Chicasaw Nation
Chikasha Okla
History
Chickasaw emerged as a major chiefdom in the early contact period. Of the four major Indian states of the inland south, Chicasaw was the farthest from major colonial centers and therefore avoided European interference for the longest. Its main rival was the closely related Choctaw Nation. As Choctaw became a client of French Louisiana, Chicasaw naturally leaned toward alliance with England.
After Virginia achieved independence from England, the new state aggressively pushed westward, where its agents encountered the Chicasaw living near the Mississippi. The Virginians stepped into the role that England had played, supplying the Chicasaw with guns and other goods in exchange for military and political support. Chicasaw foght alongside Virginia in the war of 1803. Hostility continued intermittently after the wider war ended, with Chicasaw fighting against Choctaw and Louisianans until a landmark treaty 1818.
Virginian influence also continued. Chicasaw sold Virginia a tract along the Mississippi, a region today known as Tishomingo after the chief who led the negotiations. In exchange, Virginia gave Chicasaw a generous annual subsidy and help to develop a Mississippi River port. Virginia wanted to maintain the alliance in order to keep the nation on its side in the presumed next war. But Chicasaw never intended the alliance to be more than an expedient that would help them to avoid the ambitions of France and England. It turned out that a wider alliance with the entire ASB helped them achieve this better than links to Virginia ever could, so once the nation became a permanent member of the confederal institutions, it began to move out of Virginia's orbit.
The people of Choctaw today largely identify as indigenous, though many have significant White ancestry in their backgrounds. Some communities of ethnic Virginians stretch along the Mississippi and some major historic trails; these descend from grants made to settlers in the 19th century. English is the main second language and is widely spoken in the largest towns; the villages still largely speak Chicasaw, including a few of those that were originally founded by White settlers. Chicasaw culture has absorbed many elements from its neighbor Upper Virginia besides language, in such areas as religion, music, and pastimes.
After Virginia achieved independence from England, the new state aggressively pushed westward, where its agents encountered the Chicasaw living near the Mississippi. The Virginians stepped into the role that England had played, supplying the Chicasaw with guns and other goods in exchange for military and political support. Chicasaw foght alongside Virginia in the war of 1803. Hostility continued intermittently after the wider war ended, with Chicasaw fighting against Choctaw and Louisianans until a landmark treaty 1818.
Virginian influence also continued. Chicasaw sold Virginia a tract along the Mississippi, a region today known as Tishomingo after the chief who led the negotiations. In exchange, Virginia gave Chicasaw a generous annual subsidy and help to develop a Mississippi River port. Virginia wanted to maintain the alliance in order to keep the nation on its side in the presumed next war. But Chicasaw never intended the alliance to be more than an expedient that would help them to avoid the ambitions of France and England. It turned out that a wider alliance with the entire ASB helped them achieve this better than links to Virginia ever could, so once the nation became a permanent member of the confederal institutions, it began to move out of Virginia's orbit.
The people of Choctaw today largely identify as indigenous, though many have significant White ancestry in their backgrounds. Some communities of ethnic Virginians stretch along the Mississippi and some major historic trails; these descend from grants made to settlers in the 19th century. English is the main second language and is widely spoken in the largest towns; the villages still largely speak Chicasaw, including a few of those that were originally founded by White settlers. Chicasaw culture has absorbed many elements from its neighbor Upper Virginia besides language, in such areas as religion, music, and pastimes.