Richard Green, author & former Chickasaw Nation Historian, notes that Chickasaws of the 18th and 19th centuries buried their dead under their homes, thus many ancestors’ remains are still located in what were once Chickasaw villages, now Tupelo outskirts. In the ‘50s through the ‘80s, expansion of the Tupelo metro saw pillage of these grave sites. Having lived here for more than 200 years, Chickasaws had a major impact on American history. He cites this as the reason the they have recently acquired land in Tupelo, and the intention is to acquire more.