George Washington Harkins (1810–October 23, 1861) was an attorney and prominent

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of the

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 ...

tribe during

Indian removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...

.Oklahoma Historical Society, Archives Division, Choctaw – Principal Chief, No. 19457 Elected as principal chief after the national council deposed his maternal uncle,

Greenwood LeFlore Greenwood LeFlore or Greenwood Le Fleur (June 3, 1800 – August 31, 1865) served as the elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw in 1830 before removal. Before that, the nation was governed by three district chiefs and a council of chiefs. A weal ...

, Harkins was elected judge of the Red River District in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

in 1834. In 1850, he was chosen as chief of the Apukshunnubbee District (one of three) of the Choctaw Nation and served until 1857.''Leaders and Leading Men of the Indian Territory'' (Chicago: American Publishers’ Association, 1891).

Early life and education

Harkins was born into a high-status Choctaw clan through his mother, Louisa "Lusony" LeFlore. His father was Willis J Harkins. His oldest maternal uncle, traditionally the most important mentor to a boy child, was

, the chief of the Choctaw. Harkins learned from both his cultures but identified as Choctaw first and foremost. Harkins was educated at Centre College in

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

. He earned a law degree from

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

Marriage and family

Harkins married Salina Gardner and Lily Folsom, Daughter of Chief David Folsom and Rhoda Nail. It is said that he also married Laris Narcissy Leflore and had two children, but no evidence of that has been found. He had several children with them who survived to adulthood: Richard, Sarah, Catherine, Ellen, David Folsom "Dave" Harkins (1828 - 1879), Susan (b. 1830- ), Cornelia, Henry Clay Harkins (1833-1886), Loren (b. 1835- ), and Mary Jane Harkins (b. 1837- ). All belonged to their mother's clans and gained status in the tribe through them. His brother Willis had a son, George Willis Harkins (1835-1890), who was known as "The Rawhide Orator". See Leaders and Leading Men of the Indian Territory (Chicago : American Publishers' Association, 1891), page 254.

Career

In October 1830, the national council deposed

as chief after he signed the treaty for removal. It elected Harkins, who belonged to the same clan and was a nephew of LeFlore through his mother. In the Choctaw

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...

system, the mother's clan was the one that was most important to a person's status. To proceed with

Indian Removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...

, 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 ...

refused to recognize Harkins's authority with the tribe.''The Choctaw of Oklahoma'' (Durant, OK: Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, 2003) After Indian Removal, Harkins rose in influence in the tribe. In 1834, he was elected judge of the Red River District in

. The council of chiefs of the Indian District elected him as principal chief of the District (one of three in the Choctaw Nation), where he served from 1850 to 1857. The districts represented the longstanding geographic and political divisions that had existed in the tribe in the Southeast. Gradually, in Indian Territory, they became less important.

Influence

Harkins' 1831 "

Farewell Letter to the American People The "Farewell Letter to the American People" was a widely published letter by Choctaw Chief George W. Harkins in February 1832.George W. Harkins, "Farewell Letter to the American People", 1832. The American Indian, December 1926. Reprinted in Gr ...

," denouncing the removal of the Choctaw, was widely published in American newspapers. It is still widely regarded as one of the most important documents of Native American history."Farewell Letter to the American People," 1832, ''The American Indian'', December 1926. Reprinted in ''Great Documents in American Indian History'', edited by Wayne Moquin with Charles Van Doren. New York: DaCapo Press. 1995; 151. Harkins wrote in part:

References

External links