Free Republic

In the Northeast woodlands the most feared and hated nation was the Iroquois — especially the Mohawk and Seneca. The Algonquian speaking nations and Iroquoian speaking Huron were particular enemies of the Iroquois. In the 1640s, the Iroquois unleashed a virtual genocide on the other Nations of the region, one that was not quickly forgotten. The Ojibwa defeated a number of the Iroquois incursions and ran the Sioux out of their forested homeland onto the plains. The Ojibwa (Chippewa and associated bands) occupied more land than any other tribe ever has from Manitoba to Indiana and took over smaller tribes...

On October 12th, the menu spotlights National Gumbo Day for food holidays. This heavily seasoned, stew-like dish fills us up on chilly fall days. #NationalGumboDay Originating in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, Gumbo typically consists of strongly-flavored stock with meat or shellfish, a thickener, and seasoned vegetables. The seasoned vegetables may include celery, bell peppers, and onions. In Cajun cuisine, the trio is known as the “holy trinity.” Most people serve Gumbo over rice. Gumbo also falls into different categories based on the following types of thickener used: African vegetable okra Choctaw spice filé powder (dried and ground sassafras...

Dubai -- A US Navy warship fired a warning flare to wave off an Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat coming straight at it during a tense encounter in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, officials said Tuesday. The incident on Monday involving the Guard and the Navy comes as tensions remain high over stalled negotiations over Iran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels under decreasing international oversight. Meanwhile, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Iran now plans to enrich uranium through a second set of advanced centrifuges at its underground Fordo...

It’s a very sad day for Cleveland. Today we lay to rest the Cleveland Indians. The owners will now call the team the Cleveland Guardians, (should be the Cleveland Sell Outs.) Even though we saw it coming, and we should have been prepared, it still seems as if we’re losing a member of our family. For me the tribe represented something that I was able to identify with. Being Choctaw, it was a team who represented me, something to be proud of. But someone at the offices in Cleveland took the bait and decided it was now shameful to be...

A fact that is conveniently overlooked by those calling for reparations. The 13th Amendment did not free all slaves in the boundaries of modern-day US. Members of five Native American nations, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations (known as the Five Tribes), owned black slaves. Located outside the territorial boundaries of the US in a region known as Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma), these sovereign nations were not affected by proclamations or constitutional amendments. Instead, separate treaties had to be made between the US and these Native American nations not only to free slaves, but also to formally end...

CHOCTAW, Okla. - Debbie Foster didn't recognize the number. She answered anyway. It was one of those pesky automated robocalls that disrupted Foster's day and tugged at her heart strings. The robocaller claimed to be raising money for an organization by the name of Breast Cancer Health Council. “My very, very dearest friend died from [breast cancer], and I was with her during chemotherapy," Foster said. Don’t be fooled. It might sound like a charity, but it is not. Breast Cancer Health Council is registered as a Political Action Committee, an organization that raises and spends money to elect and...

There are today eight living Muskogean languages, Alabama, Apalachee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Florida Seminole, Koasati, Miccosukee and Oklahoma Muskogee (Mvskoke). In the past, there were at least seven more Muskogean languages, but they are now extinct. Ironically, of all these surviving Muskogean languages, Muskogee is the most aberrant. In plain English, that means that Muskogee, the language for which the Muskogean Language Family was named, is the least similar to the other languages. The origin of Muskogee’s uniqueness is a Sherlock Holmes mystery that has yet to be solved.

<p>POPLARVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Six foals sired by a cream-colored stallion called DeSoto scamper across a pasture in southwest Mississippi — the first new blood in a century for a line of horses brought to America by Spanish conquistadors and bred by Choctaw Indians who were later forced out of their ancestral homelands.</p>

A 6-year-old girl was removed from the California home of the foster family she has lived with for four years because she has a tiny sliver of Native American heritage — despite resistance from her foster parents and their tens of thousands of supporters. Rusty and Summer Page of Santa Clarita, California, have long fought to gain custody of Lexi, 6, who is 1.56 percent Choctaw Native American. That figure means that Lexi's home placement is dictated by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. That law "seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families," according to its...

First use of Code Talkers in combat, 1918 The use of pre American languages to protect U.S. voice com began in, 1918. Early on, in World War I, "Captain Lawrence noted conscripts speaking Choctaw bla bla, and recognized a potential to secure line active, field communications. Choctaw com contributed directly to constriction and later withdrawal of two companies during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and were later used in the implementing a successful surprise attack on the Germans at Forest Farm. A belated program expanded in to World War II. http://www.comanchemuseum.com/code_talkers Comanche Code Talkers of World War II. In late 1940, 17...

As Biden speaks at event named for Old Hickory tonight, more appalling stories show party should dump him as icon Spring means that appeals for money are bursting forth from both major political parties. It also means Democratic officials in states and counties around the country are busy getting people out to their major fundraiser, the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner. And theyÂ’re bringing in the big guns: Vice President Joe Biden will keynote the South Carolina DemocratsÂ’ dinner tonight.But after an election in which Democrats rode a wave of minority support to keep the White House and Senate, party activists should...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2008 – During World War I, the Choctaw Nation began a long tradition of service to the country when a group of Choctaws volunteered as “code talkers,” sending messages for the military in a code derived from their own language to confuse German spies. Today, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma continues that tradition of service, extending it to include support of its members and employees who serve in the National Guard and reserves and families of military members. The organization is being recognized for its efforts with the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Serving...

Several Oklahoma legislators are concerned that individuals and organizations are quietly working on plans to create a privately-operated tollway in Oklahoma. Many referred to Spain-based Cintra, which has been involved in the development of a proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. Cintra also took over the operation of the Indiana East-West Toll Road from the Indiana Department of Transportation in 2006. Oklahoma State Sen. Randy Brogdon and state representatives Eric Proctor, Richard Morrisette, Scott Inman and Charles Key all expressed concern that efforts to open up Oklahoma to a privately operated tollway system were being kept out of the view of the general...

DURANT, Okla. -- Not many Choctaw Indians can speak their ancient tongue anymore.As was the case in many tribes, the Choctaw elders wanted their children to speak the white man's language, while the U.S. government tried hard to eradicate it on its own."Choctaw was all I could talk until I was 9 years old," said Bertram Bobb, 83, one of the tribe's elders. "But I can't speak it fluently anymore. Not too many can."There was a time -- many years ago now -- when the Choctaw language not only served as a cultural touchstone but also saved lives.Although few people...

CAMP MABRY, Texas (Sept. 6, 2007) – The Texas Military Forces will honor the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I during events here at the Brig. Gen. John C.L. Scribner Texas Military Forces Museum Sept. 16 beginning at 2 p.m. Less well known than the Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific theater of operations in World War II, the Choctaws pioneered the U.S. military’s use of a Native American language to baffle enemy code-breakers.Lt. Gen. Charles G. Rodriguez, Adjutant General of Texas, will present 18 Lone Star Medals of Valor to the families of the Choctaw Code Talkers. In...

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. -- The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians appeared Thursday to have elected a new chief for the first time in three decades. Eight-term incumbent Chief Phillip Martin, 81, trailed former Tribal Council member Beasley Denson by 211 votes according to complete but unofficial returns from Tuesday's runoff. The results of the close race are expected to be certified Friday. During Martin's tenure, the 9,000-member tribe emerged from extreme poverty thanks in large part to the development of a sprawling resort with casinos and a water park on tribal land in the red clay hills of east central Mississippi....

WASHINGTON - New evidence is emerging that the top Democrat on the Senate committee currently investigating Jack Abramoff got political money arranged by the lobbyist back in 2002 shortly after the lawmaker took action favorable to Abramoff's tribal clients. A lawyer for the Louisiana Coushatta Indians told The Associated Press that Abramoff instructed the tribe to send $5,000 to Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record)'s political group just three weeks after the North Dakota Democrat urged fellow senators to fund a tribal school program Abramoff's clients wanted to use.The check was one of about five dozen the Coushattas listed...

Not sure what has happened yet. But there appears to have been a very large explosion in Choctaw, OK. Choctaw is just East of OKC and NE of Norman.

Dear Editor of the Columbia Tribune: I was sitting at home the other evening when there was a knock on my door. When I answered, I found two young men, dressed alarmingly like Nazi Youth members, standing at my door. I saw their name tags and the identification of a Christian church. I informed them, immediately, that mine was not a Christian home and that they should leave. Ah, but that was not enough. They demanded my name and an explanation; they simply could not accept that not everyone in the world is a Christian. I gave them an explanation....