Chickasaw

Chickasaw

Chikashsha
Total population
38,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
United States (Oklahoma, formerly Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee)
Languages
English, Chickasaw
Religion
Traditional tribal religion, Christianity (Protestantism)
Related ethnic groups
Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Seminole peoples

The Chickasaw are a Native American people. They are from the Southeastern Woodlands of North America. Before Europeans came to America, they lived in the area of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. They speak the Chickasaw language. This language is in the Muskogean language family. The Chickasaw are federally recognized as the Chickasaw Nation.

The Chickasaw first lived in western North America. Before the first European contact, they moved to east of the Mississippi River. They settled mostly in what is now northeast Mississippi. They were living here when European explorers and traders came. They had relationships with the French, English and Spanish during the colonial years. The United States considered the Chickasaw one of the Five Civilized Tribes. The tribe had advanced social structures and did many things that European Americans did. The US forced them to sell their land in 1832. They also forced them to move to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) during the 1830s.

Most Chickasaw now live in Oklahoma. The Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma is the 13th largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. Its members are related to the Choctaw and share a common history with them. The Chickasaw are divided into two groups: the Impsaktea and the Intcutwalipa. They traditionally followed a system of matrilineal descent. Some property was controlled by women. Leadership in the tribe passed from a mother to her children.

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