Chickasaw Indian Culture

The Chickasaw Indians were Mississippi’s second largest Indian group, first being the Choctaw. They have a pretty interesting history, in my opinion, and it all started with them living in the Southeast. But in 1832, due to being forced by the U.S. government to sell their land, they migrated to Oklahoma and continued to live their lives as before. The Chickasaw were farmers and hunters, who often farmed the three main Native American crops: corn, beans, and squash. They also hunted animals like deer and elk, and fished in lakes and rivers. Their housing style was very unique, at least to me. A traditional town, or village, of the Chickasaw was made up of households, corn storage, a palisade fort, a council, and a ceremonial rotund. Each house

Men either wore breechcloth and sometimes leather leggings--no shirt--or in cold weather, they’d wear poncho-style blouses, just as the women did. They’d cover their hair with what is called a hair roach, which kind of looks like a giant mohawk, except it’s made from porcupine hair. Women, on the other hand, wore wraparound skirts made from deerskin or woven fiber, and they were not shirtless, obviously. They also tied their hair up with string and decorated it with colorful beads. All Chickasaw wore moccasins, too. For costumes, men wore long, colorful tunics and women wore full colorful skirts with ribbons. Now, how did they get around to show off their amazing clothes, you ask? Well, they got around by using long, dugout canoes they made from hollowed-out logs. Since they didn’t have horses in North America yet, that was their only mode of transportation. But, it must be hard to craft things like that without tools, you say? Luck for you; I’m just getting to that. They used war clubs, knives, bows and arrows, maces, and axes. These were either used for hunting, crafting, or protecting themselves against other tribes that they were enemies with. You just read everything you need to know about the Chickasaw tribe, but why not throw a fun fact in there with it? You can never learn too