Prehistory

This era spans the discovery of stone tools to the rise and fall of prehistoric cities and the beginning of the clan system.

Discovery

The end of the Mississippi era was marked by the Europeans' arrival to what they called the "New World." Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492.

Nations Collide

La Salle launched a vigorous campaign to claim the Mississippi River basin for France. Meanwhile France, Britain and Spain continued to compete.

Early America

As the British gained their edge over France, colonists began pressing for independence. The Revolutionary War confounded the Chickasaws.

Resistance

Changing the Course of Chickasaw History

• Historic Figures

Chickasaws' lives in their ancestral homelands drew to a sorrowful close.

Territorial Era

Astute leadership and strategic negotiating put the Chickasaws in charge of their own removal, faring far better than the first four southeast tribes.

A New State

Oklahoma reached statehood in 1907, but tribal rights for the Chickasaw were retained in the new constitution.

Reasserting Sovereignty

With the leadership of President Richard Nixon, tribal nations were once again able to assert their sovereignty.

Renaissance

The Chickasaws flourish, establishing a new constitution, preserving their capitol, and building businesses to support their future.