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| ||| Military History ||| TRIBE MAP ||| |
This picture shows NANIH WAIYA, a low hill near Philadelphia, Mississippi, is sacred to the Choctaws who from around the world visit this sacred mound. One version of the Choctaw origin told that they were created in the center of Nanih Waiya by a great spirit and then crawled to the surface of the Earth through a hole in the ground of a cave. The Choctaws Indians are the most numerous branch of the Muskogean language group, which also includes Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole and Natchez. They are classed as one of the :Five Civilized Tribes." They were preeminently the agriculturists of the southern Indians, and their wars were defensive although they were brave. The Choctaws are first mentioned in 1540 by De Soto. The Choctaws became French allies in war against the English. In 1763 the French were forced to ced all this territory tpo the English and to Spanish. Since this time the Choctaw were under English. In 1786 the US and the Choctaws signed their first treaty, reaffirming the Choctaws boundaries and recognising the choctaws as a svereign nation. In 1830 the US govrnment took all land of the Choctaws and the Choctaws were the first tribe forced to move to Oklahoma. |
 
In the past, Choctaws lands were divided into three districts. A district chief was in charge of all the villages in a district. He was honored and respected member of the tribe. Each village had a town chief and a war chief. Town chiefs took care of the village. War chief called meetings. Chiefs from each village came to the meetings. They made laws and discussed tribal matters. They sometimes settled arguments. If the tribe had problems, the three district chiefs met to decide what to do.
Today, the Choctaw Nation has a tribal council with 12 members. The Choctaw Nation also has a chief and an assistant chief. Each council member and the chief are elected to four-year terms. The chief and council make decisions about the tribe life.
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