The Choctaw of the South

Tribe: The Choctaw (also, Chahta)

Meaning of Name: "Choctaw" comes from the name of one of their legendary leaders, Chahta. The Choctaw and the Chickasaw were originally part of the same tribe that migrated to the southeast part of the united states, and then split in half. The Chickasaw were named after Chahta's older brother, Chicksa.

Location: Originally from Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana, in 1831, the Choctaw were the first of the "Five Civilized Tribes" to be forced out of their homeland and relocated to "Indian Territory." They currently reside in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

Original Language: Muscogean.

Tribal Affiliations: The Chickasaw, French, Spanish, British, American Colonists.

Traditional Enemies: The Muscogee and the Chickasaw. (Like most brothers, they fight, they make up, they fight, they make up...)

Traditional Style of Housing: Tall, pyramid-shaped homes made of wood frames and plastered walls, with thatched or shingled roofs. They looked like homes built by the Cherokee and were probably made by the men but owned by the women. Choctaw villages probably also had a town hall, sports fields, smokehouses, sweat-lodges, storehouses and menstrual-lodges.

Traditional Attire: Originally, breechcloths for the men and skirts for the women, which worked well with the sweltering heat of their lands in the south. They both wore moccasins when outside, but both went barefoot at home. However, the Choctaw quickly adopted European styles as soon as they met the Spanish, the British, and especially the Provincials from Brittany, France, at which point, the men started wearing turbans and the women started wearing upright silver combs in their hair with long ribbons hanging down from the back, like Spanish mantillas. Women also traditionally wore long solid-colored skirts with ruffles around the bottom, puffy sleeves on their blouses, starched white ruffled aprons and a white kerchief around their necks like the peasant women of the French Revolution. Decoration, such as ribbons and appliques, were in a contrasting trim.

Traditional Foods: As a settled, agrarian culture, Choctaw women grew corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. Depending on where they lived, they gathered or grew plantains, swamp cabbage, garlic chives, bird peppers, grapes, red mulberries, yucca, blackberries, purslane, dandelions, plums, Jerusalem artichokes, gallberries for tea, blueberries, cherries, cherimoya, mayhaws (which taste like cranberries but make good jelly), pawpaws (which taste like a combination of pears and bananas), over-ripe medlars (which taste like apple butter), persimmons. They used dandelions, sarsaparilla, sassafras and gallberries to make beverages. The men fished, hunted small game and deer, and drank sarsaparilla or sassafras tea. The Choctaw also chewed on dogwood stems to clean and freshen their teeth.

Position of Women: Choctaw are matrilineal, with children inheriting their clan from their mothers. The house and everything that was in it, except for the weapons, was the woman's, and she kept everything if she and her husband divorced.  She was also entitled to the most food, since it was she who gathered it, grew it, cooked it or preserved it. Women were the farmers, gatherers and caretakers, men were the hunters and warriors. Choctaw women participated in wars and diplomatic relations with their husbands, made the decision whether or not to adopt captives into the tribe, and were well-respected as the ones who brought forth and sustained life. The Choctaw women were and are also exceptionally beautiful, at least by this white person's standards.

Choctaw Courtship: Choctaw courtship is very cute. If a young Choctaw man sees a girl that he particularly fancies at a dance or gathering, he flips a stone or token her way. If she likes him, she flips it back. If she doesn't, she gets up and walks away. If she likes him, though, they both go off to tell their maternal aunts, who grill them mercilessly regarding the qualities of each. If the aunts think that the couple would make a good match, they go off to tell the minister, and the wedding date is set. However, the deal is not yet made, because just before the pre-wedding feast, the prospective bride takes off running, and the groom takes off after her. If he catches her too soon, she is considered weak and indifferent, and if he takes too long to catch her, he is considered weak and indifferent, in which case the whole wedding is called off and they just have a party.

Interesting Tidbits: The Choctaw are divided into matrilineal clans: Wind, Bear, Deer, Wolf, Panther, Holly Leaf, Bird, Raccoon and Crawfish.... They were the first code-talkers during WWII.... Like many Native American people, they are communally-oriented and have trouble understanding how or why white people don't take care of their elderly or their poor.... The Choctaw were the builders of the mysterious and sacred 25-foot mound, with its chthonic cave, called "Nanhi Waiya" ("Beloved Mother") in Mississippi. This is said to be the place where brothers Chahta and Chicksa and their followers stopped, and Chahta led his people south to Louisiana and Florida while Chicksa and his followers stayed put.

Traditional Religion: Traditionally, the Choctaw were sun-worshippers.

Slavery and the Choctaw: The Choctaw had black slaves, but reports of how they felt about slavery vary.

Current Population: There are more than 160,000 registered Choctaw.

Current Sources of Tribal Revenue: Casinos in Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma, as well as smoke shops, manufacturing, travel companies, a printing company, a document archiving company and a management services company. They seem to be doing very well.

Famous Choctaw: Famous people who claimed or claim to be part Choctaw include Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Biel, Roy Rogers, James Earl Jones and the late Rue McClanahan.