Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

In English, the official name for the reservation was "Choctaw Nation", as outlined in Article III of the 1866 Reconstruction Treaty following the Civil War. During its time of sovereignty within the United States Indian Territory, it also utilized the title "Choctaw Republic". Since 1971, it is officially referred to as the "Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma". The Choctaw Nation maintains a government-to-government relationship with both the United States federal government and State of Oklahoma. Officially a domestic dependent nation since 1971, in July 2020 the Supreme Court ruled in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the eastern area of Oklahoma—about half of the modern state—never lost its status as a Native reservation. This includes the city of Tulsa (located between Muscogee and Cherokee territory). The area includes lands of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Muscogee and Seminole. Among other effects, the decision potentially overturns convictions of over a thousand cases in the area involving tribal citizens convicted under state laws. The ruling is based on an 1832 treaty, which the court ruled was still in force, adding that, "Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word." As such, the Choctaw Nation returned from a domestic dependent nation status to that of an Indian reservation. ==Geography==

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's reservation covers , encompassing eight whole counties and parts of five counties in Southeastern Oklahoma: • Atoka County, • most of Bryan County, • Choctaw County, • most of Coal County, • Haskell County, • half of Hughes County, • a portion of Johnston County, • Latimer County, • Le Flore County, • McCurtain County, • Pittsburg County, • a portion of Pontotoc County, and • Pushmataha County. ==Government==

The tribal headquarters are located in Durant, and house the office of the Chief. Opened in June 2018, the new headquarters is a 5-story, 500,000 square-foot building located on an 80-acre campus in south Durant. It is near other tribal buildings, such as the Regional Health Clinic, Wellness Center, Community Center, Child Development Center, and Food Distribution. Previously, headquarters was located in the former Oklahoma Presbyterian College, with more offices scattered around Durant. The chief of the Choctaw Nation is Gary Batton, who took office on April 29, 2014, after the retirement of Gregory E. Pyle. and the assistant chief is Jack Austin, Jr. The Tribal Council meets monthly at Tvshka Homma, across the street from the historic Choctaw Capitol Building, built in 1884 and since been adapted for use as the Choctaw Nation Museum. The tribe is governed by the Choctaw Nation Constitution, which was ratified by the people on June 9, 1984. The constitution provides for an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch of government. The chief of the Choctaw Tribe, elected every four years, is not a voting member of the tribal council. These members are elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The legislative authority of the tribe is vested in the Tribal Council, which consists of twelve members. Citizenship in the Choctaw Nation is outlined in Article II Section I of the constitution which states that citizenship is for "Choctaw Indians by blood whose names appear on the final rolls of the Choctaw Nation approved pursuant to Section 2 of the Act of April 26, 1906, and their lineal descendant." The constitution cannot be amended without a vote of tribal members and currently excludes Choctaw Freedmen. A constitutional amendment can be passed through "two methods: (1) a proposal of Tribal Council requiring 8 affirmative votes and/or (2) by a petition containing the entire text of the amendment and signed by no less than 30 percent of the total number of qualified voters voting in the last Chief's election." While the current Chief, Gary Batton, disagrees that denying citizenship to the Freedmen is a race issue, this ignores the historical racist legacy of the Dawes Rolls. Also, because the Nation, along with the other Five Civilized Tribes, supported the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War, they severed ties with the federal government, making the U.S. require these tribes to make new peace treaties, emancipate their slaves, and offer full citizenship. Numerous families had intermarried by that time or had other personal ties to the tribe as well, but the Choctaw Nation did not uphold the Treaty of 1866. The citizenship definition of many tribal nations runs counter to how other countries or nations define their citizenship (based on borders, birth location, naturalization, instead of descendance, race, or ethnicity), and most federally recognized tribes are subject to the U.S. Government's final acceptance. In 2011, the tribe had 223,279 enrolled citizens, of whom 84,670 live within the state of Oklahoma and 41,616 live within the Choctaw Nation's jurisdiction. The General Fund Operating Budget, the Health Systems Operating Budget, and the Capital Projects Budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2017, and ending September 30, 2018, was $516,318,568. On September 9, 2023, the tribal council approved a comprehensive budget for fiscal year 2024 of $2.529 billion. The budgeted operating expense is $1.585 billion, budgeted maintenance capital is $36.5 million, and cost of goods sold being $495 million that totals a budgeted request of $2.116 billion, resulting in an anticipated net income of $412.7 million. Politically, the Choctaw Nation is completely encompassed by Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district, represented by Republican and Choctaw citizen Josh Brecheen. With a majority of both Native American and white voters in the region leaning conservative, Republican Donald Trump carried every county in the Choctaw Nation in the 2024 election, as well as every county in the state of Oklahoma, continuing a trend seen in the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 elections. The Choctaw Nation is located in one of the most conservative areas of Oklahoma, and while registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, the region has consistently gone to Republican candidates. The current head of the government, Chief Gary Batton, is a Republican. The Choctaw Nation also has the right to appoint a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, per the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek; as of 2024 however, no delegate has been named or sent to the Congress by the Choctaw Nation. Executive department The supreme executive power of the Choctaw Nation is assigned to a chief magistrate, styled as the "Chief of the Choctaw Nation". The Assistant Chief is appointed by the Chief with the advice and consent of the Tribal Council, and can be removed at the discretion of the Chief. The current Chief of the Choctaw Nation is Gary Batton, and the current Assistant Chief is Jack Austin, Jr. The chief's birthday (Batton's is December 15) is a tribal holiday. In 2021, the tribal council instituted October 16 as Choctaw Flag Day, a holiday to celebrate the adoption of the Choctaw Nation Seal on October 16, 1860. Governmental history Before Oklahoma was admitted to the union as a state in 1907, the Choctaw Nation was divided into three districts: Apukshunnubbee, Moshulatubbee, and Pushmataha. Each district had its own chief from 1834 to 1857; afterward, the three districts were put under the jurisdiction of one chief. The three districts were re-established in 1860, again each with their own chief, with a fourth chief to be Principal Chief of the tribe. These districts were abolished at the time of statehood, as tribal government and land claims were dissolved in order for the territory to be admitted as a state. The tribe reorganized to re-establish its government and passed a constitution re-establishing the council in 1979. In the elections held that year, Harriet Wright O'Leary James became the first woman elected to serve on the nation's council. List of Chiefs Legislative department The legislative authority is vested in the unicameral Tribal Council. Members of the Tribal Council are elected by the Choctaw people, one for each of the twelve districts in the Choctaw Nation. The tribal council members are the voice and representation of the Choctaw people in the tribal government. In order to be elected as council members, candidates must have resided in their respective districts for at least one year immediately preceding the election and must be at least one-fourth Choctaw Indian by blood and at least twenty-one years of age. Once elected, council members must remain a resident of their district during the term in office. Once in office, the tribal council members have regularly scheduled county council meetings. The presence of these tribal leaders in the Indian community creates a sense of understanding of their community and its needs. The Tribal Council is responsible for adopting rules and regulations which govern the Choctaw Nation, for approving all budgets, decisions concerning the management of tribal property, and all other legislative matters. The Tribal Council assists the community to implement an economic development strategy and to plan, organize, and direct Tribal resources to achieve self-sufficiency. Judicial department Durant is also the seat of the tribe's judicial department, housed in the Choctaw Nation Judicial Center, near the Headquarters. The judicial authority of the Choctaw Nation is assigned to the Court of General Jurisdiction (which includes the District Court and the Appellate Division) and the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court consists of a three-member court, who are appointed by the Chief. At least one member, the presiding judge (Chief Justice), must be a lawyer licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. Judicial department members • Constitutional Court • Chief Justice David Burrage • Judge Mitch Mullin • Judge Frederick Bobb • Appellate Division • Presiding Judge Pat Phelps • Judge Bob Rabon • Judge Warren Gotcher • District Court • Presiding District Judge Richard Branam • District Judge Mark Morrison • District Judge Rebecca Cryer Government treaties The Choctaw underwent many changes to their government since its first interactions with the United States. The Choctaw Nation acknowledges these treaties and categorizes them by "Pre-Removal Treaties" and "Post-Removal Treaties". Foreign relations The Choctaw supported Ireland by donating money during the Great Irish Famine of 1847. The two nations have maintained relations ever since. In 2018 Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar announced the Choctaw-Ireland Scholarship Programme – an opportunity for Choctaw students to study in Ireland. The program was launched "in recognition of the act of generosity and humanitarianism shown by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma towards the people of Ireland during the Great Famine of the mid-Nineteenth Century, and to foster and deepen the ties between the two nations today". The programme is available for postgraduate students, and those studying at University College Cork; within the disciplines of Art, Social Sciences or Celtic Studies. In 2015 a sculpture known as Kindred Spirits was erected in the town of Midleton, County Cork, Ireland, to commemorate the Choctaw Nation's donation. A delegation of 20 citizens of the Choctaw Nation attended the opening ceremony along with the County Mayor of Cork. In 2024 a companion sculpture Sacred Hearts was unveiled in Tuskahoma to commemorate Choctaw-Irish relations. == Economy ==

The Choctaw Nation's economic impact in 2022 was over $2.51 billion. The nation employs around 12,000 people, of which 4,200 of those work in Durant, the city's largest single employer. Wages and benefits expenditures were over $838 million, with total revenues from tribal businesses and governmental entities was expected to be $2.45 billion in fiscal year 2023. The nation has contributed to raising Bryan County's per capita income to about $24,000. The Choctaw Nation has helped build water systems and towers, roads and other infrastructure, and has contributed to additional fire stations, EMS units and law enforcement needs that have accompanied economic growth. The Choctaw Nation operates several types of businesses. It has seven casinos, 14 tribal smoke shops, 13 truck stops, and two Chili's franchises in Atoka and Poteau. == Health system ==

The Choctaw Nation is the first Indigenous tribe in the United States to build its own hospital with its own funding. The Choctaw Nation Health Care Center, located in Talihina, is a health facility with 37 hospital beds for inpatient care and 52 exam rooms. The $22 million hospital is complete with $6 million worth of state-of-the-art equipment and furnishing. It serves 150,000–210,000 outpatient visits annually. The hospital also houses the Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority, the hub of the tribal health care services of Southeastern Oklahoma. The tribe also operates eight Indian clinics, one each in Atoka, Broken Bow, Durant, Hugo, Idabel, McAlester, Poteau, and Stigler. ==History==

Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (1830) The Choctaw were recognized as a sovereign nation under the protection of the United States with the Treaty of Hopewell in 1786. They were militarily aligned with the United States during the American Revolutionary War, Northwest Indian War, Creek Civil War, and the War of 1812. However, relations soured following the election of Andrew Jackson. At Jackson's personal request, the United States Congress opened a fierce debate on an Indian Removal Bill. In the end, the bill passed, but the vote was very close: The Senate passed the measure, 28 to 19, while in the House it passed, 102 to 97. Jackson signed the legislation into law June 30, 1830, Jackson was angered. Journalist Len Green writes "although angered by the Choctaw refusal to meet him in Tennessee, Jackson felt from LeFlore's words that he might have a foot in the door and dispatched Secretary of War Eaton and John Coffee to meet with the Choctaws in their nation." Jackson appointed Eaton and General John Coffee as commissioners to represent him to meet the Choctaws at the Dancing Rabbit Creek near present-day Noxubee County, Mississippi. The commissioners met with the chiefs and headmen on September 15, 1830, at Dancing Rabbit Creek. In carnival-like atmosphere, the policy of removal was explained to an audience of 6,000 men, women, and children. Article 22 sought to put a Choctaw representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Choctaw at this crucial time split into two distinct groups: the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The nation retained its autonomy, but the tribe in Mississippi submitted to state and federal laws. Reservation establishment in Oklahoma (1830–1860) The Indian Removal Act, a law implementing Removal Policy, was signed by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The act delineated Indian Territory, where the U.S. federal government forcibly relocated tribes from across the United States, including Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands (such as the Natchez, Yuchi, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, Seminole, Alabama, and Koasati). The forced relocation of the Choctaw Nation in 1831 is called the Trail of Tears. In 1834, U.S. Congress defined the first Indian Territory, with the Five Civilized Tribes occupying the land that eventually became the State of Oklahoma, excluding its panhandle. Influence of Cyrus Kingsbury's Choctaw Mission (1840) The Reverend Cyrus Kingsbury, who had ministered among the Choctaw since 1818, accompanied the Choctaws from the Mayhew Mission in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, to their new location in Indian Territory. In 1951, the tribe took advantage of the new law and filed a claim for over $750,000 to recover those fees. When Harry J. W. Belvin was appointed chief of the Choctaw in 1948 by the Secretary of the Interior, he realized that only federally recognized tribes were allowed to file a claim with the Commission. If he wanted to get that money back, his tribe needed to reorganize and re-establish its government. He created a democratically elected tribal council and a constitution to re-establish a government, but his efforts were opposed by the Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Ultimately, the Choctaw filed a claim with the Claims Commission on a technicality in 1951. The suit was classified as a renewal of the 1944 case against the US Court of Claims, but that did not stop the antagonism between Belvin and the area BIA officials. For Belvin, relief from BIA oversight of policies and funds seemed as if it might enable the Choctaw to maintain their own traditional ways of operating and to reform their own governing council. On 25 August 1959, Congress passed a bill to terminate the tribe; it was called "Belvin's law" because he was the main advocate behind it. Belvin created overwhelming support for termination among tribespeople through his promotion of the bill, describing the process and expected outcomes. Tribal citizens later interviewed said that Belvin never used the word "termination" for what he was describing, and many people were unaware he was proposing termination. The provisions of the bill were intended to be a final disposition of all trust obligations and a final "dissolution of the tribal governments." The U.S. Department of Defense awarded the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award to the Choctaw Nation in 2008 for sending 3,500 care packages for U.S. troops stations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their outstanding support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. ==Notable tribal citizens==

• Lane Adams (b. 1989), Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies (nephew of Choctaw citizen and attorney Kalyn Free) • Marcus Amerman (b. 1959), bead, glass, and performance artist • Tara Astigarraga, software engineer • Jim Weaver Barnes (b. 1933), poet, writer, rancher, and former professor • Gary Batton (b. 1966), current Chief of the Choctaw Nation • Johnny Bench (b. 1947), Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds • Josh Brecheen (b. 1979), U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district since 2023 • Ada E. Brown (b. 1974), appointed by President Donald Trump to be a federal judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas • Michael Burrage (b. 1950), former U.S. District Judge • Sean Burrage (b. 1968), President of Southeastern Oklahoma State University • Steve Burrage (b. 1952), former Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector • Tony K. Burris (1929–1951), Medal of honor recipient and soldier in the Korean War • Clarence Carnes (1927–1988), imprisoned at Alcatraz • Bobby Cleveland (b. 1943), Sunday School teacher, former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives • Czarina Conlan (1871–1958), archivist, suffragist, first woman to represent the Choctaw in Washington D.C., and first woman elected to a school board in Oklahoma • Samantha Crain (b. 1986), singer-songwriter, musician • Gilbert Dukes (1849–1919), Justice of the Choctaw Supreme Court from 1885 to 1889, and Chief from 1900 to 1902, candidate for Oklahoma lieutenant governor in 1910 • William A. Durant (1866–1948), former Chief, sergeant-at-arms at the 1906 Oklahoma constitutional convention, 3rd Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives • Scott Fetgatter (b. 1968), member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives • Shug Fisher (1907–1984), singer, musician, and comedian • Tobias William Frazier, Sr. (1892–1975), Choctaw code talker • Kalyn Free, attorney • Avery Frix, businessman and member of the Oklahoma Senate • Bill Grant, Bluegrass musician • Rosella Hightower (1920–2008), prima ballerina • Norma Howard (1958–2024), painter and visual artist • LeAnne Howe (b. 1951), writer and academic • Rhoda Pitchlynn Howell (1814–1911), rancher and community leader • Victor Locke, Jr. (1876–1943), first Roman Catholic chief, served from 1910 to 1918 • Phil Lucas (1942–2007), filmmaker • Green McCurtain (1848–1910), Chief from 1896 to 1900, and again from 1902 to 1910, served as Vice President of the Sequoyah Constitutional Convention in 1905 • Jane Austin McCurtain (1842–1924), educator and political advisor • James McDonald (c. 1801–1831), first Native American lawyer • Cal McLish (1925–2010), Major League Baseball pitcher • Devon A. Mihesuah (b. 1957), author, historian, former editor of the American Indian Quarterly • Joseph Oklahombi (1895–1960), Choctaw code talker • Peter Pitchlynn (1806–1881), Ambassador, Head of the Lighthorse, Chief from 1864 to 1866 • Gregory E. Pyle (1949–2019), former Chief who initiated the Choctaw Language Program • Hollis E. Roberts (1943–2011), Red Power reformist, former Chief • Charles Shadle (b. 1960), classical composer and Senior Lecturer in Music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology • William Grady Stigler (1891–1952), U.S. Representative from Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District, 1944–52 • Bryan Terry (b. 1968), member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 48th district • Tim Tingle (b. 1948), writer and storyteller • Wilma Victor (1919–1987), educator, first lieutenant in Women's Army Corps (1943–1946), special assistant to Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton • Karina Walters (b. 1964), social epidemiologist and health promotion scholar • Summer Wesley (b. 1981), attorney, writer, and activist • Wallace Willis (1820–1880), Choctaw slave and Freedmen owned by Britt Willis, composer of Negro spirituals, including Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Roll, Jordan, Roll • Jonathan Wingard (b. 1982), dairy farmer, grassroots activist, member of the Oklahoma Senate • Allen Wright (1826–1885), chief from 1866 to 1870 • Harriet Wright O'Leary (1916–1999), teacher, first woman to serve on the tribal council • Muriel Hazel Wright (1889–1975), teacher, historian, former editor of the Chronicles of Oklahoma == See also ==