Blackland Prairie

The Blackland Prairie refers to the location where the Chickasaw people lived, farmed and gathered food. This prairie was also the home of an abundant population of whitetail deer for the Chickasaws to hunt. The Chickasaws managed these lands for ceremonial needs, and the grasslands served as a common grazing spot for the Chickasaw horses as well. Due to the numerous uses of the Blackland Prairie, it proved to be a valuable resource for the Chickasaw people.

This landscape, which covered a significant part of the state of Mississippi, was essential to the Chickasaw way of life. The prairie featured vast grasslands, patches of prairie woodlands and oak-hickory forests intermingled with calcareous and pine forests. The Pontotoc Ridge, Loess Hills and the North Central Hills of this prairie were sites that played an important role as the backdrop for Chickasaw Nation history. It was on these lands that the Chickasaws obtained animal bone for weapons as well as deerskins for warmth and trading with European settlers.

This land was a valuable resource and played a pivotal role in the progress of the Chickasaw people because it provided them with the raw supplies that they needed to trade with the Europeans for guns — thus ensuring the survival of the Chickasaw tribe. The Blackland Prairie was also the home of the Choctaw, the Ofo and the Natchez tribes as well.