Five Civilized Nations

Gallery of the Five Civilized Tribes. The portraits were drawn/painted between 1775 and 1850.

The Five Civilized Tribes is the term applied to five Native American nations: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole, which were considered civilized by white settlers during that time period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good relations with their neighbors. The process of cultural transformation was proposed by George Washington and Henry Knox; the Cherokee and Choctaw were successful at integrating European-American culture.^[1] The Five Civilized Tribes lived in the Southeastern United States before their relocation to other parts of the country, especially the future state of Oklahoma.

The tribes were relocated from their homes east of the Mississippi River during the series of removals, authorized by federal legislation, over several decades and moved to what was then called Indian Territory and is now the eastern portion of the state of Oklahoma. The most infamous removal was the Cherokee Trail of Tears of 1838, in which President Martin Van Buren enforced the highly contentious Treaty of New Echota with the Cherokee Nation to exchange their property for land out west.

The Five Tribes were divided during the American Civil War about which side to support. The Choctaw and Chickasaw fought predominantly on the Confederate side, while the Creek, Seminole, and especially the Cherokee were split between the Union and the Confederacy. The Cherokee fought a civil war within their own nation between those who supported the opposing sides.

Although the number of slaveholders was small, members of each tribe held enslaved African Americans. There were also free blacks who lived with or near them, especially with the Seminoles. Many of these became known as Black Indians. After the Civil War, by treaty with the US government, the slaves were emancipated with guarantees of citizenship in the respective Indian nations. They became known as tribal Freedmen, such as Cherokee Freedmen. Issues of citizenship and participation in tribal benefits have been controversial in the late 20th and 21st century, causing freedmen's associations to file suit against some of the tribes.

Once the tribes had been relocated to Indian Territory, the United States government promised that their lands would be free of white settlement. Some settlers violated that agreement with impunity even before 1893, when the government opened up the "Cherokee Strip" to outside settlement by the Oklahoma Land Run. In 1907, the territories of Oklahoma and Indian Territory were merged into the new state of Oklahoma; all Five Civilized Tribes have a major presence there today.

The term "civilized" as applied in this case has been considered at various times and places (for example in the writings of Vine Deloria, Jr.) as insulting or derogatory, as implying that other Native American tribes were "not civilized" and that these five tribes themselves could only earn the designation of being "civilized" to the extent that they gave up their own cultures and instead took up cultural values and way of life based on those of the whites/Europeans.

The Experiment of Civilizing

George Washington and Henry Knox proposed the cultural transformation of Native Americans.^[1] Washington believed that Native Americans were equals but that their society was inferior. He formulated a policy to encourage the "civilizing" process, and Thomas Jefferson continued it.^[2] Noted Andrew Jackson historian Robert Remini wrote "they presumed that once the Indians adopted the practice of private property, built homes, farmed, educated their children, and embraced Christianity, these Native Americans would win acceptance from white Americans."^[3] Washington's six-point plan included impartial justice toward Indians; regulated buying of Indian lands; promotion of commerce; promotion of experiments to civilize or improve Indian society; presidential authority to give presents; and punishing those who violated Indian rights.^[4] The government appointed agents, like Benjamin Hawkins, to live among the Indians and to teach them, through example and instruction, how to live like whites.^[1] The tribes of the southeast bided with Washington's policy as they established schools, adopted yeoman farming practices, converted to Christianity, and built homes like their colonial neighbors.

Cherokee

The Cherokee refer to themselves as Tsa-la-gi (pronounced "jaw la gee") or A-ni-yv-wi-ya (pronounced "ah knee yuh wee yaw", literal translation: "Principal People"). In 1654, the Powhatan were referring to this people as the Rickahockan. The word "Cherokee" may have originally been derived from the Choctaw trade language^{[citation needed]} word "Cha-la-kee" which means "those who live in the mountains" – or (also Choctaw) "Chi-luk-ik-bi" meaning "those who live in the caves".^{[citation needed]} The Cherokee were called "Alligewi" by the Delawares.^{[citation needed]}

The Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians have headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is located at Cherokee, North Carolina. All three are federally recognized.

Chickasaw

The Chickasaw are Native American people of the United States, who originally resided along the Tennessee River west of Huntsville, Alabama covering Mississippi and Tennessee. Sometime prior to the first European contact, the Chickasaw moved east and settled east of the Mississippi River. All historical records indicate the Chickasaw lived in northeast Mississippi from the first European contact until they were forced to remove to Oklahoma, where most now live. They are related to the Choctaws, who speak a language very similar to the Chickasaw language, both forming the Western Group of the Muskogean languages. "Chickasaw" is the English spelling of Chikasha (IPA: [tʃikaʃːa]), that means "rebel" or "comes from Chicsa". The Chickasaw are divided in two groups: the "Impsaktea" and the "Intcutwalipa". The Chickasaws were one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" who removed to Indian Territory during the era of Indian Removal. Unlike other tribes who exchanged land grants, the Chickasaw received financial compensation from the United States for their lands east of the Mississippi River.^[5] The Chickasaw Nation is the thirteenth largest federally-recognized tribe in the United States.

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States (Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana). They are of the Muskogean linguistic group. The word Choctaw (also known as Chahta, Chato, Tchakta, and Chocktaw) may derive from the Castilian word "chato," meaning flat; however, noted anthropologist John Swanton suggests that the name belonged to a Choctaw leader.^[6] They were a part of the Mississippian culture which was located throughout the Mississippi River valley. The early Spanish explorers, according to historian Walter Williams,encountered their antecedents.^[7] Although smaller Choctaw groups are located in the southern region, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians are the two primary Choctaw associations.

Creek

The Creek are an American Indian people originally from the southeastern United States, also known by their original name Muscogee (or Muskogee), the name they use to identify themselves today.^[8] Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. Modern Muscogees live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Their language, Mvskoke, is a member of the Creek branch of the Muskogean language family. The Seminole are close kin to the Muscogee and speak a Creek language as well. The Creeks are one of the Five Civilized Tribes. Creek tribes included the Muscogee Creek Nation, Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama, Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Kialegee Tribal Town, Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.

Seminole

The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida and now residing in Florida and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation came into existence in the 18th century and was composed of renegade and outcast Native Americans from Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama, most significantly the Creek Nation, as well as African Americans who escaped from slavery in South Carolina and Georgia. While roughly 3,000 Seminoles were forced west of the Mississippi River, including the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, who picked up new members along their way, approximately 300 to 500 Seminoles stayed and fought in and around the Everglades of Florida. In a series of wars against the Seminoles in Florida, about 1,500 U.S. soldiers died. The Seminoles never surrendered to the United States government, hence, the Seminoles of Florida call themselves the "Unconquered People." Seminole Tribes today include the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Seminole Tribe of Florida.

References

External links

• Five Civilized Tribes Museum official site
• Five Tribes article at nativeamericans.com^{[dead link]}