THE CHICKASAW

1 By 1650 at least 8,000 Chickasaw were living in northern Mississippi and parts of present-day Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. They were very powerful and had won much of their land in battles with other Native American groups.

Life Among the Chickasaw

2 Like other Native American groups, the Chickasaw grew crops for food. Farming was never as important for the Chickasaw, however, as it was for other groups. They got most of their food by hunting and fishing.

3 There were only a few large Chickasaw villages. One was near the present-day city of Tupelo in an area called “Old Fields.” Instead, most Chickasaw families chose to live on their own.

4 Chickasaw families built two houses.  Their summer homes were rectangular, open and airy. Nearby they build small round, winter homes with no windows and a small doorway.  These homes had mud walls to keep out the cold. Vegetables were stored under the beds to keep them from freezing.

5 A fire was kept burning to warm the inside.  One visitor in 1775 described the house as “full of hot smoky darkness.” In order to keep warm, “the Chickasaw women wrap themselves in softened skin of buffalo calves, with the wintry shagged wood inward.”

Proud Warriors

6 Chickasaw warriors were known for their great skill in battle. The Chickasaw often fought with the Choctaw. They also fought the Cherokee who lived nearby.

7 The Chickasaw usually sent 20 men to attack another group. Each warrior carried a bow and arrows, a war club, or a tomahawk. The leader wore a wooden medicine bundle strapped to his back. This special bundle was never allowed to touch the ground. It contained special plants, animal bones, and other objects. The warriors believed these things would protect them from being hurt.