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The Chickasaw Nation
Before the mid-1800’s, the Chickasaw people originally called the Southeastern Woodlands their homeland. This region includes parts of modern-day Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky (“History,” 2016). A movement began in the 1800’s where Native-American tribes were forced out of their homelands and sent along the ‘Trail of Tears’ by the United States Government. This movement was called the ‘Great Removal’. The Chickasaw people were able to delay their move by negotiating their own terms of removal with the government. Unfortunately, they couldn’t delay their removal forever. The Chickasaw people were eventually forced out of the land they believed the great spirit had given to them in 1837. They were unable
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the find their own homeland and were forced to settle in south-central Oklahoma and become a fourth district of the Choctaw Nation (Ojibwa, 2010). They eventually seceded from the Choctaws in 1856 and became their own nation once again (“History,” 2016). The Chickasaw nation now inhabits a region of south-central Oklahoma. Politically, the Chickasaw nation functions much like the United States Federal Government. Chickasaw Nation’s tribal government is a democratic republic including legislative, executive and judicial departments. They base their laws off of a constitution that was ratified in 1983 (“The Chickasaw Nation”). Their political system runs smoothly and effectively and they work hard to make a better living for the Chickasaw people. One word to describe the Chickasaw people is teamwork.
They work hard to lift their nation up as a whole. In fact, teamwork is one of their ten core values. This goes hand-in-hand with their first core value; the Chickasaw people (“The Chickasaw Nation”). In their core values it is evident that they are determined to do their part in helping one another. Cultural Identity is also a core value of the Chickasaw people. They understand the importance of maintaining their culture in a world that has a very strong pop-culture and an emphasis on fitting in. Within their nation, there are many efforts to maintain their culture. Perseverance is another core value they share. This held their people together when they were forced to leave the land of their ancestors. They persevered to keep their nation whole and didn’t succumb into the Choctaw tribe for longer than they had to. Trust and respect is another value that has made their nation work. Chickasaw people trust those that are in charge and show great respect, especially to their elders. The elders in these nations are very knowledgeable and it is up to them to keep the culture and language of their ancestors alive long after they pass. Many more vital core values have and will continue to direct the path of the Chickasaw …show more content…
people. As the 13th largest federally recognized tribe in the United States, the Chickasaw people have made quite a respectable name for themselves (“The Chickasaw Nation”). The Chickasaw nation is a major contributor to the Oklahoma economy. In 2011, they had a 2.43-billion-dollar impact on the overall economy of Oklahoma (Mazecyrus, 2013). To have this kind of an impact they focus on gaming and tourism. Since casinos are not allowed in all states, Native Americans receive plenty of tourism and business to create large amounts of revenue. In fact, the Chickasaw nation owns two of the largest casinos in Oklahoma including Riverwind Casino in Norman and Winstar World Casino which happens to be the largest casino in America (Mazecyrus, 2013). It is not just casino’s the tourists are after. Oklahoma has become famous for the Native American culture that resides here and tourists want a taste. The opportunity this gives the Chickasaw people to educate others about their way of life and preserve bits of their culture at a time is worth more than any amount of money they could earn from admission fees. A source from Indian Country Today Media Network said; “More than 10,000 people from around the world have visited the Chickasaw Cultural Center since it opened in 2010 (Mazecyrus, 2013).” That information was taken three years ago and it shows the endless possibilities of growth and education. The language Chickasaw people speak is technically termed Chikashanompa. In 1994, less than 1,000 people fluently spoke their native language. Unfortunately, now less than 75 people speak their language and most of them are over 55-years-old (“Language,” 2016). This decrease sparked the formation of the Chickasaw Language Revitalization Program in 2007 (“The Chickasaw Nation”). This program offers many tools to keep the language, and the culture that comes with it, alive. One program offered is called the Chickasaw Language Master-Apprentice Program. In this program an apprentice is paired with someone who speaks the language fluently and then learns it from total emersion. The Youth Speaking Chickasaw program is a little less intense. Children meet once a month and learn the language through fun activities and songs. Another cool way the Chickasaw people are keeping their language alive is with a free App that has words, phrases, songs, and videos in their native language so people can learn during their busy schedules (“Language,” 2016). The Chickasaw people believe in the importance of sustaining their language and culture so much that there is a department for each. The Department of Language opened in 2009 and works to make sure the revitalization program is effective and working smoothly (Language,” 2016). The department of Culture offers history, traditional story telling, and cultural education classes (“Culture,” 2014). Chickasaw is a part of the western branch of the Muskogean language family (Redish, 1998).
Another language in this family is Choctaw, which doesn’t come as a surprise since the tribes are historically related. Choctaw is spoken in Oklahoma as well. In fact, Choctaw and Chickasaw languages are the most closely related languages to each other although sometimes mutually unintelligible. Many people who know Chickasaw have some knowledge of Choctaw. Alabama is also a language in the Muskogean language family primarily spoken in Texas. Muskogee, also known as Creek, is a language spoken in Oklahoma and parts of
Florida. Chikashanompa, or Chickasaw, is an agglutinative language. This means that complex words are created by putting words next to each other with unchanged phonetics. For example, ‘chokma’ directly means: he is good and ‘ikchokmo’ means he is not good. Also, Chickasaw uses a subject-object-verb word order. This means that instead of saying “she loves him,” it would be “she him loves.” Chickasaw has 16 consonants and 9 vowels. One character in Chickasaw that isn’t in English is /lh/ which sounds like an [l+breath]. In English, we tend to change the location of the stress depending on the word. However, in Chickasaw, the stress is usually on the last syllable of the word. Sometimes in Chickasaw, if stress is placed on the wrong part of the word the entire meaning of the word can be changed (Redish, 1998). Also in Chickasaw the spelling is more relaxed in rules than English. This is probably because it was recently turned into a written language just a few decades ago. For example, ‘Anompa,’ the word for language, can be spelt with an ‘O’ or a ‘U.’ The meaning or pronunciation does not change (“Language,” 2016). Another interesting part of the language is the use of double letters. Words with double consonants requires pronunciation with double length. For example, the word issi’ (deer) calls for an “s” sound that is double in length (Redish, 1998). Double pronunciation can be hard to pick up for somebody who is not native to this. Another example of this is the word hattak (man). In this word the “t” sound is pronounced longer almost like the “t” sound in the word “night-time” (Reddish). In my opinion, the written language of the Chickasaw people is filled with many letters and long words. This is probably intimidating to those who are trying to learn the language. For example, “Chinittakat chinchokma’shki” means “Have a nice day” in English (“Language,” 2016). Another example; “Anchokka-chaffaat Ada-ako aaminti” means “My family is from Ada” in English. Also the language is very beautiful to listen to. I imagine the classic storytelling would be very entertaining whether or not the listener knew what the storyteller was saying. These story-tellings are said to be very descriptive and fun. One day I think I would enjoy watching one in person. Speakers of Chickasaw speak with such grace the words seem to just roll out of their mouths. I decided to download the unique iPhone App the Chickasaw people have created in efforts to keep their language alive. It is a great tool and is divided into categories of topics of conversation such as greetings, food, body, animals and colors. It works like a communication device where it can help the user form sentences. There are also videos to show users how to pronounce words since the location of stress on the word holds a lot of power in understanding the meaning. I’m very impressed with this idea and could see it revitalizing their language back to safety. Overall, I am in awe of the Chickasaw people. They have huge amounts of perseverance and are a role model of how to work as a team. Their values are strong and shown in their hard work to preserve their culture and language. The people of Chickasaw nation have a beautiful culture and language to carry it along. Citations Culture. (2014, June 16). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from the Chickasaw Nation, https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/Culture.aspx Gordon, M. The phonology of pitch accents on Chickasaw. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/gordon/chickasawpitchaccent.pdf History. (2016, November 08). Retrieved November 16, 2016, from the Chickasaw Nation, https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/History.aspx Language. (2016, February 03). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from the Chickasaw Nation, https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/Culture/Language.aspx Mazecyrus. (2013, March 15). The growing economic might of Indian country. Retrieved November 17, 2016, from Indian Country Today Media Network, http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/03/15/growing-economic-might- indian-country-148196 Ojibwa. (2010, May 4). The Removal of the Chickasaw Indians. Retrieved November 16, 2016, from Native American Netroots, http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/489 Our Nation. (2016, May 18). Retrieved November 16, 2016, from the Chickasaw Nation, https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation.aspx Redish, L. (1998). Chickasaw language and the Chickasaw Indian tribe (Chikasha, Chickasha, Chickasaws). Retrieved November 16, 2016, from http://www.native-languages.org/chickasaw.htm The Chickasaw Nation. Retrieved November 16, 2016, from Oklahoma State Department of Education, http://sde.ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/documents/files/Tribes_of_OK_Education%2 0Guide_Chickasaw_Nation_0.pdf
The Chickasaw people made of decently well compared to some of the other Native American tribes that were moved to the West. They had foresight into what was going to take place and they were able to negotiate the sale of their land off for decent sums of money and they actually could afford to pay for the removal to areas west of the Mississippi. Even with saying that many Chickasaw Natives died on the perilous exodus that was their Trail of Tears. The Chickasaw quickly ran into troubles and death as their journey progressed as even having sums of money cannot protect you from the hardships of the land and travel. They did however control when they departed for the areas in the West though due to their possession of money. They chose
In a quest for family entertainment, many seek an educational experience as well. With so many choices, no one wants to waste their leisure time and money on a disappointing venture. The Chickasaw Nation Cultural Center achieves what few other venues can. Here, Native Americans envelope you on a journey of the Chickasaw people, both past and present day. From the moment you step on the impeccably landscaped grounds, you begin to feel as one with their people. Expect to be immersed into the cultures of the Chickasaw Nation, through expressive storytelling, traditional song and dance, native arts, recreated customary villages, native cuisine and historical movies in the jaw dropping, two story Anoli
Democracy can be traced back before the coming of Christ. Throughout Greece during the sixth century democracy was in its earliest stages and as the millenniums would pass the power of government by the people would show distinct alterations. This is evident when analyzing The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears by Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green. These authors illustrate how the U.S government adjusts policies from that of assimilating the Native American Indians to that of removing them from their homelands and forcibly causing the Cherokee nation to relocate themselves west of the Mississippi. In further depth Perdue and Green portray though vivid description how the government would show disloyalty and how that caused division between the tribal members of the Cherokee people. This endeavor of travel and animosity of the Indians would become known as the Trail of Tears.
middle of paper ... ... I firmly believe that the betterment of one group of people is not worth the destruction of another. Works Cited Anderson, William L. Cherokee removal before and after. Athens: University of Georgia, 1991.
In The Cherokee Removal, Perdue and Green show the trials that the Cherokee faced in the years from 1700 to 1840. This book shows how the Americans tried to remove these Indians from the southeastern part of the United States. The Cherokees tried to overcome the attempts of removal, but finally in 1838, they were removed from the area.
Prior to 1830 the Cherokee people in the Southern states were land and business owners, many owned plantations and kept slaves to work the land, others were hunters and fishermen who ran businesses and blended in well with their white neighbors, but after Andrew Jackson took office as President, the government adopted a strict policy of Indian removal, which Jackson aggressively pursued by eliminating native American land titles and relocating American Indians west of the Mississippi. That same year, Congress passed the Indian R...
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.
The United States government's relationship with the Native American population has been a rocky one for over 250 years. One instance of this relationship would be what is infamously known as, the Trail of Tears, a phrase describing a journey in which the Native Americans took after giving up their land from forced removal. As a part of then-President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, this policy has been put into place to control the natives that were attempting to reside peacefully in their stolen homeland. In the viewpoint of the Choctaw and Cherokee natives, removal had almost ultimately altered the culture and the traditional lifestyle of these people.
The Creek Indians, one of the Five Civilized Tribes, “was composed of many tribes, each with a different name.” The Creeks formed a loose confederacy with other tribes before European contact, “but it was strengthened significantly in the 1700s and 1800s.” The confederacy “included the Alabama, Shawnee, Natchez, Tuskegee, as well as many others.” There were two sections of Creeks, the Upper and Lower Creeks. The Lower Creeks occupied land in east Georgia, living near rivers and the coast. “The Upper Creeks lived along rivers in Alabama.” Like many other Native Americans, ...
Natives were forcefully removed from their land in the 1800’s by America. In the 1820’s and 30’s Georgia issued a campaign to remove the Cherokees from their land. The Cherokee Indians were one of the largest tribes in America at the time. Originally the Cherokee’s were settled near the great lakes, but overtime they moved to the eastern portion of North America. After being threatened by American expansion, Cherokee leaders re-organized their government and adopted a constitution written by a convention, led by Chief John Ross (Cherokee Removal). In 1828 gold was discovered in their land. This made the Cherokee’s land even more desirable. During the spring and winter of 1838- 1839, 20,000 Cherokees were removed and began their journey to Oklahoma. Even if natives wished to assimilate into America, by law they were neither citizens nor could they hold property in the state they were in. Principal Chief, John Ross and Major Ridge were leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern band of Cherokee Indians lost many due to smallpox. It was a year later that a Treaty was signed for cession of Cherokee land in Texas. A small number of Cherokee Indians assimilated into Florida, in o...
There has always been a big debate on whether the Cherokee Indians should have or should not have been removed from the land they resided on. Although the common consensus of the whites was for removal, and for the Cherokees it was against removal, there were some individuals on each side that disagreed with their groups’ decision. The Cherokee Indians should have been removed from their homeland because the Cherokees would not have been able to survive on their own with the way they were living, they would not have been able to exist amidst a white population, and if they were removed, the whites would have helped them create a new and prosperous civilization.
The tragedy of the Cherokee nation has haunted the legacy of Andrew Jackson"'"s Presidency. The events that transpired after the implementation of his Indian policy are indeed heinous and continually pose questions of morality for all generations. Ancient Native American tribes were forced from their ancestral homes in an effort to increase the aggressive expansion of white settlers during the early years of the United States. The most notable removal came after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Cherokee, whose journey was known as the '"'Trail of Tears'"', and the four other civilized tribes, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole, were forced to emigrate to lands west of the Mississippi River, to what is now day Oklahoma, against their will. During the journey westward, over 60,000 Indians were forced from their homelands. Approximately 4000 Cherokee Indians perished during the journey due to famine, disease, and negligence. The Cherokees to traveled a vast distance under force during the arduous winter of 1838-1839.# This is one of the saddest events in American history, yet we must not forget this tragedy.
Southern hospitality is the best in the world. People that live in the South are very nice and are always willing to help another person in any way they can. If someone is from out of town and needs directions to a certain place southerners will make sure he or she knows how to get there before he or she leaves them. Southerners are very polite. Every time we pass someone on the rode, we are going to wave at him or her. Towns in the South have fewer people and everyone knows everyone. The people in the South are nicer than anywhere else in the United States.
Oklahoma, in its earliest organized forms, consisted of over forty independent Native American Nations, though they arrived through a complex process. Native American migration predated European contact but by the mid eighteenth century Native American nations saw their lands being progressively threatened by Euro-American settlement. Migratory push/pull factors such as warfare, famine, and encroachment resulted in movements of native cultures for centuries. However, by the beginning of the nineteenth century Native American migratory patterns began to be forced and regulated on European terms. Treaties, lands sales, and forced relocations onto predetermined reservations changed the way Native Americans would relate to the land and their environment, as well as, intertribal relations. By the 1820s and 1830s most Native American nations had ceded their lands east of the Mississippi River to the newly created United States by treaty or ultimately through the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Trade and Intercourse Act of 1834 further defined ‘Indian Territory’ as “all that part of the United States west of the Mississippi and not within the states of Missouri, Louisiana, or Arkansas Territory, or any other organized territory.” Over time, this vast reserved land shrank to the limits of Eastern Oklahoma as the insatiable demand for cheap land for white settlers increased.
The movement westward during the late 1800’s created new tensions among already strained relations with current Native American inhabitants. Their lands, which were guaranteed to them via treaty with the United States, were now beginning to be intruded upon by the massive influx of people migrating from the east. This intrusion was not taken too kindly, as Native American lands had already been significantly reduced due to previous westward conquest. Growing resentment for the federal government’s Reservation movement could be felt among the native population. One Kiowa chief’s thoughts on this matter summarize the general feeling of the native populace. “All the land south of the Arkansas belongs to the Kiowas and Comanches, and I don’t want to give away any of it” (Edwards, 203). His words, “I don’t want to give away any of it”, seemed to a mantra among the Native Americans, and this thought would resound among them as the mounting tensions reached breaking point.