Native Americans: The Choctaw Quiz

Answer: Southeastern United States

The Choctaw people trace their ancestry back to the Southeastern part of the United States. There was a heavy population in Mississippi but they also occupied parts of Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida. Today there are two Choctaw tribes: the Mississippi Choctaws and the Oklahoma Choctaws.

Answer: Clay with straw or grass

The chukka was close to octagonal in shape and was made by putting up a framework of wood and then caking the framework with a mixture of clay and straw or grass found locally. A single doorway was created and the roof was laid with grass. An opening was kept in the middle of the roof to allow smoke from the fire inside to escape and the floor was a bit below ground level to provide insulation. Seating and beds surrounded the inside edges of the home as guests were always welcome.

Answer: All of these

Choctaws have a matriarchal society where the women make the majority of the decisions for the tribe. Only in times of war was the chief the ultimate person of authority. On a daily basis the women grew the family's food and gathered local supplies. They also were in charge of taking care of the children and of making the clothes.

Answer: Sassafras

Sassafras tea, which tastes very similar to today's root beer, was said to have been introduced to the Choctaw people by the Cajuns in the Louisiana area. The sassafras root was placed in water and simmered in a pot over a fire. The Choctaw believed the hot tea not only tasted good but helped cleanse their blood.

Answer: Stickball

The players in stickball use a handcrafted wooden stick and a woven ball. The idea is to move the ball down the field to the opponent's goal without using hands. Historically, there was no set size for the field and some areas were similar to the size of an American football field while others stretched several miles long.

A team's medicine man stood at the goal and chanted or sang to bring good luck to the group. Communities of Choctaw would travel to these games and watch them for sport or for a peaceful way to settle arguments without resorting to violence.

The game is still played today and uses hand-made equipment.

Answer: Cane

Cane grows throughout the region where the Choctaw lived, especially around the banks of the rivers. It could be harvested most of the year but the majority was gathered during the fall. The women then cut the cane into smaller strips, dyed it using a variety of natural ingredients, and wove the final product.

The baskets were used to store goods, transport materials, or for use in cooking as a strainer or a sieve. Basket weaving, taught through the generations, is still being done today and the Choctaw tribes are also helping with environmental groups to save the dwindling cane growth.

Answer: Putting the corpse on a scaffolding and then picking the bones clean

After someone died, the body was cleansed and dressed in the best clothes. A scaffold was erected nearby and the body was placed on it. Mourners came and sat on benches around the scaffold to grieve. This period of time could take months as people came to accept closure.

At the end of this time, a bone picker appeared. These were usually men and they had distinguishing tattoos and long fingernails. They climbed the scaffold and, using their nails, scraped the remaining flesh from the bones. The bones were then put into a box and given to the family.

A huge feast was then done to say a final good-bye and the box of bones was placed in a community charnel house.

Answer: Milkweed, nettles, and bark

Choctaw were skilled in the art of weaving and textile fabrication. They used plant based material that grew in the area such as milkweed, stinging nettles, and bark from the mulberry tree. The women separated the fibers and then twisted them with a spindle to create yarn.

They then used a manual twining method to weave the horizontal (weft) threads through the vertical (warp) threads to create fabric. The yarns could be dyed to add color and ornaments, such as feathers, could be interlaced as well.

Answer: Blowgun

The blowgun was made from river cane cut to around six feet long. It was straightened over heat and the insides carefully polished with grinding stones to make it smooth internally. The darts were made from hardwood and sharpened to a fine point on one end. To the other end was attached thistle down held by string. Young boys were usually the group to utilize this weapon.

They would hold it and blow in one end with a short blast of air. This weapon worked very well at short ranges to bring down small animals for the family's uses.

Answer: Trail of Tears

In 1830 Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which exchanged land in the Southeastern part of the United States (rich in cotton and heavily prized by white settlers) for land in the Oklahoma region. Even though the tribes living there were supposed to be negotiated with on good terms, this fact was often ignored.

In 1831, the Choctaw were the first to be driven from their land. They had to make the long, brutal journey on foot and often without food or help. The Choctaw people lost thousands along the way.

It was truly a trail of tears.