Yowani Choctaws - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Yowani ('Yguanes/Yugani/Iguanes-Spanish') is a branch of the Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

tribe which became part of the Caddo

Caddo

The Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...

Confederacy. The Yowani were named for their village, the reason for the founding of a trading post and what became the European-American town of Shubuta, Mississippi

Shubuta, Mississippi

Shubuta is a town in Clarke County, Mississippi, United States. Shubuta was incorporated in 1865. It had become a trading post community in the 1830s, but it was not until the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed under the Indian Removal Act and the Choctaw ceded the land to the United...

nearby. The Yowani continued to expand their holdings, eventually venturing into Louisiana, where they established close ties with the Caddo and adopted many of the Caddo customs. When Louisiana became part of the United States under the Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

in 1803, many of the Indian tribes in the territory wanted to emigrate to less hostile environs. Spain agreed to allow the Yowanis and the Alabama-Coushatta to move to Spanish Texas

Spanish Texas

Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. Although Spain claimed ownership of the territory, which comprised part of modern-day Texas, including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers, the Spanish did not attempt to colonize the area until after...

. In 1824, a second group of Yowani received permission from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

to establish villages in Texas. The Yowani gradually abandoned their original Mississippi homelands, and by 1850 most Yowani lived in Texas, Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

, or in Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Rapides Parish, Louisiana

-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...

.

During the Texas Revolution

Texas Revolution

The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...

in 1836, the Yowani were a party to a peace treaty with the provisional government of Texas.. Following Texas's independence and the creation of the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

, relations between Indian tribes and English-speaking settlers deteriorated. Under President Mirabeau B. Lamar

Mirabeau B. Lamar

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was a Texas politician, diplomat and soldier who was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was the second President of the Republic of Texas, after David G. Burnet and Sam Houston.-Early years:Lamar grew up at Fairfield, his father's...

, the Texas Army drove most of the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

Indians out of Texas. After a confrontation between a group of Indians and a few of the residents of Nacogdoches, which resulted in the deaths of at least three white men, a vigilante

Vigilante

A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....

group set out after the offending Indians. Unable to catch the perpetrators, the mob sought revenge by attacking the peaceful and unsuspecting Choctaw village, where they murdered eleven. The survivors split up, with most leaving Texas, at least temporarily. They believed Texas was a dangerous place for any Indian in 1840.

Between 1840 and 1843, rogue elements of the Mexican Militia, led by Vicente Cordova, fought a guerrilla war against remnant groups of displaced tribes, primarily Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

but including some Yowani Choctaw. The conflict culminated in the Battle of San Antonio in September 1842. There, both Indian and Mexican regulars were involved in the Dawson Massacre

Dawson Massacre

The Dawson Massacre, also called the Dawson Expedition, was an incident during the Mexican Invasions of Texas, in which thirty-six Texan militiamen were killed by Mexican soldiers with artillery on September 17, 1842 near San Antonio de Bexar...

and the Battle of Salado Creek

Salado Creek

Salado Creek is a waterway in San Antonio that runs from Northern Bexar County for about to the San Antonio River near Buena Vista.-Watershed:...

following the departure of Mexican

Mexican people

Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....

troops from Texas soil.

For the remnant tribes, peace would come the following year with Sam Houston

Sam Houston

Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...

as Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

President. The Treaty of Birds Fort brought an end to hostilities, especially for the Cherokee under Chief Chicken Trotter. Although only a few Choctaw were involved with the Cordova/Chicken Trotter group, the peace would have long-lasting effects on the Yowanis. Following the end of the Texas-Indian Wars

Texas-Indian Wars

The Texas–Indian wars were a series of conflicts between settlers in Texas and Plains Indians. These conflicts began when the first European and mostly Spanish settlers moved into Spanish Texas, and continued through Texas's time as part of Mexico, when more Europeans, especially Americans...

, some of the Yowani returned to East Texas, where they settled with members of Chicken Trotter Cherokee and a few tribes to form the Mount Tabor Indian Community. Most of the male members of the community served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. In the early 20th century, several members of the Yowani Choctaw, led by William Clyde Thompson

William Clyde Thompson

Captain William Clyde Thompson was a Texas Choctaw leader who rallied against the Dawes Commission for Choctaw enrollment. He was born in 1839 near Fort Towson in the Choctaw Nation.-Background:...

of Texas, relocated to the Chickasaw Nation

Chickasaw Nation

The Chickasaw Nation is a federally recognized Native American nation, located in Oklahoma. They are one of the members of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Five Civilized Tribes were differentiated from other Indian reservations in that they had semi-autonomous constitutional governments and...

to be included in the Dawes Commission

Dawes Commission

The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893...

Final Rolls as citizens by blood of the Choctaw Nation

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland comprising twelve tribal districts. The Choctaw Nation maintains a special relationship with both the United States and Oklahoma governments...

. A long political struggle ensued between 1898 and 1909. In 1905 all the Yowani were stricken from the Final Rolls of the Choctaw Nation. Thompson appealed the matter to the United States Supreme Court. After a favorable response the families were included on a 1909 Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

reinstatement list giving them citizenship in the Choctaw Nation.

Origins

The Yowani Choctaws gained their name from the town in which they lived. The Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

people had established a town named Yowani, near what is now the town of Shubuta, Mississippi

Shubuta, Mississippi

along the Chickasawhay River

Chickasawhay River

The Chickasawhay River is a river, about long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. It is a principal tributary of the Pascagoula River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Chickasawhay's tributaries also drain a portion of western Alabama...

. Over time, this group expanded its holdings westward to the eastern dividing ridge of Bogue Homa, then northward as far as present day Pachuta Creek. From this position the territory ran south to the confluence of the Chickasawhay and Buckatunna Rivers. To the east, its lands ran into whate are now Greene

Greene County, Alabama

Greene County is the least populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island. As of 2010 the population was 9,045...

and Choctaw

Choctaw County, Alabama

Choctaw County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was established on December 29, 1847 and named for the Choctaw tribe of American Indians. As of 2010 the population was 13,859. The county seat is Butler.- History :...

Counties in Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, bordering on the Muscogee-Creek Nation.

By 1764, a group of Yowani had moved to Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

and established contact with the Caddo

Caddo

. Over time, the Yowani adopted Caddo customs. The groups became very interlinked, and anthropologist James Mooney

James Mooney

James Mooney was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. He did major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as those on the Great Plains...

later listed the Yowani as one of the thirteen divisions of the Caddo Confederacy.

Moving westward

At the time that the Yowanis ventured into Louisiana

Louisiana

, the territory was under Spanish control. In 1800, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

traded Louisiana

Louisiana

to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and the following year the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

purchased the land

Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

. Many residents of Louisiana, including many of the Indian tribes, did not wish to be under the authority of the United States. Spain agreed to allow several Indian tribes, including the Yowani Choctaw and the Alabama-Coushatta, to relocate to the neighboring Spanish province of Texas

Spanish Texas

. Other Indian tribes later emigrated to Texas to avoid the Americans; this included the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

, Muscogee-Creek, Seminole

Seminole

The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...

, Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

, Delaware, Quapaw

Quapaw

The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...

, Kickapoo and Miami Indians. Following the Mexican War of Independence

Mexican War of Independence

The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...

, Mexico assumed control of Texas

Texas

. In 1824, another group of Yowani, led by Atahobia, petitioned the Mexican government to settle within the province of Texas

Mexican Texas

Mexican Texas is the name given by Texas history scholars to the period between 1821 and 1836, when Texas was an integral part of Mexico. The period began with Mexico's victory over Spain in its war of independence in 1821. For the first several years of its existence, Mexican Texas operated very...

. They were given permission to establish several villages east of the Trinity River

Trinity River (Texas)

The Trinity River is a long river that flows entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It rises in extreme north Texas, a few miles south of the Red River. The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the south side of the Red River....

and west of the border with Louisiana.

During the period between 1810 and 1836, many of the relocated tribes, including the Yowani Choctaw, were often subject to attacks from the Comanche

Comanche

The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...

who roamed the western part of Texas, as well as the Lipan Apache, who were located in the southern part of the province. The Yowani often joined forces with the English-speaking settlers against the nomadic tribes.

By 1832, all but two families had left the traditional Yowani lands in Mississippi to migrate west. Although some settled briefly in what is now Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Rapides Parish, Louisiana

-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...

, by 1850 many of the Yowani had settled in the Chickasaw Nation

Chickasaw Nation

in Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

. A small number did remain in Louisiana and established a close bond with the Coushatta

Coushatta

----The Coushatta are a historic Muskogean-speaking Native American people living primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana. When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territory of present-day Georgia and Alabama...

Texas Indian Wars 1835–1843

In 1835, English-speaking settlers and some anti-Santa Anna

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...

Tejano

Tejano or Texano is a term used to identify a Texan of Mexican heritage.Historically, the Spanish term Tejano has been used to identify different groups of people...

s in Texas launched the Texas Revolution

Texas Revolution

to gain independence from Mexico. The provisional Texas government sent Sam Houston

Sam Houston

, a man much respected by the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

tribe, to negotiate a treaty with the Indians living in East Texas

East Texas

East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...

. A treaty was concluded at Bowles Village on February 23, 1836, between the Cherokees and Twelve Associated Tribes and the provisional Texas government. This treaty was the first in an attempt to form an intertribal community in which the Choctaw were fully involved.

In March 1836, the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

was established and won its full independence from Mexico the following month. Elected the first president of the Republic, Houston continued to negotiate peace with the various Indian tribes. After 1837, the Yowani villages were combined to form a single village on Attoyac Bayou in extreme southeastern Rusk County

Rusk County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 47,372 people, 17,364 households, and 12,727 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 19,867 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

. An 1837 census of Indians in the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

noted that 70 Yowani Choctaw lived in this village, along with several Chickasaw

Chickasaw

The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...

. The census also stated that these people were peaceable.

The Texas Legislature refused to ratify many of Houston's treaties. The second president of the Republic, Mirabeau Lamar, did not share Houston's respect for the native tribes, and refused to honor Houston's treaties. New settlers to the region often settled on lands that had been granted to Indian tribes, and some tribes retaliated against them. In the summer of 1839, Lamar ordered the Texian Army

Texian Army

The Texian Army was a military organization consisting of volunteer and regular soldiers who fought against the Mexican army during the Texas Revolution. Approximately 3,700 men joined the army between October 2, 1835 during the Battle of Gonzales through the end of the war on April 21, 1836, at...

to attack the Cherokee villages. The Americans eventually drove the Cherokee out of Texas and into Indian Territory.

Several small Cherokee bands escaped detection and were not forcibly removed from their homes. One small band, led by Chicken Trotter, also known as Devireaux Jarrett Bell, attempted to regain some of their lands in 1840. While his petition was pending in the Republic legislature, Bell and several other Cherokees were involved in an altercation with three white men near Nacogdoches. The resulting scuffle led to the deaths of the three whites. Knowing the state of Indian–white relations, Bell led his group to Mexico.

Angry at the death of the three white men, a vigilante group formed in Nacogdoches. Unable to catch up to Bell and his group, the vigilantes decided to extract vengeance from the nearby Yowani village where they murdered some eleven Choctaw men, women, and children. After the attack, the Yowani Choctaws abandoned their village. Some returned to Mississippi and others moved to Indian Territory to join the Choctaw Nation. A third group joined the Caddo at the Brazos Reservation further west and eventually accompanied the Caddo to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma. A fourth group, led by Woody Jones, chose to remain in East Texas, moving further into the piney woods to avoid detection.

Throughout Lamar's term as president, fighting persisted between the Republic of Texas and various groups of Indians, including those under Chicken Trotter/Bell, who launched a guerrilla campaign against Texans. When Lamar's term expired, Sam Houston was elected to a second term as president. Houston began treaty negotiations with the tribes, culminating in the Treaty of Birds Fort, which was concluded on September 29, 1843. This treaty ended most hostilities in Texas with the immigrant tribes. Although the Yowani were not a direct party to it, they had several ties to those in attendance. Many of the displaced tribes, including some Yowani Choctaw, formed a new community, Mount Tabor Indian Community. Many Yowani continued to live under the authority of Woody Jones in Houston County

Houston County, Texas

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 23,185. Its county seat is Crockett. Houston County is named for Samuel Houston, a president of the Republic of Texas and Governor of Texas...

near the border with Trinity County.

Mount Tabor Community

The Mount Tabor Community continued to grow after Texas joined the United States in 1845. President James K. Polk

James K. Polk

James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...

granted permission to the Ridge Party of Cherokees to relocate there from Indian Territory. More Yowani Choctaws, led by Atahobia's grandson Archibald Thompson, also relocated to the Mount Tabor Community by 1850.

The Civil War

When the American Civil War

American Civil War

erupted, almost all of the people living at Mount Tabor supported the Confederacy

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

. Many enlisted in the Confederate Army as part of the Cherokee Mounted Rifles under Stand Watie. During the war, two other Cherokee communities formed in Texas. These were mainly for the protection of Confederate soldiers families. Besides Rusk County, there was a small community near present day Waco

Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....

and later as an offshoot to the Rusk County group, another formed in Wood County near Quitman. Of the Waco group, there is no information that indicates this was anything but a Cherokee community. However, the Wood County group consisted of both Cherokees and Choctaws.

While a few of the Yowani Choctaw enlisted with the Cherokee Mounted Rifles, most became part of the Texas 14th Cavalry. The war took a heavy toll on the community as nearly one-quarter of all male residents were dead by the end of the war.

Dawes Commission

Between 1866 and the close of the Dawes Commission

Dawes Commission

The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893...

Final Rolls, 80% of the Cherokees left Mount Tabor to return north to the Cherokee Nation. Most Choctaws remained in Texas, with a few relocating in the Chickasaw Nation. Only during the period of the Dawes Commission did a number of Choctaws take the opportunities available and move north.

From this just a handful moved to Atoka in the Choctaw Nation and only one family moved to Tuskahoma. The majority moved into Pickens County in the Chickasaw Nation near present day Marlow, Oklahoma

Marlow, Oklahoma

Marlow is a city in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,592 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Marlow is located at ....

.

Many of the Yowani Choctaws from Texas sought on the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes as Citizens by Blood in the Choctaw Nation. In 1906, 70 members of the Yowani Choctaws who lived in Texas were stricken from the membership rolls of the Choctaw Nation. William C. Thompson and his cousin John Thurston Thompson, Jr., sued. In 1909, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Choctaws should be reinstated.

Recent years

Throughout the twentieth century there have been strong leaders among he Texas Choctaws. The most recognizable would be Martin Luther Thompson. However all deferred to the Cherokees for overall leadership. No Choctaw had ever became Chairman of the Executive Committee before 1988. Following the separation from the Cherokee Nation caused by the 1975 constitution, Foster T. Bean, an original enrollee on the Guion Miller Roll, took over for W. W. (Bill) Keeler, as he resigned to become the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Judge Bean served in that capacity until retiring from it in 1988. He was replaced by J.C. Thompson, who, although Cherokee through the Hicks family was one-eighth Choctaw and one-thirty-second Chickasaw. Thompson held the position for eleven years until Terry Thompson-easterly took over in 1989. Terry was descended from Arthur Thompson, brother of William Clyde Thompson. Terry was the first woman to hold the position and the first to have no Cherokee blood. Terry was Choctaw, Chickasaw and Muscogee-Creek. This making her the first person of Creek blood to head the community. In 2001 she was replaced by Peggy Dean-Atwood, Choctaw, Chickasaw and a descendant of Archibald Thompson. In 2002, Dr. J.C. Thompson was again Chairman and remains to this day. He is assisted by Ras Pool also descended from the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw people. Ras is the grandson of Martin Luther Thompson.

Today the biggest problem facing the group is the health of its leadership which has been continuing failing. Dr. Thompson has continually tried to find others to take the wheel, most recently attempting to draft Jay Hannah as Chairman.

External links

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Origins

Moving westward

Texas Indian Wars 1835–1843

Mount Tabor Community

The Civil War

Dawes Commission

Recent years

See also

Sources

External links