'''
They weren't. The Choctaw nation donated money to Irish famine relief efforts only a few years after they themselves had experienced the Trail of Tears.
'''
Author: /u/TyrekL
The nineteenth century Indian historian George Catlin described the Choctaw lands of southern Oklahoma in the 1840 as, "one of the richest and most desirable countries in the world for agricultural pursuits," after seeing them himself.
In a letter, he described a ground, "almost literally covered with vines, producing the greatest profusion of delicious grapes,...and hanging in such endless clusters... our progress was oftentimes completely arrested by hundreds of acres of small plum trees...every bush that was in sight was so loaded with the weight of its...fruit, that they were in many instances literally without leaves on their branches, and quite bent to the ground... and beds of wild currants, gooseberries, and (edible) prickly pear." (My understanding is that many of the "wild" foods European explorers encountered on their journeys were actually cultivated by Indians.)
He was writing perhaps 10 years after the Choctaw were forced to give up all their lands in the eastern US and move west to Oklahoma on the Trail Of Tears.
I'd read that the Choctaws were accomplished agriculturalists, with their rich lands in the east inspiring envy. But it sounds like they took this land they were assigned and quickly recreated a paradise out of it, despite the idea that these western lands were subpar. Some of descriptions I've read for their new reservation sound like a permaculture-esque food forest -a bountiful tangle more than an orderly European-style farm or orchard.
Does anyone have any background on how the Choctaw so quickly rebuilt after the trail of tears? Did they have individual plots or was it communal? Did they have a strong central government organizing their actions? Do we know much about their way of practicing agriculture?
Does this style of agriculture still get practiced by the Choctaw?
Source: Letters and notes on the manners, customs, and conditions of the North American Indians. George Catlin. Letter 39. Published 1844.
Link: https://books.google.com/books?id=K_eFIBav2wYC&lpg=PA46&ots=H_nzaCBFl5&dq=progress%20completely%20arrested%20by%20hundreds%20of%20acres%20of%20small%20plum-trees%2C%20of%20four%20or%20six%20feet%20in%20height%3B%20so%20closely%20woven%20and%20interlocked%20together%2C%20as%20entirely%20to%20dispute%20our%20progress%2C%20and%20sending%20us%20several%20miles%20around%3B%20when%20every%20bush%20that%20was%20in%20sight%20was%20so%20loaded%20with%20the%20weight%20of%20its%20delicious%20wild%20fruit%2C%2
... keep reading on reddit ➡irish potato famine*
I am working on an assignment for my history class which requires some specific info about the trail of tears, but more specifically the Choctaw. I was wondering if anybody here had any good books, websites, or just info in general it would be greatly appreciated.
