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52-580: The original name of Kiamichi was applied by French explorers who came to the area in the early 18th century. They discovered, among other things, a very large, noisy woodpecker that they called Kiamichi , their word for "raucous bird." This name was also applied to the Kiamichi Mountains (Choctaw: Nʋnih Chaha Kiamitia ), a subset of the Ouachita Mountains . Due to an influx of southerners seeking less expensive frontier lands during

104-616: A capital and adopted the first constitution ever written in what is now Oklahoma. The Choctaw actively supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War , and retained their reservation land in eastern Indian Territory under the new treaty required after the war by the United States. In 1898, after intense pressure from Washington and with no clear alternative, they agreed to an allotment plan administered by

156-637: A catalyst for several other local Republican victories in the region. After the 2000 U.S. Census , Oklahoma lost one seat in Congress. Most of the Little Dixie region was combined with northeastern Oklahoma to become Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district . The region remains strongly Democratic politically, but most of the Democrats in this region are fairly conservative culturally by national standards. A majority of Native Americans generally support

208-607: A fair and impartial trial. 13. U.S. agent appointed to the Choctaws every four years. 14. Choctaws may become U.S. citizens and are entitled to 640 acres (2.6 km ) of land (in Mississippi) with additional land for children. 15. Lands granted to the Choctaw chiefs (Greenwood LeFlore, Musholatubbee, and Nittucachee) with annuities granted to each of them. 16. Transportation in wagons and steamboats will be provided at

260-569: A higher score than set by 26 House Republicans. Josh Brecheen , a Republican from Coalgate, currently holds the 2nd congressional district seat; he is the third Republican elected for this seat since 1921. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump swept the region in the 2020 election , and he also carried the critical Native American vote in Choctaw Country and the state-at-large (most likely due to his conservative and limited-government appeal to both white and Native American voters in

312-470: A portion of it. Persons who claim under this article shall not lose the privilege of a Choctaw citizen, but if they ever remove are not to be entitled to any portion of the Choctaw annuity. The Choctaw were the first of the " Five Civilized Tribes " to be removed from the southeastern United States, as the federal and state governments desired Indian lands to accommodate a growing agrarian American society. Nearly 15,000 Choctaws together with 1,000 slaves made

364-399: A settler who moved to Mississippi from Georgia, described the Choctaw as having no nobility or virtue at all, and in some respect he found blacks, especially native Africans, more interesting and admirable, the red man's superior in every way. The Choctaw and Chickasaw , the tribes he knew best, were beneath contempt, that is, even worse than black slaves . The removals continued well into

416-457: A treaty signed by the United States on January 20, 1825, with the Choctaw , the land west of a line "one hundred paces east of Fort Smith , and running thence, due south, to Red river" was ceded to the Choctaw . The residents west of the line made a futile attempt to be exempted from the treaty but failed. They burned the courthouse and most of the records before they left. Following passage of

468-756: Is also an attraction, as travelers pass through the Ouachita National Forest in the Winding Stair Mountains. Per the 2000 census, the region had 305,395 people. Whites equal about 76% of the total, American Indians total a little over 17%, and Blacks, nearly 4%. Many of the African Americans area descendants of Choctaw freedmen (enslaved persons emancipated after the Civil War; a number have mixed Choctaw and African-American ancestry). The median per capita income in

520-599: Is also in this area. Choctaw Country also houses "The World's Highest Hill," a 1,999-foot peak near Poteau , as the official designation for a "mountain" is land that is 2,000-feet or taller. The region contains Oklahoma's largest lake by surface area, Lake Eufaula . Other major lakes include Robert S. Kerr Reservoir , Sardis Lake , Hugo Lake , McGee Creek Reservoir , Pine Creek Lake , Broken Bow Lake , Lake Wister , Lake Atoka Reservoir , and on Choctaw Country's southwestern border, Lake Texoma . The region's voters are overwhelmingly Democratic —around 80%. Many of

572-462: Is living with him over ten years of age; and a quarter section to such child as may be under 10 years of age, to adjoin the location of the parent. If they reside upon said lands intending to become citizens of the States for five years after the ratification of this Treaty, in that case a grant in fee simple shall issue; said reservation shall include the present improvement of the head of the family, or

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624-834: The Choctaw American Indian tribe and the United States Government. This treaty was the first removal treaty which was carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act . The treaty ceded about 11 million acres (45,000 km ) of the Choctaw Nation in what is now Mississippi in exchange for about 15 million acres (61,000 km ) in the Indian territory , now the state of Oklahoma . The principal Choctaw negotiators were Chief Greenwood LeFlore , Mosholatubbee , and Nittucachee;

676-550: The Choctaw Nation covers much of this territory. After this area was acquired by the United States from France through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, it was organized as part of the new Arkansas Territory . On April 1, 1820, Arkansas created Miller County , which included most of the land that would be classified as Little Dixie. A post office at Miller Courthouse was established on September 7, 1824. In

728-680: The Choctaw language Okla means "people" and humma means "red." Late 20th-century estimates are that between 5,000 to 6,000 Choctaws remained in Mississippi in 1831 after the first removal. For the next ten years they were objects of increasing legal conflict, harassment, and intimidation. The Choctaw described their situation in 1849: we have had our habitations torn down and burned, our fences destroyed, cattle turned into our fields and we ourselves have been scourged, manacled, fettered and otherwise personally abused, until by such treatment some of our best men have died. Joseph B. Cobb ,

780-573: The Dawes Commission . Their lands and those of the allied Chickasaw were thereby opened to settlement by non-Indians. By the Oklahoma Enabling Act of 1906, the United States erected a state government over Choctaw Nation. During the 1900s, state court judges approved and ordered the transfer of tribal allotments in proceedings with under evidentiary rules that enabled systematic probate fraud. A common tactic of settlers

832-520: The Indian Removal Act of 1830, and ratification of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek with Choctaw leaders in 1830, by which they ceded most of their land in the Southeast, the federal government began forced removal of the Choctaw. By 1834, nearly 8,000 Choctaw had arrived in their new land over the "trail of tears and death". At Nanih Waiya , near the present Tuskahoma Council House, they established

884-527: The 4th District from 1907 until 1915). Its best-known congressman was Carl Albert , from McAlester, who represented the district for 30 years, the last six as Speaker of the House . Albert became synonymous with the region. At 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) tall, he was known affectionately as the Little Giant from Little Dixie. Albert retired in 1977 and was succeeded by Wes Watkins , who held

936-546: The Choctaw condition with Education. Provide tools, weapons, and steel. 21. Choctaw Warriors who marched and fought in the army of U.S. General Wayne during the American Revolution and Northwest Indian War will receive an annuity. 22. Choctaw delegate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The following paragraph of the treaty was not ratified: "WHEREAS the General Assembly of

988-520: The Choctaw. With ratification by the U.S. Congress in 1831, the treaty allowed those Choctaw who chose to remain in Mississippi to become the first major non-European ethnic group to gain recognition as U.S. citizens. On August 25, 1830, the Choctaw were supposed to meet with President Andrew Jackson in Franklin, Tennessee , but Greenwood Leflore informed the Secretary of War, John H. Eaton , that

1040-553: The Choctaws where the "rabbits gather to dance." The commissioners met with the chiefs and headmen on September 15, 1830, at Dancing Rabbit Creek. In a carnival-like atmosphere, the US officials explained the policy of removal through interpreters to an audience of 6,000 men, women and children. The Choctaws faced migration west of the Mississippi River or submitting to U.S. and state law as citizens. The treaty would sign away

1092-538: The Government of the United States, and the Mingoes, Chiefs, Captains and Warriors of the Choctaw Nation, begun and held at Dancing Rabbit Creek, on the fifteenth of September, in the year eighteen hundred and thirty ... The following terms of the treaty were: 1. Perpetual peace and friendship. 2. Lands (in what is now Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi River to be conveyed to the Choctaw Nation. 3. Lands east of

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1144-692: The Mississippi River to be ceded and removal to begin in 1831 and end in 1833. 4. Autonomy of the Choctaw Nation (in Oklahoma) and descendants to be secured from laws of U.S. states and territories forever. 5. U.S. will serve as protectorate of the Choctaw Nation. 6. Choctaw or party of Choctaws part of violent acts against the U.S. citizens or property will be delivered to the U.S. authorities. 7. Offenses against Choctaws and their property by U.S. citizens and other tribes will be examined and every possible degree of justice applied. 8. No harboring of U.S. fugitives with all expenses to capture him or her paid by

1196-442: The Mississippi and have accordingly agreed to the following articles of treaty". The main signatories included John Eaton, John Coffee, Greenwood Leflore, Musholatubbee, and Nittucachee. Nearly 200 other signatures are on the treaty. After ceding nearly 11,000,000 acres (45,000 km ), the Choctaw emigrated in three stages: the first in the fall of 1831, the second in 1832 and the last in 1833. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek

1248-590: The Republican Party on social issues, gun rights, limited government and national security. From 2005 to 2013, Dan Boren , son of former Oklahoma governor and United States Senator David Boren , represented the district in the House. According to the Chicago Tribune , Boren of Oklahoma was the Democrat in the House who backed President George W. Bush most often, with 77.9 percent of his votes,

1300-529: The State of Mississippi has extended the laws of said State to persons and property within the chartered limits of the same, and the President of the United States has said that he cannot protect the Choctaw people from the operation of these laws; Now therefore that the Choctaw may live under their own laws in peace with the United States and the State of Mississippi they have determined to sell their lands east of

1352-435: The U.S. 9. Persons ordered from Choctaw Nation. 10. Traders require a written permit. 11. Navigable streams will be free for Choctaws, U.S. post-offices will be established in the Choctaw Nation, and U.S. military posts and roads may be created. 12. Intruders will be removed from the Choctaw Nation. U.S. citizens stealing Choctaw property shall be returned and offender punished. Choctaw offending U.S. laws shall be given

1404-402: The U.S. negotiators were Colonel John Coffee and Secretary of War John Eaton . The site of the signing of this treaty is in the southwest corner of Noxubee County ; the site was known to the Choctaw as Bok Chukfi Ahilha (creek "bok" rabbit "chukfi" place to dance "a+hilha" or Dancing Rabbit Creek). The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was the last major land cession treaty which was signed by

1456-508: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 259889065 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:03:30 GMT Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty which was signed on September 27, 1830, and proclaimed on February 24, 1831, between

1508-425: The address of a Choctaw. But having determined to emigrate west of the Mississippi river this fall, I have thought proper in bidding you farewell to make a few remarks expressive of my views, and the feelings that actuate me on the subject of our removal.... We as Choctaws rather chose to suffer and be free, than live under the degrading influence of laws, which our voice could not be heard in their formation.... Much as

1560-556: The area that they markedly influenced the politics and culture of the region. They made much of what is now southeastern Oklahoma culturally a southern state. Southeast Oklahoma is far more mountainous and forested than any other part of the state, containing most of the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma, the Arbuckle Mountains , and five other mountain ranges. The Ouachita National Forest , Oklahoma's only national forest,

1612-506: The chiefs were fiercely opposed to attending. The president was upset but, as the journalist Len Green wrote in 1978, "Although angered by the Choctaw refusal to meet him in Tennessee, Jackson felt from LeFlore's words that he might have a foot in the door and dispatched Secretary of War Eaton and John Coffee to meet with the Choctaws in their nation." Jackson appointed Eaton and General John Coffee as commissioners to represent him to meet

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1664-467: The citizens refer to themselves as yellow-dog Democrats . But an increasing number of conservative white and American Indian voters have joined the Republican trend in Oklahoma. Others register as Democrats to vote in primaries but vote for Republican candidates in general elections. From statehood until 2003, most of the region was in its own Congressional district, the 3rd District (numbered

1716-550: The costs of the U.S. Ample food will be provided during the removal and 12 months after reaching the new homes. Reimbursements will be provided for cattle left in Mississippi Territory. 17. Annuities to Choctaws to continue from other treaties. Additional payments after removal. 18. Choctaw Country to be surveyed 19. Lands granted to I. Garland, Colonel Robert Cole, Tuppanahomer, John Pytchlynn, Charles Juzan, Johokebetubbe, Eaychahobia, and Ofehoma. 20. Improve

1768-485: The deceased woman spent or died in possession of the money she allegedly received for the land. And because these proceedings were uncontested—-that is, conducted without any tribal members present—-no one objected and drew attention to whether settlers might have been the cause of the death in the first place, in which case the Slayer Rule would invalidate any claim to the estate. By shutting tribal interests out of

1820-523: The early 20th century. In 1903, three hundred Mississippi Choctaws were persuaded to move to the Nation in Oklahoma. The Choctaw did not gain a delegate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representative. Greenwood LeFlore , a Choctaw leader, stayed in Mississippi, where he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate . The Choctaw Nation continued to thrive until Oklahoma

1872-407: The land of Choctaw women who died with no living heirs, and proving ownership by claiming a cash transaction occurred just prior to her death, the receipt to which signed only with her X, and accepted as valid by the court. In normal circumstances, a judge presented with such a claim would not accept the story as true without substantial evidence that the receipt for the land sale was authentic, or that

1924-499: The legal process for legitimating and recording land ownership, significant land reserved for Choctaw Nation was transferred to settlers and US corporations in violation of the terms of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek . To wit, the majority opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch in McGirt v. Oklahoma devotes substantial attention to the role of state courts during this period in violating this binding and living treaty. This chapter

1976-479: The meantime, the United States was organizing to remove the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast, in order to make their lands available for development by European Americans. There was great pressure on these tribes as settlers encroached on their lands and competed for resources. Some Choctaw had started moving into the region from Mississippi since the Treaty of Doak's Stand in 1820. Per

2028-400: The move to what would be called Indian Territory and then later Oklahoma . The population transfer occurred in three migrations during the 1831–33 period including the devastating winter blizzard of 1830–31 and the cholera epidemic of 1832. About 2,500 died along the trail of tears. Approximately 5,000–6,000 Choctaws remained in Mississippi in 1831 after the initial removal efforts. For

2080-628: The next ten years those that remained were objects of increasing legal conflict, harassment, and intimidation. The Choctaw that migrated, like the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole who followed them, attempted to resurrect their traditional lifestyle and government in their new homeland. The Choctaw at this crucial time became two distinct groups: the Nation in Oklahoma and the Tribe in Mississippi. The nation retained its autonomy to regulate itself, but

2132-428: The post- Civil War Reconstruction era, Choctaw Country developed a culture that is more southern than the rest of the state. This region has also been called " Little Dixie ". Lightly populated, heavily mountainous and forested, the region is popular for outdoor recreation. It supports water sports, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, horse back riding, fishing, and national scenic drives. The area of jurisdiction of

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2184-671: The region is $ 13,948, almost $ 10,000 less than the state average of $ 23,517. The city of McAlester serves as the region's primary urban center. A major urban center to the south is Durant , which is ranked as one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States . Other important cities and towns include Atoka , Poteau , Hugo , Idabel , Broken Bow , Talihina , Clayton , Antlers , Coalgate , Stigler and Wilburton . 34°30′N 95°00′W  /  34.5°N 95.0°W  / 34.5; -95.0 Kiamichi Mountains Too Many Requests If you report this error to

2236-560: The region). According to Associated Press exit polls, Trump also won the Native American vote nationally over Joe Biden by a narrow 7 point margin. Choctaw Country bills itself as the "Deer Capital of the World." Main tourism draws include award-winning scenic drives through the Ouachita Mountains , 13 major lakes, the nearby Chickasaw National Recreation Area , state parks, and whitewater rapids sports. The Talimena Scenic Drive

2288-410: The remaining traditional homeland to the United States; however, a provision in the treaty made removal more acceptable. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was one of the largest land transfers ever signed between the United States Government and American Indians in time of peace. The Choctaw ceded their remaining traditional homeland to the United States. Article 14 allowed for some Choctaw to remain in

2340-595: The seat for 14 years. He decided to run for governor in 1990. However, the Democratic campaign tactics during the primary forced Watkins from the race (and eventually from the Democratic Party ). Watkins later shifted his party affiliation and registered as a Republican. In 1996, he easily won back his seat on the strength of his personal connection with the region's voters. He was the first Republican to win this seat since statehood. Watkins's victory seemed

2392-470: The state of Mississippi has wronged us, I cannot find in my heart any other sentiment than an ardent wish for her prosperity and happiness. Around 15,000 Choctaws left the old Choctaw Nation for the Indian Territory, much of the state of Oklahoma today. The name Oklahoma was created in 1886 by Principal Chief Allen Wright ( Choctaw , 1826–1885). The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma states that in

2444-589: The state of Mississippi, if they wanted to become citizens: ART. XIV. Each Choctaw head of a family being desirous to remain and become a citizen of the States, shall be permitted to do so, by signifying his intention to the Agent within six months from the ratification of this Treaty, and he or she shall thereupon be entitled to a reservation of one section of six hundred and forty acres of land, to be bounded by sectional lines of survey; in like manner shall be entitled to one half that quantity for each unmarried child which

2496-503: The tribe left in Mississippi had to submit to state and U.S. laws. Under article XIV, the Mississippi Choctaws became one of the first major non-European ethnic group to gain U.S. citizenship. The Choctaw sought to elect a representative to the U.S. House of Representatives. The preamble begins with, A treaty of perpetual, friendship, cession and limits, entered into by John H. Eaton and John Coffee, for and in behalf of

2548-586: Was a deep loss and is continuing pain for the Choctaw. The damage of the Civil War and a long decline in cotton prices meant years of a poor economy in the mostly rural South. Many persons migrated from the South to seek opportunities in new western lands. When the Indian lands were opened, Southerners flocked to the Indian Nations for a new start, especially to the old Choctaw reserve. So many homesteaded in

2600-579: Was created as a state. Their government was dismantled under the Curtis Act , along with those of other Native American nations in the former Indian Territory , to permit the admission of Oklahoma as a state. Their communal lands were divided and allotted to individual households under the Dawes Act to increase assimilation as American-style farmers. The US declared communal land remaining after allotment to be surplus and sold it to American settlers. In

2652-485: Was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 25, 1831, and the President was anxious to make it a model of removal. The chief George W. Harkins wrote a letter to the American people before the removals began: It is with considerable diffidence that I attempt to address the American people, knowing and feeling sensibly my incompetency; and believing that your highly and well improved minds would not be well entertained by

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2704-476: Was to take newly orphaned Choctaw girls, marry them, and have them intervene in the state court’s administration of the land allotment inherited by the orphan. In at least some cases, demonstrably fake identities were named as the plaintiff and wife of the settler to achieve the transfer of tribal land to settlers. Court orders disposing of property in this way frequently describe highly dubious land transactions, such as settlers obtaining court ordered transfers of

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