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THE CHIEFS OF THE CHOCTAWS
"I have no ancestor; the sun is my father the moon is my mother"
(lots of photos so page
takes time to load)
Pushmataha |
Greenwood Leflore |
Moshulatubbee |
David Folsom |
District Chiefs During Removal 1830-1834
 Moshulatubbee District..........Moshulatubbee
(Situated between the Arkansas and Canadian Rivers on the north,
by the Winding Stair Mountain on the south, and by the State of Arkansas on the east)
 Apukshunnubbee District.....Greenwood Leflore
(Situated east of Kiamichi River, south of Winding Stair Mountain, north of Red River
and west of the State of Arkansas)
 Pushmataha District....Nitakechi or Nitukechi
(Situated west of Kiamichi River, north of Red River, south of Canadian River,
with no western limit)
The purpose of the districts was to transfer the people from Mississippi into
the new country just as they were at home. But this did not work and the clans
were all destroyed and the Choctaw people were all scattered
District Chiefs in the New Territory
Moshulatubbee District
Moshulatubbee..........1834-1836
Joseph Kincaid.........1836-1838
John McKinney..........1838-1842
Nathaniel Folsom.......1842-1846
Peter Folsom...........1846-1850
Cornelius McCurtain....1850-1854
David McCoy............1854-1857
Apukshunnubbee District
Thomas LeFlore........1834-1838
James Fletcher........1838-1842
Thomas LeFlore........1842-1850
George Harkins........1850-1857
Pushmataha District
Nitakechi................1834-1838
Pierre Juzan.............1838-1841
Isaac Folsom.............1841-1846
Nitakechi.....................Died
Salas Fisher.............1846-1854
George Folsom............1850-1854
Nicholas Cochnauer.......1854-1857
In 1857 the Choctaw Constitution made a provision
stating an elected official would hold a nation office, rather than a district.
Governors
Alfred Wade................1857-1858
Tandy Walker...............1858-1859
Brazil LeFlore.............1859-1860
Col.Tandy Walker |
Principal Chiefs
The Principal Chief concept was first established in the 1860 Constitution,
the seventh Constitution of the Choctaw Nation. At that time the three district Chiefs
were continued. This constitutional system of government, with a few minor revisions,
prevailed until the abolition of the Choctaw National Government in 1906.
(photes from the BISHINIK March 1979 used with permission)
George Hudson..............1860-1862
Samuel Garland..............1862-1864
Peter Pitchlynn............1864-1866
Allen Wright...............1866-1870
William Bryant.............1870-1874
Coleman Cole...............1874-1878
Isaac Garvin...............1878-1880
Jack McCurtain.............1880-1884
Edmund McCurtain...........1884-1886
Thompson McKinney..........1886-1888
Ben Smallwood..............1888-1890
Wilson Jones...............1890-1894
Jefferson Gardner..........1894-1896
Green McCurtain............1896-1900
Gilbert Dukes..............1900-1902
After the Indian lands were allotted by the Dawes Commission, the tribes had
only a "token government" for many years until their sovereignty was
re-established. During this period the Chiefs were appointed by the president
(photes from the BISHINIK
March 1979 used with permission)
Green McCurtain............1902-1910 Appointed by President
Victor Locke, Jr...........1910-1918 Appointed by President Howard Taft
William F. Sample..........1918-1922 Appointed by President Woodrow Wilson
William H. Harrison........1922-1929 Appointed by President Warren G.Harding
Ben Dwight.................1930-1936 Appointed by President Herbert Hoover
William Durant.............1937-1948 Appointed by President
Harry J.W. Belvin..........1948-1975 Appointed by President
An Act of October 22, 1970 (84 Stat. 1091) authorized each of the Five Civilized Tribes
to popularly select their Principal Chief. The Choctaw Tribe held its first election
in August, 1971, to select their Principal Chief. Harry J. W. Belvin was elected to
serve a term of 4 years. Prior to his election, Chief Belvin had already served as
Principal Chief of the Choctaw Tribe for 23 consecutive years. In the 1975 election,
C. David Gardner was elected Principal Chief. Upon his death, Chief Gardner was
replaced by Hollis E. Roberts, who was chosen by popular vote. Following Chief
Robers resignation, Chief Gregory E. Pyle was sworn into office on June 9, 1997.
[The term "PRINCIPAL CHIEF" is no longer used.]
Harry J.W. Belvin..........1971-1975
C. David Gardner...........1975-1978
Hollis E. Roberts......... 1978-1997
Gregory E. Pyle............ 1997- ****
Present (2004) Chief Gregory E. Pyle & Assistant Chief Mike Bailey
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DISTRICT OR SUB-CHIEFS
Men of prominence were elected to those offices and they had
considerable authority, but as time went on their power dwindled away
and the Principal Chief became more powerful
[not a complete list]
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First District
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Second District |
Third District |
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Lewis Cass...1859
Kennedy McCurtain ...1859
Reuben Perry...1860-1862
Olasichvbbi...1877
William M. Anderson...1888-1890
James Bond...1891-1893
Jackson Kampelvbbi...1893-1896
Sam Hicks...1896
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Hot-abi...1859
Mitanvbbi [no date]
Ahuklitvbbi...1860-1862
Capt. Nanomvntvbbi...1874-1880
James Wright...1881
Thomas H. Byington...1881
Phillips Noah...1888-1890
Felekatvbbi...1886-1888
Alex H. Reid...1890-1894
Stephen Ontahyvbbi...1895-1896
Gooding Nelson [no date]
Sam Taylor [no date]
Imayvbbi [no date]
Cosum Wade [no date] |
George Folsom...1860
Harris Franklin...1880
Stephen Hobert...1888-1890
Mack McGould...1891-1894
Abel Foster...1895
William E. Cobb [no date]
Simon Logan [no date]
Moses Wade [no date]
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If you have information on the Chiefs of the Choctaws
or believe something to be in error, please e-mail me.
Thank you.
Tammy Dice Jones
More about Pushmataha can be found at the
following sites :
Portrait of
Pushmataha by Charles Byrd King 1824
Pushmatah's nephew named Oklahoma succeeded him as
hereditary Chief but did not serve long because of his dissipation. This
is the first time the name Oklahoma appears in history ("A Story of
Choctaw Chiefs" by Peter J. Hudson April 1934) From the Bishinik
March 1979 - After the death of Pushmataha on Christmas Eve, 1824 in
Washington, D.C., Topenahomma, another nephew of Pushmataha, was chosen
by the Okla Hannali general council of Chiefs to head the district.
The United States government recognized General Humming
Bird as the successor of Pushmatah's nephew. He died September 1828 and
is buried a Kusha Cemetery in Mississippi, where a sister of Pushmataha,
Hotema was buried. He served with General Anthony Wayne during the
Indian War in Ohio.("A Story of Choctaw Chiefs" by Peter J.
Hudson April 1934)
The Southwest Division in 1826 selected Sam Garland as
their Chief for a term of four years. Both Nitvkecki and General
Hummengbird, hereditary chiefs of the Southwest District, refused to
recognize Sam Garland as Chief("A Story of Choctaw Chiefs" by
Peter J. Hudson April 1934)
Apvckshvnvbbee
Robert Cole succeeded Apvckshvnvbbee in 1824. He only
served about a year and a half and was succeeded by Greenwood Leflore
who was said to be his nephew. Robert Cole did not move to Indian
Territory. ("A Story of Choctaw Chiefs" by Peter J. Hudson
April 1934). Col. Robert Cole's mother Shumaka was a sister of the Upper
District's Chief Apuckshenubbee. Robert Cole married a full-blood
Choctaw named Sallie and they had twelve children ( "Coles in the
Fire" by Chris B. Morgan 1994)
Greenwood Leflore : Coming
Soon
Miko Homastvbbi, (Pushkush/Homasstubbi, also known as
Moshulatubbee)father of Mosholetvbbi, died in 1809 and was succeeded as
hereditary Chief by his son. ("A Story of Choctaw Chiefs" by
Peter J. Hudson April 1934)
For information on Mosholetvbbi :THE
LAST GREAT MINGO
THE STORY OF MOSHULATUBBEE
THE LAST OF THE ROYAL KINGS OF THE CHOCTAWS By Wanda L Clark
Last of the hereditary
Chiefs
Colonel David Folsom was born January 25, 1791 in MS
the son of Nathaniel Folson,a white man. His mother was a niece of Miko
Puscus, a full blood Choctaw, and a hereditary chief of one of the
Choctaw clans.
Click
Here for more information on David Folsom
Silas Fisher was educated at the Choctaw Academy in
Kentucky; he married a woman whose father was a white man named Kelly.
He was a captain in Leflore's district. (Indian Removal by Grant
Foreman) Silias D. Fisher was the son of Joseph Fisher, a white man. He
lived in Blue Co., Choctaw Nation, now Bryan Co., Oklahoma. ("A
Story of Choctaw Chiefs" by Peter J. Hudson April 1934)
GOVERNERS OF THE CHOCTAWSCol. Tandy Walker, Oct. 11,
1814- Feb. 2, 1877 was born in Mississippi, his father was John Walker,
of Virginia and his mother was 1/2 Choctaw woman of the Riddle family.
Tandy was light complected and was often thought to be an intermarried
white. He lived at Skullyville, and when the Butterfield Stage Line went
through, his was the first stop in the Choctaw Nation. When Col. Walker
was the "Chief" of the Choctaws the office was called
"Governor". He was not elected but as President of the Senate
was appointed at the death of Alfred Wade then Governor. Col. Walker's
family was often at odds with the McCurtain family. His first wife was
Elzira, and his second wife, Cillen Krebs, was the daughter of Placide
and Rebecca Folsom Krebs. (Dec, 5, 1827- mar. 16, 1884). See
WWW2.mmind.net/beegee/skullyville.html for a pic. of Col. Walker's
headstone. The name Tandy was a common name in the Walker family, an
older Tandy Walker in Alabama was a famous Indian Fighter.
[written by Doug Barkley] Monument
of Col. Tandy Walker
DISTRICT OR SUB-CHIEFS
Second District
Hot-abi which means "to look for and kill"
was elected District Chief of Second District in 1859. He was a noted
full-blood, uneducated, for whom the Leased District was named. He was a
brother of Mitanvbbi called Judge Mitanvbbi and sometimes Miko
Mitanvbbi. Hot-abi lived, died and is buried somewhere near Pickens,
Oklahoma, now McCurtain County.
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