Interesting facts about Choctaw Indians

October 10, 2010 | In: History facts



The Choctaw had a small nation on the edge of the Mississippi River. They had a moderate climate and plentiful rain. The Choctaw were very successful farmers. They developed a hoe by using a strong stick and a flat stone shaped like a wedge. To keep it together they tied it with animal hair. With the hoe, they planted corn, beans, squash, melons, and pumpkins. While planting corn, they had to scare the crows away, so they left someone there to jump and wave a black scarf to scare away the crows. When the Europeans came they taught the Choctaw how to use metal tools.

The Choctaw had fun,too. They developed a game called “Stick ball.” There would be around 60 players on each side. The object of the game was to get a ball through a goal, with two lacrosse sticks. The only rule was you couldn’t hit someone with your stick.

The Choctaw had a government. It was a government of chiefs. Each town had a chief and some assistants. There would be 3 top chiefs who would make sure that everything was right. During wars, they would have a war chief who would lead during wars. Every month they would have a meeting to discuss matters.

The Choctaws life wasn’t perfect. De Soto took captured Maubila’s chief, but he still welcomed them. The chief ran into a house and de Soto told an Indian to get the chief. The Indian refused and de Soto killed him. Then war broke out. Nearly 5000 Indians were killed. Maubila was burned and the chief was dead. The Indians really didn’t have a chance because the Spaniards had swords and crossbows. (After that, the Choctaw didn’t have any trouble with the Europeans until the British ceased them.)

The Choctaw had very strange customs. They would flatten their babies’ heads before they could walk. They would probably use a board and continue to tighten it. After that, you can easily see why their head normally was flat. The other interesting thing about the Choctaw was they were not as interested about religious ceremonies as other Alabama tribes were.


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1 Response to Interesting facts about Choctaw Indians

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breannabell

February 9th, 2012 at 2:23 pm

i am choctaw and also cherokee i had to do a report onn my heritage andit really helped and informed me about my past

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