#choctow

I fought through the War Between the States and have seen many men shot, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew.

— Unknown Soldier from Georgia who participated in the forced removal

May 26, 1830

President Andrew Jackson signs into law the Indian Removal Act. The controversial act was strongly supported by Americans eager for land and fortunes to be found in the young…

My favorite growing up was the story of the Great Migration of the Chickasaws and Choctaws.

(Disclaimer: This is how I remember it from a conglomeration of things I've heard at various Green Corns and from the way my Grandmother and Sister tell it. It may not be ~accurate~)

See, we used to be one tribe on the East coast, but there was a cruel and relentless enemy who attacked and brutalized our villages on a regular basis. Whilst we always managed to fight them off, our numbers were dwindling, and living in perpetual fear is no way to live.

So the matriarchs called in the two leaders- a pair of brothers named Chahatak and Chickashsha- and told them that we must leave.

One of the more prominent and respected matriarchs gave the brothers a blessed staff called the kohta falaya which had been blessed by Ubabeneli and told them "The night before we leave, stick this in the ground, and in the morning it will lean towards your destination, until it leans no more". They did, and when they woke, the staff leaned to the west, and so the tribe moved west. They took with them all their dogs and livestock, including one giant white dog who always ran ahead of the group as a scout and a guard.

As they migrated, they had to pass through many other tribe's lands, and often were attacked, but not without due warning from their dog. They were also set upon by snakes, but a single lick from the dog was enough to stop the venom. And so, they came to love this animal very dearly.

Eventually, they came to a river that they called misha sipokoni (now called the Mississippi) and they camped there, confident the staff would not lean anymore and they would settle safely near the river. However, come morning, the staff still leaned to the west.

So they strapped together rafts and crossed the river. But as they were crossing, a curious young girl leaned too far over the edge and fell into the raging waters. The big white dog jumped in to save her and managed to pull her back to a raft where she was pulled back to safety, but the canine hero was swept away.

The next morning, the staff was not standing straight, nor leaning, but wobbling around. Chahatak took this as a sign to stop, and most of the people did as well, and so they did. But Chickashsha thought this a sign to keep moving, and a few of the people followed after him.