Choctaw Indians

The tribe of Choctaw Indians was origin wholey located in the southeasterly part of the Mississippi, southwestern Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia. This name for this tribe of Indians is attributed to various sources, few of these argon the Spanish word chato which intend flat because the Choctaw utilize to dribble the fore walks of their male infants and Haccha, a name of the Pearl River with which these people were associated . These people consider that they originated from Ninah Waya, which is a sacred hill located near Nozapter, Mississippi.The name Ninah Waya means Productive Mountain and is often referred to as The Mother Mound. The upshot myth is a part of Choctaw history. These Indians are supposed to pay back belonged to the Muskhogean linguistic family. Initially they existed as actually large groups, but were significantly lessen in minutes collect to infected foreigners who spread a bite of epidemic diseases amongst these hapless Indians. The other tribes in thi s linguistic family are creeks, Chickasaws, Seminoles and Apalachi .In similarity to the Chickasaw and the Creek who were their age old enemies, the Choctaws were more democratic and less war standardised. The Choctaws lived in wattle-and-daub homes. These homes had walls consisting of pole frames covered with mud and bark and a thatched roof. They were agrarian in general and in this aspect were unsurpassed in the entire southeasterly part of the U. S, and used simple tools to cultivate corn, beans, sweet potatoes, and tobacco.They were so technological in this activity that they were in the enviable position of possessing surplus nutrition which they bartered in separate to obtain goods that they did non have. Moreover, they utilized blowguns, bows and arrows, spears and traps to hunt animals for aliment and pelts. Their trading capacity was so great that they traded on a very large scale with other tribes and in order to communicate with their customers they certain a sim ple trade language. In order to transport ware and animals hunted by them they used dugout canoes.The Choctaws were fond of sport and it occupied an important part of their glossiness. Their variety of lacrosse, which was very popular amongst the eastern tribes was a very rough farinaceous played with a stick. This game was used to promote social gatherings, bring about settlement of disputes and to train the participants for warfare. The number of participants in this game would be in the hundreds and all sorts of violence alike biting, belabouring and kicking were permitted. Not surprisingly, the participants would suffer serious and aroundtimes fatal injuries.The way out of this game had so much importance attached to it that Choctaw priests used to passing prayers in order to have an effect on the result of the game . The Choctaws took to riding horses and using them as pack animals with the advent of the Europeans in the sixteenth century. They developed their own speci alized horse breeds and raised cattle. The 18th and nineteenth centuries were witness to the forced migration of the Choctaws farther and farther west in order to circumvent clashes with the European settlers.Initially they allied with the French later on they worked as spies for the Americans in the American Revolution, which lasted from 1775 to 1783, and reported the activities of the British. In the War of 1812 they allied with the U. S and fought under General Andrew Jackson and they also fought against the Creek in the Creek War that lasted from 1813 to 1814. The universal belief was that the land occupied by the Indians had silver in it, accordingly P takent Jackson brought about legislation that necessitate relocation of the Southeast Indian tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River.The first victims of this untamed deed were the loyal Choctaws, who were made to shift their location to the Indian rule, which is in Oklahoma under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Accordin gly, as per the provisions of the 1830, Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek the Choctaw nations was forcibly relocated to South-eastern Oklahoma. The course of studys from 1831 to 1834 saw these hapless Choctaws being subjected to a series of forced edge westward, which proved fatal for piecey of their numbers who succumbed to disease, hunger, exposure and attacks by bandits.Around twenty dollar bill thousand Choctaws were shifted and only seven thousand survived this arduous journey infamous as the The Trail of Tears. The greed of the settlers was gratified to some achievement by the year 1842 as most of the Choctaw lands had become the property of the settlers. Oklahoma, was chosen by the Choctaws as their promised land, because it was for the most part empty and was considered to be uneffective for any other purpose. However, this place proved to be very plenteous and was utilized by them as an agricultural haven. The surviving Choctaws built a new city based on their agricul tural genius.In the Indian Territory the Choctaw, the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole were collectively known as the Five Civilized Tribes, because they had organized governments with create verbally constitutions and due to the fact that they had established public schools and newspapers. The Choctaw joined forces with the Confederacy during the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. Due to the ever increasing influx of non-Indian settlers, the Choctaws were unable to take their lands, even in Oklahoma, where they had been ruthlessly relocated.Ironically, Oklahoma is a term invented by the Choctaw leader Allen Wright to connote red people and was initially used to mention the western half of the Indian Territory. The number of persons who identified themselves as Choctaw in the U. S. census of 2000 was approximately 87,000 and a further 71,000 identified themselves as having Choctaw blood. national trust lands are held by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma in the locality of Durant. Furthermore, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians reservation is located near the Pearl River.Some Choctaw groups reside in Louisiana and what should be of encouragement to these hapless people, there has been a revival of traditional customs and unity between these groups since the 1950s . Women have traditionally been objects of veneration in the Choctaw culture. This honour has been accorded to them due their being the head of every family household and due to their being the caretakers of children and elders in the family. In legends these tribes are considered to be vegetarians and one of the Cherokee legends describes this epoch as the beginning of equality and coarse helpfulness between humans, plants and animals.Initially all three lived in harmony, however, with the passage of time, man became destructive and started to kill and eat some of the animals and in retaliation some of the animals invented diseases to limit the human population. True g enerosity was exhibited by only the plants, which provided not only food to man, but also medicine to cure these diseases . The historical evolution of the Choctaw makes one aware of their efforts in respect of economic development and the strong Tribal government which has resulted from such development.In the past, the Choctaw people had undergone some(prenominal) hardships like health problems and reliance upon the federal government for the bare necessities of life. However, subsequent to the year 1945, the situation has improved drastically and the strong tribal governmental leadership and appropriate planning have made the Choctaw people self reliant. With the forward motion in employment and educational opportunities, availability of better housing and health care facilities a resurgence of the Choctaw fellowship and their cultural arts has transpired and this has brought about feeler in their standard of living.The language of the Choctaws and their native culture are no longer threatened with extinction as they had been saved and strengthened due to their efforts. At present Choctaw community can be considered to be a successful community. This is due to the fact that they not only preserved their culture but did so in the face of great adversity. The Choctaw Indian reticence is spread across 35,000 acres of Tribal lands, which are located in ten counties of the Mississippi. The federal government is responsible for safeguarding these lands.These sites are Pearl River, crimson Water, Bogue Chitto, Standing Pine, Tucker, Conehatta and Bogue Homa. The Tribal government is headquartered in Pearl River and is the largest of these lands. The Choctaws enjoy several traditional cultural activities in addition to those provided by modern society. Their esthetical output comprises of hand woven baskets made from Mississippi swamp cane, beadwork, etc. They are also famous for their dances, cooking and sewing traditional apparel. In the modern world t hey are active in almost all fields of scientific and commercial endeavour.In contrast to the past, when they had been relegated to the background, these people can be assumed to have become a part of the fast paced and raise American way of life. These people are highly creative and bright and some of their special events, which enable them to congregate as a Choctaw community in order to commemorate their tribal traditions, are the annual Choctaw Indian Fair held in the month of July in the Choctaw Indian Reservation and the fount festivals of the Choctaw communities . Works Cited Page Ferguson, Bob.Choctaw Chronology. Retrieved from http//www. choctaw. org/history/chronology. htm on October 6, 2006 Rita Laws, WAS THE AMERICAN ABORIGINAL fodder VEGETARIAN? , retrieved from www. animalvoices. org/aboriginal. htm. on 06. 10. 2006. Retrieved from http//www. choctaw. org/culture/welcome. htm on 06. 10. 2006. Team Sports. Choctaw. Retrieved from http//www. cradleboard. org/cnat/res ource/choctaw. htm on October 8, 2006 Waldman, Carl. Choctaw. Microsoft Encarta 2006 DVD. Redmond, WA Microsoft Corporation, 2005.