Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Description

Choctaw are the largest tribe belonging to the branch of the Muskogean family that includes the Chickasaw| Creek (Muscogee)| and Seminole. According to oral history| the tribe originated from Nanih Waya| a sacred hill near present-day Noxapater| Mississippi. Nanih Waya means productive or fruitful hill| or mountain. During one of their migrations| they carried a tree that would lean| and every day the people would travel in the direction the tree was leaning. They traveled east and south for sometime until the tree quit leaning| and the people stopped to make their home at this location| in present-day Mississippi. The people have made difficult transitions throughout their history. In 1830| the Choctaw who were removed by the United States from their southeastern U.S. homeland to Indian Territory became known as the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.