US History 2
Ms. Bruno
Native American Experience Chickasaw Tribe The Chickasaw tribes are said to be descended from a story of brothers, Chisca and Chacta. These people were known as “Flat Heads” because of their custom of the flattening of skulls of children in which they would put weight on their heads. Chickasaw lived around the northeastern area of Mississippi of the Tombigbee River. But as more settlers moved to North America, they were forced to move to Oklahoma. Also, today these Natives live on reservations throughout America. They are known to include a multi county area of more than 7,648 square miles in south central Oklahoma. In the 1600s, there were about 10,000 Chickasaw. They were a very small group while …show more content…
In 1832, the first treaty was signed which have all Chickasaw lands east of the Mississippi River to the government of the United States. It called for the removal of the tribe to Indian Territory which forms Oklahoma. The tribe soon enough became part of the movement of the “Five Civilized Tribes” which included Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee. This removal took about twenty years to accomplish. The Chickasaw were the wealthiest of the “Five Civilized Tribes.” They had more access to wagons and accomplished their move quicker than the other tribes. Throughout this all, many people of the tribes caught smallpox, diseases, and many illnesses brought on by eating spoiled government food. One of the people that had died from this was Chief Tishomingo who had lived until the age of 102. Things in Indian Territory were becoming far from ideal. The Chickasaw argued with the Choctaw and feared that the Choctaw would soon control them. The Chickasaw immediately decided to sign a treaty with the United States in 1855 in which they created the land boundaries of an independent Chickasaw district. The people then formed their own nation and adopted a constitution and laws as …show more content…
The children usually take their mother’s house or clan name and men and women of the same house could not marry. Also, cleanliness was very important to them in which they bathed daily and even in the winter as well in the ice. They had believed that by doing this, they would remove evil and trouble from the previous day. Also, them so as the other tribes did, played games, held festivals, and ceremonies. The men performed a purification ceremony in which they would drink a black liquid. The black liquid was a potion which contained a big amount of caffeine which made them vomit. In the summer, they would entertain themselves by playing violent football as well. They would hold major annual festivals called the “Renewal of Traditions” which lasted for two days in the summer including dances, ball games, storytelling and traditional foods and