The Choctaw Capitol Building (; also known as Tuskahoma – Choctaw Council House, or simply as Tuskahoma,) is a historic building built in 1884 that housed the government of the

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw language, Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Indian reservation, Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation ...

from 1884 to 1907. The building is located in

Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Pushmataha County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,812. Its county seat is Antlers. The county was created at statehood from part of the former territory of the ...

, two miles north of the community of Tuskahoma.

History

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

operated here as Council House, Indian Territory from February 6, 1872, to June 30, 1880. Postal operations were later carried on at nearby Lyceum, site of the Choctaw girls’ academy, and Tuskahoma. During the days of the

Indian Territory 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 States, ...

the Council House was located in

Wade County, Choctaw Nation {{Short description, Former political subdivision Wade County was a political subdivision of the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory, prior to Oklahoma being admitted as a state. The county formed part of the Nation's Apukshunnubbee District, or Fir ...

. After several decades of constitutional experimentation, during which the Choctaw Indians moved their national capital among several locations, the National Council in 1883 authorized construction of a permanent seat of government at Tushka Homma. The name means “home of the red warrior” in the

Choctaw language The Choctaw language (Choctaw: ), spoken by the Choctaw, an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, US, is a member of the Muskogean languages, Muskogean language family. Chickasaw language, Chickasaw is a separate but closely related l ...

, and its spelling has since been standardized as Tuskahoma. The Capitol was completed in September 1884, built of red native brick, sandstone, and nearby timber for $30,000. It is 72'-11" long by 62'-4" feet wide, and stands 54'-2" tall to the chimneys. It consists of two stories and a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

attic. In the fall of 1884 the ''Indian Journal'' at Muskogee, Indian Territory wrote, “The capitol building is the finest structure in the Territory…” Inside the Capitol were rooms for the Senate, House of Representatives, Principal Chief, Supreme Court, and constitutional officers, including the National Attorney and National Auditor. The Capitol was in use from 1884 until 1907, when the Choctaw Nation was abolished and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

became a state. After annexation and statehood, the building fell into disuse and disrepair.

Jane Austin McCurtain Jane Austin McCurtain (August 19, 1842 – October 27, 1924) was a Choctaw educator and political advisor within the Choctaw Nation, known for her influence on educational and tribal governance throughout her life. Serving as a close advisor to he ...

was appointed as custodian of the Council House, and served until her death in 1924.

Present Day

The Capitol has achieved new life as the national

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

of the successfully reconstituted

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo, exceeding t ...

, whose executive offices are now located in

Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. It serves as the capital of the Choctaw Nation, and is the largest settlement on the reservation, ranking ahead of McAlester and Po ...

. The Choctaw Nation holds its annual

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

festival there, which attracts nationally known

country-western Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing stori ...

singers and bands, and draws in excess of 100,000 attendees. A Choctaw war veterans' memorial is on the Capitol grounds. It includes a special section in tribute to the famous

Choctaw Code Talkers The Choctaw code talkers were a group of Choctaw Indians from Oklahoma who pioneered the use of Native American languages as military code during World War I. The government of the Choctaw Nation maintains that the men were the first American ...

, who pioneered the use of Native American languages as military code. Their initial exploits were during World War I, and were repeated by Choctaws and additional tribes during World War II. In May 2017, the tribe unveiled a

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

monument, inscribed in both

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

and English, on the Capitol grounds. The Capitol is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. More information on the Capitol, Tuskahoma and the Choctaw Nation may be found in the Pushmataha County Historical Society.

References

External links

Choctaw Nation Museum
- Travel OK {{NRHP in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Museums in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Native American museums in Oklahoma Government buildings completed in 1884