History of the Choctaw Chickasaw and Natchez Indians Collections – Page 5 of 5

Charles Montezuma

There always have existed among the North American Indians, and still exist, many examples of intellectual ability, of genius, of high moral feeling and as noble and pure patriotism as was ever found in any nation of people and as proof of this fact I relate the following: Some twenty-five years ago a photographer of Chicago, being in Arizona on a vacation trip, found and rescued from an Apache camp an abandoned Indian male infant of full blood. The photographer became possessed with a desire to take the boy home with him and adopt him. In spite of warnings that the … Read more

Castine Indian Mounds

In visiting the “Castine Mounds,” near the Cahokia creek, in Illinois, a writer says: “After a drive of an hour and a half the second group of eminences, known as the Castine Mounds, appeared upon the prairie at a distance of three or four miles; the celebrated Monk Hill, the largest monument of the kind yet discovered in North America, heaving up its giant form, forest clothed from in the midst; as it is first beheld, surrounded by the lesser heaps, it is mistaken by the traveler for an elevation of natural origin; as he draws nigh, and at length … Read more

Biography of Cyrus Harris

Cyrus Harris, a significant figure in the history of the Chickasaw Nation, served as its governor during pivotal times. Born on August 22, 1817, near Pontotoc, Mississippi, Harris’s journey from a humble beginning to a prominent leader is a tale of resilience and dedication. His early education was shaped by missionaries and small schools that provided him with the basics of English education. Despite the early termination of his formal schooling, Harris demonstrated a profound capacity for leadership and cultural navigation, bridging the Chickasaw and American worlds. He worked variously as an interpreter, a clerk, and a land agent, roles that utilized his bilingual skills and intimate knowledge of Chickasaw and settler cultures. His political career was marked by efforts to protect Chickasaw interests during tumultuous times, including their forced removal west. Harris’s repeated election as governor speaks to his leadership qualities and the respect he commanded among his people. His life and career offer deep insights into the challenges faced by the Chickasaw Nation during the 19th century, a period of profound change and adversity.

Biographical Sketch of Judge Loring Folsom

Judge Loring Folsom, now the only surviving child of Colonel David Folsom and his first wife, Rhoda Nail, was long one of the leading men of the Choctaw Nation, but retired from the political arena several years ago, and has ever since been living in peace and quiet on his farm one and a half miles south of the town of Caddo, which took its name from a tribe of Indians whom the Choctaws defeated in battle on a group of high hills at the base of which Judge Loring Folsom now lives. This was the last battle in which … Read more

Ball Play amongst the Choctaws

Tul-lock-chísh-ko, Choctaw Ball Player. George Catlin, 1834

To the ancient Choctaw warrior and hunter, excitement of some kind was indispensable to relieve the tedium of the nothing-to-do in which a great part of his life was spent. Hence the intervals between war and hunting were filled up by various amusements, ball plays, dances, foot and horse races, trials of strength and activity in wrestling and jumping, all of which being regulated by rules and regulations of a complicated etiquette.

Apushamatahah – A Choctaw Chief

Push-ma-ta-ha. Chactan (Choctaw) Warrior, from History of the Indian Tribes of North America

The distinguished warrior and chief of the Choctaws, Apushamatahah, were born, as near as can be ascertained, in the year 1764. He was of the Iksa, called Kun-sha Kunsha-a-he is the full name of the clan, which took its name from the thick reeds and wild potatoes that grew together in the marshy ground along the banks of the creek Cane and Potato creek. At an early age Apushamatahah acquired great celebrity among his people as a brave warrior and successful hunter. His love for the fascinating excitement of the chase and daring adventures frequently led him into the deep … Read more

Ancient Choctaw Courtship

When the young Choctaw beau went the first time to see his Fair One, after having resolved upon matrimony, he tested his own standing in the estimation of his anticipated bride by indifferently walking into the room where she is seated with the rest of the family, and, during the general conversation, he sought and soon found an opportunity to shoot, slyly and unobserved, a little stick or small pebble at her. She soon ascertained the source whence they came, and fully comprehended the signification of those little messengers of love. If approved, she returned them as slyly and silently … Read more

Aboha Kullo Humma

Aboha Kullo Humma, (pro. Ar-bo-hah ) (House; Kullo (strong) Humma (red) or, in our phraseology (Strong red house but in the Choctaw, Red Fort) was the chief of Okla Hunnali. The clans of the Choctaws were all perpetuated in the female line. When a man married, he was adopted into the family of his wife, and her brothers had more authority over her children than her husband; therefore, when a lover wished to marry a girl, he consulted her uncles, and if they consent to the marriage, the father and mother approved. Those of the same clan were never allowed to intermarry. A … Read more