Choctaw Nation

 

Aiamona...

Hopahki fehna kash hattak vt atoba vmmona kvt Nvnih Waiya yo atobat akohcha tok oke. Mvskoki yosh tikba Nvnih Waiya akohcha mvt Nvnih Waiya yakni banaiya yo illaiohofka mvt shilvt taha mvt hvshi akohchaka ilhkoli tok oke. Atuk osh Itombikibi ola ho afoha mvt hakchuma shunka mvt luak bohli tok oke.

Mihma Chelaki yosh atuklan Nvnih Waiya akohcha tok oke. Mihmvt yakni banaiya ya illaiohofka mvt shilvt taha mvt akni vt atia tok a iakaiyvt ilhkoli tok oke. Mvskoki vt afohvt hakchuma ashunka cha ia tok o, luak vt itonla tok o, kowi vt lua tok o Chelaki vt Mvskoki vt atia tok a ik ithano mvt yoshoba cha filami cha falvmmi imma ko ilhkoli tok osh falvmmi imma ko ont aioklachi tok oke.

Mihma Chikasha yosh atuchinat Nvnih Waiya akocha tok oke. Mihmvt yakni banaiya ya illaiohofka mvt shilvt taha mvt Chelaki vt atia tok a iakaiyvt ilhkoli tok osh Chelaki vt ayoshoba tok a ona mvt filami mvt Chelaki vt atia tok akinli ho iakaiyvt ilhkoli tok oke. Atuk osh Chickasha vt Chelaki vt ont aioklachi tok a ona mvt Chelaki bilinka aioklachi tok oke.

Mihma Chahta yosh ont aiushta ma Nvnih Waiya yvmma ishtaiopi akohcha tok oke. Mihmvt yakni banaiya ya illaiohofka mvt shilvt taha mvt kanima ik aiyo hosh yakni ilap akinli ho abinohli tok osh Chahta vt aiasha hoke.

As told by Pistonatubbee to H. S. Halbert.

 

English Translation

The Beginning...

A very long time ago the first creation of men was in Nanih Waiya; and there they were made and there they came forth. The Muscogees first came out of Nanih Waiya, and they then sunned themselves on Nanih Waiya's earthen rampart, and when they got dry they went to the east. On this side of the Tombigbee, there they rested and as they were smoking tobacco they dropped some fire.

The Cherokees next came out of Nanih Waiya. And they sunned themselves on the earthen rampart, and when they got dry they went and followed the trail of the elder tribe. And at the place where the Muscogees had stopped and rested, and they had smoked tobacco, there was fire and the woods were burnt, and the Cherokees could not find the Muscogees' trail, so they got lost and turned aside and went towards the north and there towards the north they settled and made a people.

And the Chickasaws third came out of Nanih Waiya. And then they sunned themselves on the earthen rampart, and when they got dry they went and followed the Cherokees' trail ; and when they got to where the Cherokees had settled and made a people, they settled and made a people close to the Cherokees.

And the Choctaws fourth and last came out of Nanih Waiya. And they then sunned themselvers on the earthen rampart and when they got dry, they did not go anywhere but settled down in this very land and it is the Choctaws' home.

 

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The Choctaws have two Origin Stories, involving Nanih Waiya, "The Mother Mound," which is located near what is now known as Noxapater, Mississippi:

The first tells of how Nanih Waiya gave birth to the Peoples. First the Seminoles, then the Muscogees, then the Cherokees, then the Chickasaws, and finally, the Choctaws. Each of the aforementioned tribes had traveled to new lands to settle, except the Choctaws, who stayed close to their Mother.

Second is the story of two brothers, Chahta and Chickasha, who headed the People, in a land far away in the West. They were looking for a new home and each day, they would put a pole in the ground, and each day that pole pointed to the East, thus, the People continued their migration. At the point of Nanih Waiya, the pole stood straight up and it was here that Chahta said that they would stay. Chickasha disagreed, and continued further North founding a new people, the Chickasaws.

Traditionally, the Choctaws lived around Nanih Waiya in Central Mississippi, and spread to Southern Mississippi, as well as, Western portions of Alabama.

It has been said that the Choctaws were both the most peacful, yet the fiercest at War, of all the Nations in the Southeast. Their numbers are estimated to have been well over 200,000 before European conquest.

The Choctaws' first encounter with the Nahullos, was in 1540, when they were attacked by the Spaniard, Hernando de Soto, having slaughtered as many as 3,000 Choctaws. Next came the French about a century later, whom they remained allied with until the Americans won their Independence.