The Last of the Chickasaw Kings  

Taken from a collection of Historical Writings, Notes, Letters and other Records by D. Ferguson
Edited by Gary Childers

General Information
Long ago, the Chickasaws listened to their clan chiefs and were guided by the old ones. Each Chickasaw was free and new plans were made only after everyone agreed. Families depended on each other for survival and contributed to the welfare of all. Land for planting and hunting was thought of as the air to breathe and the water to drink, bounty to be shared by all.

All the Chickasaws were united by the strength of their tribe and its traditions, even though they chose to live in towns, some far away. At times, runners would travel to all the towns to bring together the esteemed chiefs in a central council. At their head was the high miko (pronounced minko), or principal chief.

The Chickasaw language did not have words to describe "arbitrary kings," "tyrants" or "opressed people." That was not their way.

The High Miko
The High Miko among the Chickasaws was called "king" by the Europeans because the rank was hereditary. The king was from the "beloved family" or miko (royal) clan. This clan fell under the Imosaktca moiety, one of the main two divisions of Chickasaw society. Heredity was traced through the female line and succession passed to either the brother or nephew of the high miko.

Some scholars contend that European influence prompted the development of a head chieftanship (and later regional chiefs) as a central spokesperson simplified trade and negotiations. Despite the title, the position of Chickasaw king was never a monarchy, in the European, autocratic sense. Power and influence were earned by all chiefs; never inherent. In fact, during the later half of the 18th century, the most influential Chickasaw chiefs were generally not kings.

Piomingo, the "mountain leader," who holds a place in Chickasaw tradition not unlike George Washington holds for most Americans, greatly influenced the tribe to befriend the Americans. Piomingo was a war chief, not a king. His rival, Ugala Yacabe (Wolf's Friend), was second in influence to even Piomingo and affected tribal history by seeking a Chickasaw alliance with Spain.

By the 1800s, the Chickasaw kings were nearly relegated to figurehead status, The real leaders of the mighty nation became the mixed bloods, particularly the Colbert clan. Cooshemataha, or William Colbert, led the Chickasaws in foreign battles and radically changed Chickasaw diplomacy and economics. His brothers, Tootemastubbe (George) and Itawamba (Levi), served as counselors of the nation and represented the tribe in land cession negotiations. The influence of the Colberts in the tribe continued through the removal period, through the Civil War period, through what has been called the termination period, and is evident even today.

Though the Colberts were the policy-makers during the Chickasaw removal negotiations of the 1820s and 1830s, an aging fullblood, Tishomingo, was the heart of the Indian nation. Even Tishomingo was not a king; he was a war chief and held the title, "Tishu Minku," the king's asssistant.

Despite all this, the tribal kings played definite roles in Chickasaw history. At times they influenced tribal destiny, but at all times they symbolized the old ways.

The Last of the Chickasaw Kings:  "Leading Their People Against a Backdrop of European Power Struggles"

From the 1760s to the Chickasaw removal to Indian Territory (which began in earnest in 1837), the last of the Chickasaw kings led their people against a backdrop of European power struggles in North America.

The French, who had attempted to control Chickasaw lands and, in turn, their control over the Mississippi River, were soundly defeated. Spain and England continued to maneuver for control and, as a result, alternately involved the Chickasaws and their neighboring tribes in their warfare. The Revolutionary War hailed the defeat of the British and the rise of a new nation, the United States of America. In turn, this new republic entangled the Chickasaws in disputes with Spain and with other Indian nations. Finally, when its boundaries were secure, the United States looked with hunger on Chickasaw lands.

Historical records provide what is probably only a partial list of the Chickasaw kings and only a general line of succession during this time of tremendous upheaval. The stories listed below have been gleaned from treaties and from writings of those of the time.

Payamataha
Malcolm McGee, a Scottish immigrant, wrote in his reminiscences that Chickasaw Kings Payamataha and Mincohouma were in power when he arrived in the Chickasaw country (an area that is now the states of Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama) in 1768.

Payamataha, also known as Piomataha, was probably born in the early 1700s. As a youth he was called "Noubolubb," which has been translated as "he killed a white man." He rose as leader due to his bravery as a warrior. His later name, Payamataha, signifies "one who has the highest character for war exploits."

As a young man, he is credited with warning the Chickasaws of the approach of the French invasion forces led by Major Pierre D'Artaguette in March of 1736. During the ensuing battle of Ogoula Tchetoka, he fought with distinction. The French force, numbering 400 French regular troups and militia, and warriors from the Miami, Iroguois and Kaskasia tribes, was utterly defeated by the fierce Chickasaw warriors. Only an estimated 20 of the invaders escaped death at the hands of the Chickasaws who were enraged by the attack on their far northwest town. Even in old age, Payamataha maintained his reputation as a valiant warrior in battles against the Choctaws.

He was an ardent traditionalist and, together with war chief Piomingo, he struggled to protect the Chickasaws from European intrusions. At the Mobile Congress of 1772, he vigorously protested the British traders and their "corruption." He stated that the Chickasaws were "once great but now much diminished." He opposed the traffic in run, the exploitation of the traders and the white squatters in the Chickasaw Nation. He was a patriot, ever vigilant in preserving the Chickasaw way of life.

During the power struggles of colonial Spain and England, Payamataha managed to continue his relationships with both sides and later, with the Americans. His political ambivalence resulted in favored treatment for the Chickasaws, as the sides vied for the Indians' alliance.

Payamataha died in advanced age in 1784 during the measles epidemic which cost the lives of the population of Chukafalaya, the Chickasaw capitol city.

Mincohouma
Mincohouma, the "red king," was reputedly a clan chief who was elevated to king status by the scheming of British traders who desired a ruler more cooperative with their ventures. Allegedly, he was reduced to clan chief status when Stuart, the superintendent of Indian Affairs, learned of the machinations.

Mincohouma earned a reputation for valor in combat and fought with the British against the Spanish forces at Pensacola. He exhibited further military prowess in opposing the later Choctaw aggression against the Chickasaw Nation.

In 1783 he was a Chickasaw representative at French Lick (a Shawnee site) in a meeting with the Virginians (equated at that time as the official American authorities). At this conference, along with Piomingo, he asserted the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation.

Mincohouma perished along with Payamataha during the disastrous measles epidemic of 1784. It is believed that he was about 50 years old at the time of his death.

Taski Etoka
Taski Etoka (alternately spelled Mingatuska and Tuskeatoka) was known by the English traders as the "hair lipped king." He emerged as a leader in the middle 1780s and was a nephew of Mincohouma.

He was signator (along with Piomingo and Lotapaia) of the Treaty of Hopewell in January of 1786. It was this treaty which officially marked the relationship between the Chickasaw Nation and the United States of America. The treaty also granted the Americans a plot of land for a trading post. Though the acreage was insignificant, this was the first in a series of land cessions the Chickasaws would make with the Americans during the next 50 years, culminating in their coerced removal beginning in 1837.

Taski Etoka was an ambassador for the Chickasaws who wavered frequently in his friendships with European colonial powers. Although he made definite overtures to the Americans, he also sided with the Chickasaw-Spanish faction of the tribe, headed by Wolf's Friend.

When the Americans called for a conference in November of 1792 at Nashville, he was conspicuously absent. Piomingo did attend the conference and referred to his fellow Chickasaw delegate, Chinubbee (Tinebe), as the Chickasaw king. Other sources have revealed that Taski Etoka was still technically king at the time, but he was in exile, wandering among the Choctaws.

Taski Etoka died around 1794 and was succeeded by Chinubbee, his brother.

Tuskaapela
Historian H. B. Cushman provides yet another name of a Chickasaw king, recorded as Tuskaapela and translated as "warrior helper." It is uncertain if this name is merely a variation of the name Taski Etoka or if Tuskaapela was a different king.

Cushman relates a tragic tale regarding Tuskaapela. The king was crippled for life by an accident. In order to survive, he fashioned crutches of buck's horn. By extending the horns behind him and thrusting his feet forward, he was able to laboriously move about.

His wife, the queen, was called Pakarli, meaning, "blossom." Her name was recorded by the whites as Puc-caun-la. This queen was described as "old and beloved," honored in the language of the Treaty of Pontotoc in 1832 (the Chickasaw removal treaty) and granted an annuity of $50 for life.

Chinubbee (Tinebe)
King Chinubbee was an ally of Spain and a staunch supporter of the Chickasaw-Spanish clan and its leader, Wolf's Friend. He granted Spain the right to establish military bases in the Chickasaw Nation and, in 1795, the post San Fernando de las Barrancas was constructed.

The Spanish influence among the Chickasaws was halted by the Treaty of San Lorenzo. Chinubbee went on to sign treaties with the United States on behalf of the Chickasaw Nation. His mark appears on the treaties of 1801 and 1805. His death around 1819 opened the way for the ascendancy of the Colberts in dominating tribal affairs.

Chehopieschee
Chehopieschee, the nephew of Chinubbee and Taski Etoka, became the king at the age of 20. His term was very short since he died shortly after becoming king.

Ishtehotopa
Ishtehotopa, the last Chickasaw king, assumed leadership around 1820. He was very young at the time and was described by a missionary who witnessed his first day as king as "an ordinary Indian, and never opened his mouth during the council."

Other writings record that the king led a simple life and operated a ferry boat for passengers crossing the Tallahatchie River. He charged 50 cents for each passenger.

Government and other records kept during the period of Chickasaw removal do not reflect Ishtehotopa as a strong figure. The nation rallied around Tishomingo and was led by the Colberts during the painful and final years in Mississippi. Although the mark of Ishtehotopa is present on many 19th century treaties and communiques, the king remained in the background.

He traveled the Chickasaw "Trail of Tears" with a party of 129 tribal members, leaving Pontotoc, Mississippi on June 9, 1838. One hundred miles east of Little Rock, Arkansas, his caravan was stricken with fever. Seventy Chickasaws at one time were gravely ill and two ultimately died. One victim was a two-year-old child and the other was the Chickasaw queen and wife of Ishtehotopa.

Ishtehotopa, like many Chickasaw leaders, returned to Mississippi to help the later parties of tribal members prepare for the removal. In January of 1845 he participated in the sale of the tribe's last remaining land holdings in Mississippi.

He was the only fullblood on the Chickasaw Commission, an organization founded by Levi Colbert to protect the incompetent members of the tribe. In the early years in Indian Territory, the commission became the de facto government of the Chickasaw Nation.

In 1845, the district chiefs and councils asserted leadership and claimed that Pittman Colbert was using King Ishtehotopa as a "dupe" in his scheme to control annuity distribution of tribal funds. The district chiefs prevailed; the commission was ultimately dissolved and the government of the old King Ishtehotopa and his national council died out. In 1856, the Chickasaws adopted their first constitution and formed a three-branch government.