Creative Writing Piece

Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes

The Chickasaw tribe originated in the northern part of Mississippi. The Chickasaw tribe was a tribe of great hunters and warriors. They lived along the headwaters of the Tombigbee River in northeastern Mississippi, but they traveled all over the Mississippi valley region. Although the Choctaw and Cherokee tribes outnumbered the Chickasaw tribe by more that four times as many people the Chickasaws were able to claim lots of hunting ground in western Kentucky, Tennessee, northern Alabama and Mississippi. The Chickasaws were a tribe full of great warriors and that is how the were able to claim so much land for hunting. Although the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes were very similar in culture they often fought over land and hunting grounds, at one time they were actually the same tribe but then split in to two. Chickasaw towns and villages were close together in times of war, but were spread out in peacetime. A council house in the central area was used for meetings and ceremonies, along with the council ground which was used for gatherings and ball games. Every family in the village had a summer house, a winter house and a storage room for corn and other supplies. In the Chickasaw society them men were supposed to do the hunting, fishing, house building, boat building, tool making and war making. Women were responsible for agriculture, food gathering and household chores.

The Choctaw tribe originated in the Mississippi valley and some parts of Alabama. Like the Chickasaws tribe the Choctaws were great hunters and warriors. The Choctaw, along with five other southern tribes including the Chickasaw tribe were moved to Oklahoma following the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. Many Choctaw died from disease, famine and attacks from white men and hostile Indians including the Comanche during the move to Oklahoma, which came to be known as the "Trail of Tears". The tribes were called the civilized tribes because they had adopted many aspects of the Americans culture. The Indians that adjusted well were soon assimilated in an effort to civilize the natives. The missionaries who were civilizing them stressed the importance of education. During the Civil War they took the side of the confederates. This alliance allowed the Choctaw to become the first Indian tribe to have there own flag.

Today both of these tribes still exist and both of the languages are still spoken. One thing that we can compare the Tribes to today is the lost generation in the Aborigine tribe in Australia because during the 1940's – 1970's young Aborigine children were taken from their homes and moved to other white families in an attempt to wipe out the culture of the natives just like during the Indian Removal Act where the Missionaries tried to educate the Native Americans and change their religion and way of life. Today Indians have the highest suicide rate out of anyone in the country. The same goes for the Aborigines in Australia who have a life expectancy of 17 years less than the average Australian citizen due to Drug and Alcohol abuse, unemployment, Suicide and other things. Today in many Indian societies the culture is somewhat lost due to the life they used to have during the 1800's. The same goes for the Aborigines but they do not have anything like the Indian Gaming Casinos as compensation for the losses they had in the past. The Indians also get tax deductions so they don't have to pay certain taxes that other Americans pay. In the U.S. Only Native Americans are allowed to have Casinos on their land so that they have Jobs for all the people in the tribe. Unfortunately we cannot erase what has happened to the Native American tribes in the past, but what we have done for them since has greatly helped to preserve their culture in the world today.