Earliest Americans, Mississippi Tribes, and Indian Removal

1. Earliest Americans, Mississippi Tribes, and Indian Removal Coach Kuntz Mississippi Studies

2. How Did the Earliest People Arrive in North America?

3. The first Americans arrived in North America between 24,000 to 14,000 years ago. • Scientists believe that Native Americans may has arrived on the continent by crossing a land bridge between what is today Alaska and Russia. This land bridge is called Beringia. • Scientists now believe that Native Americans may have also arrived by using boats and following the North American coast lines to settle throughout the continent. Migration to America

4. Native Mississippians lived in harmony with their environment and they made sure to take care and preserve the environment around them. • Southeastern Native Americans relied on agriculture for their survival. They grew several types of beans and squash, but the their most important crop was maize. • Native Mississippians also hunted and fished to supplement their diet. They hunted game like deer and wild hogs. Hogs were not native to the Americas; hogs were originally brought over by Spanish conquistadors to feed their men. Native American Culture in Mississippi-Food

5. LANGUAGE • The dominant language of the Indian nations in the southeast was Muskhogean and most Mississippi tribes spoke some variation of this language. • Southeastern Indian nations did not have a written language, but they did develop a system called pictography– this system involves using pictures and symbols to communicate. Native American Culture in Mississippi- Language, Family, and Religion FAMILY • Mississippi tribes were matrilineal, which means they traced their family line through the mother rather than the father. • Tribal society was based on the clan system– families with a common ancestry hunted, fished, and defended their small farms as a unit. This clans were exogamic, meaning they required members to marry outside of the clan. RELIGION • All Mississippi clans practiced some form of organized religion and believed in life after death. • The most important ritual for southeastern Indians was the Green Corn Ceremony. This ceremony involved eating, dancing, and sacrificing the first fruits of a harvest in the hope their the rest of the harvest would be successful.

6. For recreation, Mississippi Indians sang, danced, and organized games and sports. Two of the most popular sports were games called chunkey and stickball. • Chunkey– A disc or small wheel was rolled out and competitors through spears and tried land closest to the disc • Stickball (The most popular game)– “As many as 200 or 300 individuals on each side played stickball on a large open field. Uprights, similar to football goalposts but much closer together, were built at each end of the field. The object of the game was to throw a small ball through the uprights. In each hand, a player held a stick to which a small cup made of leather straps was attached. A player cradled the ball in the cup as he ran toward the opponent’s goal. If he was surrounded or blocked by members of the other team and could not proceed toward the uprights, he passed the ball to a teammate. There were no out-of-bounds…The first team to score one hundred points was declared the winner” Native American Culture in Mississippi- Recreation

7. Most Mississippi tribes were organized by towns and villages, or settlements, that exercised some local self-government. • For example, the Choctaw and Chickasaw developed tribal councils composed of leaders called mingos, or chiefs. These chiefs led the nation, while taking advice from tribal elders. • Today, many Indian communities still have chiefs, but these positions are chosen through democratic elections. Native American Culture in Mississippi-Tribal Government

8. Tribes of Mississippi

9. Two brothers, Chata and Chicksah led the original people from a land in the far west that had ceased to prosper. The people traveled for a long time, guided by a magical pole. Each night, when the people stopped to camp, the pole was placed in the ground and in the morning the people would travel in the direction in which the pole leaned. After traveling for an extremely long time, they finally came to a place where the pole remained upright. In this place, they laid to rest the bones of their ancestors, which they had carried in buffalo sacks from the original land in the west. The mound grew out of that great burial. After the burial, the brothers discovered that the land could not support all the people. Chicksah took half the people and departed to the North and eventually became the Chickasaw tribe. Chatah and the others remained near the mound and are now known as the Choctaw Origin of the Chickasaw and Choctaw

10. Chickasaw • During the colonial period, there were 4,500 Chickasaw clustered in several north Mississippi villages. • Before European arrival, there may have been as many as 10,000 Cherokee and their land stretched from north Mississippi to Memphis and into Middle Tennessee • Were hunters and proud warriors • Allies with the British • Gave refuge to Natchez who escaped after the battle at Fort Rosalie • In 1736, the French led a series of attacks against the Chickasaw. The goal was to stop the Chickasaw from interfering in French trade. However, French forces were defeated that year and were forced to retreat south to Mobile, Alabama. Tribes of Mississippi- Major Tribes Chickasaw

11. Choctaw • Around 20,000 Choctaw in Mississippi in 1700– Over 100 villages were located in central and south Mississippi (and into parts of Louisiana and Alabama). • They were the second largest nation in the southeast. • Were more agrarian than the Chickasaw • Usually allied with the French. • Hernando DeSoto was likely the first European to encounter the Choctaw • The origin stories that they share with the Chickasaw helps explain the similar customs, traditions, and characteristics between the two tribes • Allied with the French at the battle at Fort Rosalie Tribes of Mississippi- Major Tribes Chickasaw Choctaw

12. Natchez • Natchez settlements were located along the Mississippi River • At the top of the social structure was the “Great Sun”. This hereditary chief of all the Natchez actually had no authority over the five Natchez villages. Each village was ruled by their own chief. • The Natchez built sacred mounds where their religious ceremonies were held. The most famous is Emerald Mound. Tribes of Mississippi-Major Tribes Chickasaw Choctaw Natchez

14. To expand trade in Louisiana and southern Mississippi, the French built Fort Rosaliein 1716. After this, French settlements began expanding along the Mississippi River and the French built additional forts on the river. • Because the French population encroached on Native American land, several smaller tribes joined the Natchez in an attack on Fort Rosalie in 1729. The hope was that this would drive the French from the lower Mississippi valley. • The Natchez captured fort Rosalie and killed two hundred Frenchmen. However, the next year the French, along with their Choctaw allies, retook the fort and killed or captured most of the Natchez. • The remaining Natchez were forced to flee. Some escaped to the Chickasaw country. Others joined the Cherokee and Creek in Georgia. • This marked the end of the Natchez’s tribal identity. The Fate of the Natchez

15. Chakchiuma, Ibitoupa, & Yazoo • Many of the smaller tribes merged with larger tribes in Mississippi or moved to other locations Tribes of Mississippi-Small Tribes Chickasaw Chakchiuma Ibitoupa Yazoo Choctaw Natchez

16. Tunica, Koroa, & Tiou Tribes of Mississippi-Small Tribes Chickasaw Chakchiuma Ibitoupa Tunica Yazoo Koroa Tiou Choctaw Natchez

17. Ofogoula & Grigra Tribes of Mississippi-Small Tribes Chickasaw Chakchiuma Ibitoupa Tunica Yazoo Koroa Tiou Choctaw Natchez Ofogoula Grigra

18. Acolapissa, Pascagoula, & Biloxi Tribes of Mississippi-Small Tribes Chickasaw Chakchiuma Ibitoupa Tunica Yazoo Koroa Tiou Choctaw Natchez Ofogoula Grigra Pascagoula Acolapissa Biloxi

19. After America won its independence from England, farmers began migrating to Mississippi because of the fertile land. • Farmers claimed that they needed additional lands to expand and farm (especially the farming of cotton, a valuable resource), and politicians listened. • This led directly to the federal policy of Indian Removal, which authorized the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans to Indian territory in what is present day Oklahoma. The Plight of the Indians

20. Through several land cessions, beginning with the Treaty of Fort Adams in 1801, the Chickasaw and Choctaw ceded or sold their lands to the United States government. • The Chickasaw ceded their land in Northern Mississippi under the Treaty of Pontotoc in 1832. • In 1830, the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which allowed the President to use necessary force to remove Native Americans from U.S. lands. • Thousands of Native Americans (including the Choctaw and Cherokee) were forced to relocate to Indian territory along a path that became known as the Trail of Tears. The Plight of the Indians (Cont.)

22. How do scientists say the first Americans arrived on the continent? • What is the name of the land bridge that once connected North America and Asia? • The most important crop for southeastern Indians was _______________. • Describe the relationship between Native Americans and the environment • Most southeastern Indians spoke ___________________ or some variation of this language. • Southeastern Indian nations did not have written language, but they invented written communication called _______________. • Mississippi tribes were _________________, meaning they traced their family line through their mothers. • What ceremony was the most important ceremony for southeastern Indians and required the sacrificing of the first fruits of a harvest in the hope that the rest of the harvest would be successful? • Most Mississippi tribes were organized by towns and villages that exercised some __________________________. • The Choctaw and Chickasaw developed tribal councils composed of leaders called ___________________, • Be able to identify the locations of Mississippi’s Native Americans on a map. • The tale of Chata and Chicksah describes the origin of which tribes? Review:

23. 13. The Chickasaw were known for being hunters and _____________________. 14. The Chickasaw mostly allied with ______________ and provided refuge to the __________________ following the battle at Fort Rosalie. 15. Who was the second largest Native American nation in the southeast? 16. The Choctaw were more ________________ than the Chickasaw. 17. Who did the Choctaw ally with at the battle at Fort Rosalie? 18. Who was at the top of the Natchez social structure, although he had no authority over the Natchez villages? 19. What did the Natchez build for their religious ceremonies? What was their most famous one called? 20. Where were the Natchez defeated that marked the end of their national identity? 21. What happened to many of the smaller tribes in Mississippi? 22. Why did farmers call for the relocation of Native Americans from Mississippi? 23. Which federal policy called for the forced relocation of Native Americans off of United States land? Which law did Congress pass in 1830 to enact this policy? 24. What was the name of the path that Native Americans were forced to take when relocating to Indian territory in Oklahoma? Review: