Splendid Land, Splendid People
380 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Paperback
Release Date:05 Dec 2003
ISBN:9780817350338
Splendid Land, Splendid People
The Chickasaw Indians to Removal
University of Alabama Press
A thorough examination of the Chickasaw Indians, tracing their history as far back as the documentation and archeological record will allow
Before the Chickasaws were removed to lands in Oklahoma in the 1800s, the heart of the Chickasaw Nation was located east of the Mississippi River in the upper watershed of the Tombigbee River in what is today northeastern Mississippi. Their lands had been called "splendid and fertile" by French governor Bienville at the time they were being coveted by early European settlers. The people were also termed “splendid” and described by documents of the 1700s as “tall, well made, and of an unparalleled courage. . . . The men have regular features, well-shaped and neatly dressed; they are fierce, and have a high opinion of themselves.”
The progenitors of the sociopolitical entity termed by European chroniclers progressively as Chicasa, Chicaca, Chicacha, Chicasaws, and finally Chickasaw may have migrated from west of the Mississippi River in prehistoric times. Or migrating people may have joined indigenous populations. Despite this longevity in their ancestral lands, the Chickasaw were the only one of the original "five civilized tribes" to leave no remnant community in the Southeast at the time of removal.
Atkinson thoroughly researches the Chickasaw Indians, tracing their history as far back as the documentation and archaeological record will allow. He historicizes from a Native viewpoint and outlines political events leading to removal, while addressing important issues such as slave-holding among Chickasaws, involvement of Chickasaw and neighboring Indian tribes in the American Revolution, and the lives of Chickasaw women.
Splendid Land, Splendid People will become a fundamental resource for current information and further research on the Chickasaw. A wide audience of librarians, anthropologists, historians, and general readers have long awaited publication of this important volume.
Before the Chickasaws were removed to lands in Oklahoma in the 1800s, the heart of the Chickasaw Nation was located east of the Mississippi River in the upper watershed of the Tombigbee River in what is today northeastern Mississippi. Their lands had been called "splendid and fertile" by French governor Bienville at the time they were being coveted by early European settlers. The people were also termed “splendid” and described by documents of the 1700s as “tall, well made, and of an unparalleled courage. . . . The men have regular features, well-shaped and neatly dressed; they are fierce, and have a high opinion of themselves.”
The progenitors of the sociopolitical entity termed by European chroniclers progressively as Chicasa, Chicaca, Chicacha, Chicasaws, and finally Chickasaw may have migrated from west of the Mississippi River in prehistoric times. Or migrating people may have joined indigenous populations. Despite this longevity in their ancestral lands, the Chickasaw were the only one of the original "five civilized tribes" to leave no remnant community in the Southeast at the time of removal.
Atkinson thoroughly researches the Chickasaw Indians, tracing their history as far back as the documentation and archaeological record will allow. He historicizes from a Native viewpoint and outlines political events leading to removal, while addressing important issues such as slave-holding among Chickasaws, involvement of Chickasaw and neighboring Indian tribes in the American Revolution, and the lives of Chickasaw women.
Splendid Land, Splendid People will become a fundamental resource for current information and further research on the Chickasaw. A wide audience of librarians, anthropologists, historians, and general readers have long awaited publication of this important volume.
The great strength of this study is that it grows out of meticulous and exhaustive research. . . . Scholars of Mississippi history and Chickasaw tribal history will find this book particularly useful.’
—The Journal of Southern History
James R. Atkinson's long-awaited history of the Chickasaw Indians is an essential reference and enjoyable read. From prehistoric origins, through the climactic eighteenth century, to the shameful Removal, we finally have a comprehensive and completely responsible history of events for the Chickasaws. . . . This work was not designed as an ethnohistory, an anthropological analysis, or a popular book. However, such endeavors can now proceed in earnest with the resoundingly solid history and reference work Atkinson has completed.’
—Southeastern Archaeology
Atkinson’s long association with the late prehistoric, protohistoric, and historic archaeological sites of the Upper Tombigbee Valley and their various prehistories and histories has shaped and molded his intimate knowledge of the Chickasaw homeland. Only through a long-term commitment to a specific culture for a considerable period of time can a work such as Splendid Land, Splendid People have this depth of scholarship. If you only have one book on the Chickasaw, this is the one you should purchase for your libarary.’
--Journal of Alabama Archaeology
James R. Atkinson is a retired historian and archaeologist who spent most of his career with the National Park Service in Mississippi and other states.
