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The Choctaw Indian Nation traces its ancestry to Mississippi and some sections of Alabama. Legends tell that the Choctaw People originated from "Ninah Waya", a sacred hill near Nozapter, Mississippi. The name "Ninah Waya" means "Productive Mountain" and is often referred to as "The Mother Mound". Culturally, the Choctaws have always honored their women as the head of every family household. They were, and still are today, considered the care-takers of our children, our elders, and the home. In 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek forcibly relocated the entire Choctaw nation from their homeland in Mississippi west to what is now known as Southeastern Oklahoma. Over twenty thousand Choctaws were moved on this long journey. Seven thousand survived this removal on what has come to be called "The Trail of Tears". The Choctaw population has grown from the original seven thousand survivors to more than seventy thousand. The Choctaw People have overcome enormous obstacles in their quest for self-reliance in a changing and often hostile world. During the 1970's, The elected Tribal Chief had the difficult task of re-establishing the sovereignty of the Choctaw Nation. Under the leadership of Chief Hollis Roberts and a progressive twelve elected Tribal Council Representatives, the Choctaw Nation has established a positive direction of Tribal Government of the benefit of the Choctaw People.
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