page_title: Choctaw mythology
hierarchical_section_title: Choctaw mythology
caption_attribution_description: English: â€œThe Eagle Dance, a very pretty scene . . . [was] got up by their young men, in honour of that bird, for which they seem to have a religious regard. This picturesque dance was given by twelve or sixteen men, whose bodies were chiefly naked and painted white, with white clay, and each one holding in his hand the tail of the eagle, while his head was also decorated with an eagle's quill. Spears were stuck in the ground, around which the dance was performed by four men at a time, who had simultaneously, at the beat of the drum, jumped up from the ground where they had all sat in rows of four, one row immediately behind the other, and ready to take the place of the first four when they left the ground fatigued . . . In this dance, the steps or rather jumps, were different from anything I had ever witnessed before, as the dancers were squat down, with their bodies almost to the ground, in a severe and most difficult posture, as will have been seen in the drawing.â€ This painting was inspired by sketches that George Catlin made near Fort Gibson (present-day Oklahoma) in 1834. (Catlin, Letters and Notes, vol. 2, no. 49, 1841; reprint 1973)
context_page_description: Choctaw mythology is part of the culture of the Choctaw, a Native American tribe originally occupying a large territory in the present-day Southeastern United States: much of the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. In the 19th century, the Choctaw were known to European Americans as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes."
  Today the Choctaw have three federally recognized tribes: the largest is the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, next is the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, made up of descendants of individuals who did not remove in the 1830s, and the smallest is the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, located in Louisiana. In addition, the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians is state-recognized by Alabama, but it has not achieved federal recognition. It, too, is made up of descendants of individuals who remained in the Southeast in the 1830s.
  The Choctaw and their ancestors have lived in the Mississippi region for an estimated 4000 to 8000 years. Thousands of years of myth and story-making have contributed to a rich collection of history that spans the centuries. The Choctaw continue to tell and write about their legends based in the what is now known as the American Deep South.
context_section_description: Choctaw mythology is part of the culture of the Choctaw, a Native American tribe originally occupying a large territory in the present-day Southeastern United States: much of the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. In the 19th century, the Choctaw were known to European Americans as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes."
  Today the Choctaw have three federally recognized tribes: the largest is the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, next is the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, made up of descendants of individuals who did not remove in the 1830s, and the smallest is the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, located in Louisiana. In addition, the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians is state-recognized by Alabama, but it has not achieved federal recognition. It, too, is made up of descendants of individuals who remained in the Southeast in the 1830s.
  The Choctaw and their ancestors have lived in the Mississippi region for an estimated 4000 to 8000 years. Thousands of years of myth and story-making have contributed to a rich collection of history that spans the centuries. The Choctaw continue to tell and write about their legends based in the what is now known as the American Deep South.
caption: Eagle Dance, Choctaw, painted by George Catlin near Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, 1835-1837[1]
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