The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians () is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw people, and the only one in the state of Mississippi. On April 20, 1945, this tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Their reservation included lands in Neshoba, Leake, Newton, Scott, Jones, Attala, Kemper, and Winston counties. The Mississippi Choctaw regained stewardship of their mother mound, Nanih Waiya mounds and cave in 2008. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw have declared August 18 as a tribal holiday to celebrate their regaining control of the sacred site. The other two Choctaw groups are the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the third largest tribe in the United States, and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, located in Louisiana.
History
Indian Removal
The historic Choctaw had emerged as a tribe and occupied substantial territory in what is now considered the State of Mississippi. In the early nineteenth century, they were under increasing pressure by European Americans, who wanted to acquire their land for agricultural development. President Andrew Jackson gained congressional passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830 to accomplish this and extinguish Native American land claims in the Southeast.
The chiefs signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek with the United States, which was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 25, 1831. President Jackson was anxious to make the Choctaw removal a model for other tribes to be taken out of the Southeast to territory well west of the Mississippi River. After ceding close to , the Choctaw were to emigrate in three stages; the first in the fall of 1831, the second in 1832, and the last in 1833. Although the removals continued into the early 20th century, some Choctaw remained in Mississippi. They continued to live in their ancient homeland. According to the terms of removal, the nearly 5000 Choctaw who remained in Mississippi became citizens of the state and the United States.
For the next ten years, they were subject to increasing legal conflict, harassment, and intimidation by white settlers. Racism against them was rampant. A Choctaw described their situation in 1849 as follows: "We have had our habitations torn down and burned, our fences destroyed, cattle turned into our fields and we ourselves have been scourged, manacled, fettered and otherwise personally abused, until by such treatment some of our best men have died."
American Civil War and Reconstruction
The Mississippi Choctaw participated in the American Civil War. After the Confederate conscription act was passed, most Choctaw men were enrolled and formed the 1st Choctaw Battalion. While the enlisted were Choctaw Indians, all commissioned officers were white men. The battalion was headquartered at Newton Station, Mississippi, and consisted of two companies of 101 soldiers. However, the battalion had members who deserted, and it was disbanded a few months after formation. While the 1st Choctaw Battalion was standing down, Spann's Independent Scouts was forming. Many Mississippi Choctaw men enrolled in this battalion and continued participation in the war until the surrender.
Conditions declined for the Choctaw after the Civil War and during Reconstruction. As conservative white Democrats worked to restore white supremacy and eliminate black suffrage, they passed a new constitution in 1890 that effectively disenfranchised blacks through creating barriers to voter registration. In addition, under racial segregation and Jim Crow laws, the whites included all people of color in the category of "other" or Negro (black), and required them to use segregated facilities.
Delegation to Washington, D.C.
By 1907, the Mississippi Choctaw were in decline. The Dawes Commission had sent a large number of the Mississippi Choctaws to Indian Territory, and only 1,253 members remained. Meetings were held in 1913 to try to find a solution. Wesley Johnson was elected chief of the newly formed Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana Choctaw Council at a 1913 meeting. After some deliberation, the council selected delegates to send to Washington, D.C. to bring attention to the Choctaw's plight. Historian Robert Bruce Ferguson wrote in his 2015 article that:
In late January 1914, Chief Wesley Johnson and his delegates (Culbertson Davis and Emil John) traveled to Washington, D.C. ... While they were in Washington, Johnson, Davis, and John met with numerous senators & representatives and persuaded the federals to bring the Choctaw case before Congress. On February 5th, their mission culminated with the meeting of President Woodrow Wilson. Culbertson Davis presented a beaded Choctaw belt as a token of goodwill to the President.