ChoctawFor hundreds of years before Europeans came to the United States, the Choctaw Nation was a tribe of farmers who lived in what is now the southeastern U.S. until the federal government forcibly removed most tribal members in the 1830's to Southeastern Oklahoma in what became known as the Trail of Tears. Tribal members have overcome adversity to grow to nearly 200,000 strong, the country’s third largest tribe. The tribe’s growing business enterprises have allowed it to work to improve the lives of tribal members who have a rich tradition of serving in the military.
A strong nationDespite the many lives lost during the forced removal, the Choctaw remained hopeful. The first order of business upon arriving in their new homeland was to start a school and a church. Later, they drafted a new constitution. Always a generous people, when the great potato famine threatened the people of Ireland, the Choctaws collected money to help alleviate the country’s suffering.
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The trail of tears For ThemThe Choctaw signed nine treaties with the United States before the Civil War, beginning with the Treaty of Hopewell in 1786, which set boundaries and established peace between the two nations. Subsequent treaties, however, reshaped those borders and forced the Choctaw to sell millions of acres of land. In 1830, the United States seized the last of the Choctaw’s ancestral territory and relocated the tribe to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi. The Choctaw were the first to walk the Trail of Tears.
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Choctaw's government
The Choctaw Nation’s governing structure is set forth in its revised 1984 constitution. Like the U.S. government, there are three branches, executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is headed by a chief and assistant chief, both of whom serve four-year terms. The legislative function is carried out by a 12-person tribal council, each of whom represent geographic districts. The nation has a Court of General Jurisdiction, which resolves tribal disputes within the 10 ½ -counties of the Choctaw Nation, including a three-member appellate division.