‘Greatest glory’ comes by getting back up after every fall

This article appeared in the June 2015 edition of the Chickasaw Times

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time after we fall.”

The storied history of the Chickasaw Nation might be synopsized in that single Confucian thought.

The Chickasaw Nation was a functioning, effective, sovereign government many generations before American settlement. We are, and have always been, “a sovereign;” meaning, we have the right to govern our people.

Following the American Revolutionary War and the establishment of the new country, the tribes were recognized as sovereign within the U.S. Constitution. Even so, the push for new lands west of the Appalachians almost immediately put the Southeastern tribes at risk.

Chickasaw leaders continued to negotiate with the U.S. in hopes of holding encroaching settlers at bay. The “hand writing on the wall” became very clear when the Cherokee Nation sued in the U.S. Supreme Court to retain its lands. Even though the Court ruled in favor of the Cherokees, President Andrew Jackson responded, “[Chief Justice] John Marshall made his decision; now let him enforce it.” Despite David Crockett’s (TN) arguments against the removal to Congress, the Indian Removal Act was passed on May 28, 1830.

Removal was not the first time Chickasaws experienced broken promises, destruction and wrongdoings from Europeans and early American settlers. We had been through plenty of battles prior to our initial removal in 1837 beginning with the Battle of Chicasa in 1541, Battle of Hikia' (Ackia) in 1736  and the Red Sticks Creek War in 1813-14, to name a few. However, this event was a wrenching experience despite our leaders’ negotiations.

But, the Chickasaw people, as history indicates, picked themselves up from this experience and went to work establishing the new homeland in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).

As we established our communities, schools, churches and businesses, more challenges loomed. With the last decade of the 19th Century came allotment of our tribal lands. This was followed in the early 20th Century by the unilateral attempted dissolution of our tribe by the federal government. Our tribal government continued under Federal rule until 1983. But these events represented more assaults from which we would once again pick ourselves up and start anew.

The Chickasaw people were (and are) extraordinarily resilient!

The Chickasaw Nation would hold together and persevere against more offensives throughout the first half of the 20th Century. There would be another dissolution attempt in the 1950s, a misguided federal program to relocate Indian citizens from their tribal homes to American cities, and a continued assault on our culture known as the 1956 Indian Relocation Act. The tremendous poverty and lack of opportunity that existed added to the weight Chickasaws bore every time they had to pick themselves up again.

But a little light, and a little hope, began to shine through in the 1960s and 1970s as the U.S. finally began to recognize the importance of Indian self-determination. Our Chickasaw government had continuously functioned throughout the challenges, and now the federal government began to open its eyes to that fact. Maybe, the U.S. finally reasoned, it’s best for the Chickasaw Nation and the other tribes to utilize their own governments to figure out how best to serve their people. At last!
As you know, over the past almost 30 years the Chickasaw Nation has been the home to Chickasaw growth, opportunity, essential services and cultural enrichment. We have found our path to success and made it clear for future Chickasaw generations. We laid the bedrock for that path by picking ourselves up off the mat each time we had been knocked down.

Each of us can be thankful for the sacrifices of our Chickasaw ancestors, and proud of today’s Chickasaw Nation! And the greatest resource we have for our continued prosperity and happiness is holding this newspaper right now. It’s you! You, your family, your extended family and all Chickasaws across this country and around the world are the keys to our future as a vital, energetic and dynamic tribe.

We will no doubt face challenges in the future, and some may be daunting. However, we know from our history that Chickasaws have the will to rise up and keep walking that path together to a great future – for all Chickasaws!