- Chickasaw
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1. a member of a tribe of North American Indians, formerly in northern Mississippi, now in Oklahoma.2. the Muskogean language of the Chickasaw.
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North American Indian people living mainly in Oklahoma, U.S. Their language, Chickasaw, is a Muskogean language closely related to that of the Choctaw.The Chickasaw, who once inhabited Kentucky, Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and Alabama, were a seminomadic people whose dwellings were loosely scattered along rivers rather than clustered in villages. They traced descent through the maternal line. The supreme deity was associated with the sky, sun, and fire. They frequently raided and intermarried with other tribes, and they were known to white traders as "mixed-bloods" or "breeds." In the 1830s they were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). In the 2000 U.S. census some 20,000 individuals claimed sole Chickasaw descent.* * *
city, northern suburb of Mobile, Mobile county, southwestern Alabama, U.S. It lies on Chickasaw Creek, a tributary of the Mobile Bay delta region. Named for the Chickasaw people, it was founded during World War I as a shipbuilding community. Though now primarily residential, it still has fisheries and port facilities for exporting commodities from Birmingham. Inc. village, 1917; city, 1946. Pop. (1990) 6,649; (2000) 6,364.▪ peopleNorth American Indian tribe of Muskogean linguistic stock who originally inhabited what is now northern Mississippi and Alabama. In their earlier history the Chickasaw and the Choctaw (q.v.) may have been a single tribe. Traditionally, the Chickasaw were a seminomadic people who patrolled the immense territory that they claimed for themselves and raided tribes far to the north; like many conquering peoples, they integrated the remnants of these tribes into their culture.Prior to the 1830s, Chickasaw dwellings were organized along streams and rivers rather than clustered in villages. Descent was traced through the maternal line. The supreme deity was associated with the sky, sun, and fire, and a harvest and new-fire rite similar to the Green Corn ceremony of the Creek was celebrated annually.Probably the earliest contact between Europeans and the Chickasaw was Hernando de Soto's expedition in 1540–41. In the 18th century the Chickasaw became involved in the power struggles between the British and French, siding with the British against the French and the Choctaw. They also gave refuge to the Natchez in their wars with the French. Relations with the United States began in 1786, when their northern territorial boundary was fixed at the Ohio River. In the 1830s they were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (present Oklahoma) where, with the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminole, they were among the Five Civilized Tribes. For three-quarters of a century each tribe had a land allotment and a quasi-autonomous government modeled on that of the United States. In preparation for Oklahoma statehood (1907), some of this land was allotted to individuals from the Five Civilized Tribes; the rest was opened up to non-Native homesteaders, held in trust by the federal government, or allotted to freed slaves. Tribal governments were effectively dissolved in 1906 but have continued to exist in a limited form. Some Chickasaw now live on tribal landholdings that are informally called reservations.Early estimates placed the tribe's population at 3,000–4,000. At the time of their removal to Indian Territory they numbered about 5,000. Chickasaw descendants numbered more than 38,000 in the early 21st century.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
