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The Choctaw Tribe

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The Choctaw Tribe The Choctaw Indians were an important tribe, and the largest of the Muskogean tribes. The Choctaws have two stories about their origins in their traditional homeland in central Mississippi. One is that their ancestors came from west of the Mississippi River and settled in what is now the homeland. The other is that the tribe is descended from ancestors who were formed by a spirit from the damp earth of Nanih Waiyah, a large mound in northeastern Mississippi. Either way, the Choctaws resided in places, holding most of Southern Alabama and Mississippi with adjoining parts of Louisiana. The Choctaws had a strong tradition of doing business. They were very intelligent people. The tribe developed a strong economy based …show more content…

Both men and women wore face paint and tattoos. As for their hair, men wore their hair long with bangs and braids. Women on the other hand, also had long hair, but wrapped it into a roll on the back of their heads. That pretty much covered the looks and dress of the Choctaws. Family life was rather simple. Both in Mississippi and later in the West, the Choctaws were farmers whose villages were composed of log houses surrounded by cornfields. Men hunted, and women raised the crops, although men sometimes helped with clearing the fields. Each village had a chief who met with a council of elders and experienced men in a square at the center of the village. The younger men made up the hunters and warriors of the tribe. They defended their territory against the Chickasaw tribe in the north and from the Creeks on the east. Culturally, the Choctaws have always honored their women as the head of every family household. They were, and still are today, considered the care-takers of our children, our elders, and the home. As for the children, their job should have been just to go to school and get an education, and help around the house when needed. However, there was a lack of educational opportunity and poor health conditions. Few schools were open to Choctaw children, and most children were needed to work. The families worked primarily as sharecroppers, selling goods and livestock to the Europeans. The Choctaws were known for

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