The Chickasaw Nation
Chikashsha I̠yaakni' (Chickasaw) | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location (red) in the U.S. state of Oklahoma | |
| Constitution | August 30, 1856 |
| Capital | Tishomingo, Oklahoma (Historically); now Ada, Oklahoma (1907-present) |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Bill Anoatubby |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7,648 sq mi (19,810 km2) |
| Population (2023)[2] | |
| • Total | 80,000 |
| Demonym | Chickasaw |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| Area code(s) | 580, 405 and 572 |
| Website | chickasaw |
The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is an Indigenous nation formally recognized by the United States government. The Chickasaw citizenry descends from the historical population of a Chickasaw-speaking Indigenous nation established in the American Southeast whose original territory was appropriated by the United States in the 19th century and subsequently organized into what is now the northern Mississippi and Alabama and the western reaches of Tennessee and Kentucky.[3] As of 2023, the Chickasaw Nation is the 12th largest Indigenous nation in the United States by population,[4] counting a total worldwide population exceeding 80,000 citizens,[2] the majority of which reside in Oklahoma, where the Chickasaw national government is established in Ada.[5]
The Chickasaw Nation’s reservation[6] comprises about 7,648 square miles with jurisdictional boundaries spanning south-central Oklahoma across four national subdivided districts—the Pontotoc District, Pickens District, Tishomingo District and Panola District—all of which have relatively equal populations.[7] Over half a dozen of Oklahoma’s counties are located within the boundaries of the four Chickasaw districts: Bryan County, Carter County, Coal County, Garvin County, Grady County, Jefferson County, Johnston County, Love County, McClain County, Marshall County, Murray County, Pontotoc County, and Stephens County.
White people of the 18th and 19th centuries largely viewed their culture as inherently superior to Indigenous cultures on account of race and assessed the perceived inferiority of non-White people by the degree to which they adopted the customs and values of Western civilization. The people of the Chickasaw Nation were one of just five Indigenous nations, along with the people of the Cherokee Nation, the Choctaw Nation, the Muscogee Nation and the Seminole Nation, which White people subjective believed to be civilized at that time. These nations were historically designated by White Americans as the Five Civilized Tribes,[8] due to their agrarian culture, adoption of centralized governments with written constitutions, intermarriages with White settlers, conversion to Christianity, adoption of capitalism, and enslaving Black people in the manner of White slaveowners.[9]
The Chickasaw language (Chikashshanompa’) belongs to the Muskogean language family. This is primarily an oral language, with no historic written component.[10] A significant part of their culture is passed on to each generation through their oral history, consisting of intergenerational stories that speak to the tribe’s legacy and close relationship with the Choctaw. The similarities in the language of the Chickasaw and the Choctaw have prompted anthropologists to propose a number of theories regarding the origins of the Chickasaw Nation, as it continues to remain uncertain.[11]
Clans within the Chickasaw Nation are separated into two moieties: the Imosak Chá'a' and the Inchokka' Lhipa', with each clan having their own leaders. Their tradition of matrilineal descent provides the basic societal structure of the nation, with children becoming members of and under the care of their mother’s clan.[12]
- ^ "U.S. Census website". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Chickasaw Nation 2023 Progress Report". Office of the Governor | The Chickasaw Nation. March 25, 2024. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ "Homeland". Chickasaw Nation. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ "Chickasaw". Britannica Kids. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ “Chickasaw.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Chickasaw-people.
- ^ "Geographic Information | Chickasaw Nation". chickasaw.net. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ “Districts.” Legislative, legislative.chickasaw.net/Districts.aspx.
- ^ "Five Civilized Tribes | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ "Black History and the "Five Civilized Tribes," a story". African American Registry. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ “Language.” Chickasaw Nation, chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/Culture/Language.aspx.
- ^ Atkinson, James R. Splendid Land, Splendid People: the Chickasaw Indians to Removal. Univ. of Alabama Press, 2004.
- ^ Bander, Margaret. “Glimpses of Local Masculinities: Learning from Interviews with Kiowa, Comanche, Apache and Chickasaw Men.” Journal of the Southern Anthropological Society, vol. 31, 2005, www.southernanthro.org/downloads/publications/SA-archives/2005-vol31.pdf#page=2.
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