CHOCTAW VISTA - OVERLOOK

This overlook is named for the Choctaw people. One of the Five Civilized Tribes from the east, these Native Americans were relocated to this part of Oklahoma (Indian Territory) by the United States government beginning in 1832. The Choctaws agreed to move from their ancestral home along the Mississippi River, with the promise that they would be able to live according to their tribal traditions and maintain their national sovereignty. The Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma extends from the border of Arkansas in the east to the Red River in the south, and the Arkansas River and Canadian River in the north. The western boundary began at Island Bayou and continued north from its source.

Choctaw is the English version of the tribal name Chahta (chah'ta) meaning "red" symbolizing "war towns" to the Native Americans. In the middle 1500s, when Spanish conquistador Hernando DeSoto's soldiers demanded women and carriers, Choctaw warriors battled courageously against overwhelming odds. They were loyal friends of the United States fighting with George Washington during the American Revolution, Andrew Jackson against the Creek at Horseshoe Bend and against the English in the War of 1812. During the Civil War they sided with the Confederacy and fought bravely.

But it was for diplomacy, not war, for which the Choctaw people were known. They patiently negotiated with Congress for compensation for inequities produced from broken promises made to the Choctaw during the western expansion of the United States. For nearly a century, the Choctaw Nation maintained their national sovereignty in this new land and in 1907 became part of the state of Oklahoma.

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