Mississippi Choctaw Indian Federation

The Mississippi Choctaw Indian Federation is a now-defunct organization of Choctaws and a former rival governing body of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.^[1][2] They opposed federal tribal recognition because of fears of dominance by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and were never federally recognized.^[1] Nevertheless, they were considered a legitimate parallel government.^[3][4]

History

The Federation was formed on September 27, 1934.^[5] Reverend Ed Willis was installed as the first recognized chief.^[5] The group represented 400 Choctaw and had a functioning, written consititution.^[6]

The government disbanded after leaders were moved to another jurisdiction.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Brescia, William (Bill) (1982). "Chapter 3, Treaties and the Choctaw People". Tribal Government, A New Era. Philadelphia, Mississippi: Choctaw Heritage Press. pp. 21–22. 
2. ^ McKee, Jesse O. (2008). The Choctaws: Cultural Evolution of a Native American Tribe. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 158. ISBN 978-1604731705. http://books.google.com/books?id=Tf6CjSn17wgC&lpg=PA158&dq=Mississippi%20Choctaw%20Indian%20Federation&pg=PA158#v=onepage&q=Mississippi%20Choctaw%20Indian%20Federation&f=false. 
3. ^ Lowery, Malinda Maynor (2010). Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: race, identity, and the making of a nation. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 130. ISBN 9780807871119. http://books.google.com/books?id=UEzec_Ql1b4C&lpg=PA130&dq=%22choctaw%20indian%20federation%22&pg=PA130#v=onepage&q=%22choctaw%20indian%20federation%22&f=false. 
4. ^ Osborne, Katherine, M.B. "In the Name of Justice and Fairness:The Mississippi Choctaw Indian Federation vs. the BIA, 1934", in Cobb,Daniel M.,Beyond Red Power:American Indian Politics and Activism Since 1900, 2007, School for Advanced Research Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, ISBN 978-1930618862
5. ^ ^{a b} "Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians". Choctaw Chronology: Part V. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. http://www.choctaw.org/History/Chronology/chronology5.html. Retrieved 2 August 2011. 
6. ^ Hearings on H. R. 7902. Washington, D.C.: United States Congress House Committee on Indian affairs. 1934. pp. 373.