The Choctaws were the first tribes to be moved to
Oklahoma in 1830 on the
Trail of Tears. They went voluntarily. They could see that it was
a waste of time to rebel. At the time, instead of fighting back, they
adapted.
Once in Oklahoma, the Choctaw quickly accepted a
new religion, although they did not give up their own. They accepted a
new educational system, the white man's school, although they taught
their children about their own customs in their own way. They accepted
a new constitution and legal system - the Constitution of the United
States. But they also kept their own laws. Women remained the head of
households in the Choctaw tribes.
Today, the
Choctaw Nation is involved in many economic development programs that
benefit their people. These include new shopping centers, open to the
public, staffed by Choctaws.
