tribal confederation · North America and Oceania
Choctaw Nation
Origins
The Choctaw formed from the merging of Mississippian-descended communities in central and southern Mississippi in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their tradition places their origin at Nanih Waiya, a great mound in Winston County. By around 1700 they lived in some 50 towns grouped in western, eastern and southern divisions.
Rule and society
Chiefs of the three divisions met in council, and matrilineal clans structured society. The Choctaw were skilled farmers and ballplayers. As the main allies of French Louisiana they fought the Chickasaw Nation and the Natchez chiefdom, though a pro-British faction under Red Shoe sparked a civil war in 1747 to 1750. After 1783 they dealt with the United States, and Pushmataha led warriors against the Red Sticks in the Creek War.
Decline and legacy
By the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 the Choctaw ceded their homeland and were removed to Indian Territory in 1831 to 1833. Their government, seated at Tuskahoma, was dissolved by 1907 but later restored; the Mississippi Band of Choctaw stayed in the east.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Choctaw Nation. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/choctaw-nation
- MLA
- “Choctaw Nation.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/choctaw-nation. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Choctaw Nation.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/choctaw-nation.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Choctaw Nation’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/choctaw-nation (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻