Who were the Chickasaw ancestors?

The Chickasaw  and the Choctaw were once one people, and migrated from west of the Mississippi River into present-day Mississippi in prehistoric times. The Chickasaw and Choctaw split along the way.

The Chickasaw Indians were Mississippi’s second largest Indian group after the Choctaws. Before the United States government forced their removal in the 1830s, the Chickasaw resided in north Mississippi with their villages centered between the headwaters of the Yazoo and Tombigbee rivers around present-day Tupelo.

They were also associated with western Tennessee, western Kentucky, eastern Arkansas and Alabama. Today, the Chickasaw are primarily in Oklahoma.

The Chickasaw are of Muskogean linguistic stock. Chickasaw and Choctaw together form the Western branch of the Muskogean language family. Chickasaw is also related to Alabama, Koasati, Mvskoke (Creek)—Seminole, Hitchiti and Mikasuki.

Chokma (hello) and chinchokma (how are you?) are two greetings in the Chickasaw language.

The Chickasaw Nation (Chikashsha I̠yaakni’) is a federally recognized Native American nation, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in the United States. They were originally the indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands.

3,500 Chickasaw died on their Trail of Tears when they were forcefully relocated to Oklahoma.

The Chickasaw were known as some of the fiercest warriors in all of the Americas and earned the nickname of the “Spartans of the Lower Mississippi Valley.”