklahoma