Editing Chickasaw (section)

===Treaty of Pontotoc Creek and Removal (1832-1837)===
{{Main|Treaty of Pontotoc Creek}}In 1832 after the state of Mississippi declared its jurisdiction over the Chickasaw Indians, outlawing tribal self-governance, Chickasaw chiefs assembled at the national council house on October 20, 1832 and signed the [[Treaty of Pontotoc Creek]], ceding their remaining Mississippi territory to the U.S. and agreeing to find land and relocate west of the Mississippi River. Between 1832 and 1837, the Chickasaw would make further negotiations and arrangements for their removal.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chickasaws|last=Gibson|first=Arrell M.|publisher=University of Oklahoma|year=1972|isbn=978-0-8061-1042-4|location=Norman, OK|pages=174–179}}</ref> [[File:Military Road Marker US 64 Marion AR.jpg|thumb|Historic Marker in [[Marion, Arkansas]] for the Trail of Tears]]

Unlike other tribes who received land grants in exchange for ceding territory, the Chickasaw held out for financial compensation: they were to receive $3 million U.S. dollars from the United States for their lands east of the Mississippi River.<ref name=burt_and_ferguson>
{{cite book | author = Jesse Burt & Bob Ferguson | title = Indians of the Southeast: Then and Now | year = 1973 | publisher = Abingdon Press, Nashville and New York | chapter = The Removal | pages = [https://archive.org/details/indiansofsouthea00burt/page/170 170–173] | isbn = 0-687-18793-1 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/indiansofsouthea00burt/page/170 }}</ref>
In 1836 after a bitter five-year debate within the tribe, the Chickasaw had reached an agreement to purchase land in [[Indian Territory]] from the previously removed Choctaw. They paid the Choctaw $530,000 for the westernmost part of their land. The first group of Chickasaw moved in 1837.

The Chickasaw gathered at [[Memphis, Tennessee]], on July 4, 1837, with all of their portable assets: belongings, livestock, and [[slaves|enslaved African Americans]]. Three thousand and one Chickasaw crossed the [[Mississippi River]], following routes established by the Choctaw and [[Muscogee (Creek)|Creek]].<ref name=burt_and_ferguson />  During the journey, often referred to as the [[Trail of Tears]], more than 500 Chickasaw died of [[dysentery]] and [[smallpox]].
[[File:Holmes Colbert.jpg|thumb|In the 1850s [[Holmes Colbert]] (Chickasaw) helped write the constitution of the nation in [[Indian Territory]].]]
When the Chickasaw reached Indian Territory, the United States began to administer to them through the Choctaw Nation, and later merged them for administrative reasons. The Chickasaw wrote their own constitution in the 1850s, an effort contributed to by [[Holmes Colbert]].

After several decades of mistrust between the two peoples, in the twentieth century, the Chickasaw re-established their independent government. They are federally recognized as the Chickasaw Nation. The government is headquartered in [[Ada, Oklahoma]].