The first documented interaction between Chickasaws and Europeans since de Soto

La Salle's 1682 voyage down the Mississippi River represents the first clearly documented official European exploration party interaction with the Chickasaws since their encounter with de Soto in 1540.

In the spring of 1682, La Salle fell ill at the Chickasaw Bluffs, near present-day Memphis. His crew built a small fort, Fort Prudhomme, on Chickasaw soil as a depot. Months later, La Salle became the first European to navigate the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, claiming the entire basin for France and naming it for his King, Louis XIV.

Robert de La Salle Videos

3 Items

La Salle was the first European the Chickasaws had come directly in contact with since their encounter with De Soto in 1540.

The Chickasaws' Early Meetings with the French and British

Brad Lieb
After migrating north up the Black Prairie, the Chickasaws again encountered European explorers, this time the French, around 1680.

The Colonialists Encountered Other Tribes First

Richard Green
La Salle encountered the Chickasaw at Chickasaw Bluffs as he came sailing down the Mississippi River trying to connect New France.

La Salle Claims Vast Lands for France

Richard Green
Richard Green relates the story of the French explorer La Salle claiming much of the North American continent for France, without taking any action.