Welcome to the Indian Nation Archives of the State of Oklahoma!

Chickasaw Nation

The Chickasaws are one of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma. Two agreements with the Choctaw shaped their history here. One, in 1837, provided for Chickasaw settlement in Indian Territory within the Choctaw Nation. The other, in 1854, established the boundary between the two nations. The Chickasaw purchased their land from the Choctaw.

The word Chickasaw is the anglicized version of the tribe's name for itself, "Chikasha," which roughly translates to "he who walked ahead." Traditional tales portray these as "the people of one fire." An advanced civilization, the Chickasaw lived well by Mississippi frontier standards.

The tribe's earliest settlement was on the east side of the Mississippi River. The first Chickasaw contact with Europeans came in the winter of 1540-41, when they defeated Hernando De Soto and his conquistadors. The first of 14 U.S. treaties and agreements was the 1786 Treaty of Hopewell. The tribe's motto is "Unconquered and Unconquerable," from their tradition of never having lost a battle.

Legend has it the tribe came from the West and settled with their leader, who had carried a mystic pole that leaned east until it crossed the Mississippi. Lands under tribal control included present-day Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Twelve counties in south central Oklahoma comprise the Chickasaw Nation: Carter, Garvin, McClain, Ponotoc, Murray, Johnston, Grady, Jefferson, Love, Marshall, Stephens and Bryan.

If you have information you would like to contribute to the Chickasaw Nation Archives please contact me. Thank you.

 Chickasaw Nation Archivist:   Gene Phillips

 Oklahoma State Archivist:   Gene Phillips

 Indian Nations-Indian Territory Archivist:   Linda Simpson

Join a mail list for the Chickasaw Nation which deals exclusively with the Chickasaw Nation in the Oklahoma Indian Territory.
Send an email to IT-CHICKASAW-L-request@rootsweb.com