Table of Contents
Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
Timeline xxv
1 The Deep History of the Choctaw 1
Early Explorers of the North American Continent 1
The Archaic Period 5
The Woodland Period 6
The Mississippi an Period 9
Moundville 9
Lubbub Creek 11
Into the Colonial Era 15
2 Interactions with European Cultures 17
Ethnographic Information on the Choctaw 18
The Spanish Invasion 23
Relations with the French 23
Relations with the English 25
Conclusion 26
3 "A Nation Divided": Dancing Rabbit Creek and Removal 27
Relations with the United States 27
The Continental Congress and the Choctaw 27
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek 32
Removal 35
Notable Figures 39
Pre-Removal Chiefs 39
4 New Structures: Post-Removal Choctaw Developments 41
Forming the Nation 41
The Mississippi Indians 44
The Choctaw and the Civil War 46
Subdividing the Nation: Allotment and the Aftermath 49
The Dawes Act 49
Dawes Commission 51
Post-Removal Choctaw 53
5 Survival, Self-Determination, and Constructing Modern Choctaw Nations 55
Termination 55
Choctaw Involvement in World War I 56
After the War 58
The Indian "New Deal" and Reorganization 60
Choctaws in World War II 63
After World War II 64
Self-Determination and Economic Development 67
Gaming 71
The Abramoff Scandal 74
Notable Figures 75
Joseph Oklahombi 75
Muriel H. Wright 76
Previous Choctaw Chiefs 77
Phillip Martin 77
Gregory Pyle 78
6 Choctaw in the Contemporary World 79
The Contemporary Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma 79
Contemporary Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians 80
Contemporary Jena Band of Choctaw Indians 83
Federally Recognized versus Nonfederally Recognized Tribes 85
Clifton-Choctaw 85
The Mowa 88
Isle de Jean Charles Band 89
Conclusion 90
Notable Figures 91
Clara Sue Kidwell 91
Current Choctaw Chiefs 92
Gary Batton 92
Phyliss J. Anderson 93
B. Cheryl Smith 93
References 95
Further Readings 113
Index 115
