NATIVE AMERICAN GENEALOGY CULTURE

ref: du pratz , Bartran & others.





After the discovery of the New World, the natural resources of the Western Hemisphere revived the economy of Europe, as well as creating a class consciousness. They also started a new mentality of aggressive capitalism and trade. During the 1400s, the population was on the rise in Europe for the first time since the days of Ancient Rome. Disease, especially the Black Plague, and poor nutrition had kept the population constant (at roughly 10 million) in Europe for nearly 1,000 years.

When French rule ended the Pascagoula passed over to Louisiana and settled first on the Mississippi River and later on Red River at its junction with the Rigolet du Bon Dieu.
These are the people of which I am decended.



The real measure of a person¡¯s wealth is what they have invested with Jesus Christ in eternity.

THE US. FEDERAL CENSUS

The United States began taking a census in ten year increments in the year 1790. The Census Records for 1790-1850, however, did not include a category for Indians. For an Indian to be listed during those years they had to have been living in a white or black settlement and even then they would have been listed as white or black. In 1860 Indians were included in the Census but only if they paid taxes. In 1870 non-tax paying Indians were added but it wasn't until 1890 that anyone living on a reservation was added to the Census. Unfortunately, the entire 1890 Census was destroyed by fire so 1900 is the first real Census to include Indians both on and off the reservation.

The greatest contribution the American Indians gave to mankind was the introduction of new edibles to early settlers and the introduction of wild plants for medicinal purposes.

The time of Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, a half-hour before sunrise on August 3, 1492. His three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, carried 90 men. There were no priests along on the first voyage. The ships were tiny by modern standards; no larger than a tennis court, and less than 30 feet wide. The Santa Maria carried 40 men, the Pinta 26, the Nina 24. Only the Nina and Pinta returned to Spain. The crew was composed primarily of sailors from the Spanish port of Palos, recruited by the influential Pinzon brothers. Martin Alonzo Pinzon served as captain of the Pinta, with his brother Francisco as the ship's master. Another brother, Vincente, was captain of the Nina. Four brothers from the Nino family also signed on for the voyage. Juan Nino was the owner and master of the Nina. Four of the crewmen were not Spanish; one was Venetian, another Genoese, one was Portuguese and another Calabrian. Also aboard was Luis de Torres, a converted Jew who spoke Hebrew and Arabic. It was expected that he could interpret talks with the Great Khan of China. Rodrigo de Escobedo was secretary of the fleet and expected to correspond with royalty they met. Rodrigo Sanchez de Segovia was aboard to watch expenditures and make sure the crown got its share of gold and jewels. Each ship had a surgeon. The year's worth of food included biscuits, beans, peas, dried fish, salt pork, live pigs, hens, almonds, figs and cheese. As the ships left Palos on their shakedown cruise, they headed for the Canary Islands, 600 miles away. They took on provisions in the Canaries, and fixed the rudder on the Pinta. Then on September 6, 1492, they sailed into the unknown, but, they felt certain, toward China and Japan. The long sea watch began. Time was measured by the swing of the sun as it arced overhead, by the stars at night, and by the turn of the hourglass each half hour by the deck boy. Eight turns of the glass made up a "watch" for a sailor. The pious Columbus prayed using a book of hours in his cabin on the Santa Maria. On deck, the crew faithfully shared the ancient prayers: tierce at mid-morning, vespers in the afternoon, the singing of "Salve Regina" at sunset, and the compline at the close of the day. At sunset on September 25, an excited sailor shouted "Land!" Others in the rigging said that they saw it, too. The crews sang the "Gloria" in thanksgiving, and kept nervous watch all night. The next morning they concluded that they had been wrong. The winds started to fade, and some of the crew started to become anxious. It was a long time since they had seen land, in terms of seamanship in the 15th century. On October 1, the wind picked up, and the flotilla began to move smartly, making 142 nautical miles a day for five days. By October 10, there was still no sight of land, just a vast ocean. The captains of the individual vessels gathered on the Santa Maria to ask Columbus to turn back. Columbus compromised with the officers; they would sail on for three more days, and if no land was sighted, they would reverse course and return to Spain. At 2 a.m. on October 12, 1492, the lookout on the Pinta sighted land, "a white sand cliff gleaming in the moonlight on the western horizon." When daylight came, they edged closer to the island. Small boats were lowered from the three caravels, as natives gathered on the beach, naked and shy. Columbus and his officers came ashore, planting the royal flag of Ferdinand and Isabella, and gave thanks to God. They were on the island of Guanahani, but beginning a practice which would last for 500 years, they promptly ignored the name the islanders called their home and named the island San Salvador, then knelt in prayers of thanks to a God the islanders knew nothing about. Columbus believed that he had landed on an island off the coast of China, and called the people "Indios", or Indians. It is generally believed by scholars that Columbus landed on San Salvador (now called Watling Island), in what are now the Bahamas on October 12, although even this is disputed; the first landing may have been at Samana Cay, 65 miles south, or at one of nine other sites. Columbus traveled to Cuba on October 18; and on to Santo Domingo/Haiti by December 6. He never saw the mainland of North America. On December 24, Christmas Eve, the sleepy helmsman gave the tiller of the flagship, the Santa Maria, to the ship's boy. The crew was exhausted after two nights of entertaining and trading with the local Taino and Arawak Indians (These Native Indians succumbed to European disease in a few short years and became extinct). The boy accidentally ran the ship aground on a coral reef off the north coast of Haiti. Attempts to free the Santa Maria failed, the planking opened, and the Admiral abandoned her for the Nina. Local Indians helped Columbus unload supplies, dismantle the ship's timbers and boards, and carry them to the Indian village, where the chief gave Columbus two of his biggest and best houses. The tiny settlement was named La Navidad on December 26, 1492. Thirty nine crewmen were left to maintain this, the first Spanish settlement in the New World.

FROM THE NATIVE TRUTH So for those 12 million or so heritage-seekers with desire to know their Native roots, the path is generally long, winding and, more often than not, confusingly laid with pitfalls, obstacles and quandaries. Ancestors recorded on your family tree may not be all that easy to verify on paper; and without a clear paper trail, according to those who require such evidence, your heritage does not truly exist. With Native people being the only U.S. citizens requiring a pedigree, one might ask if this is an extension of cultural genocide by the American government. An actual continuous conspiracy to keep those millions of people from knowing there heritage Here we explore such a theory and the governments role in possibly perpetrating it. Note: Up until 1879, there was a legal question regarding whether American Indians were, infact, human beings. On March 12th, 1880, US District Court Judge Elmer Dundy ruled that Indians were "persons within the meaning of the law" and therefore, deemed to be human. But their rights and liberties were still denied and they were not given US citizenship until 1924. "Missing" or Incomplete Documentation. If you're looking for your long-lost relative in the US census rolls from the 1800's, you may stumble upon your first roadblock. Federal records from 1790-1840 only contain information pertaining to free, white heads of households. Information regarding minorities were not collected until 1850. But not everyone was recorded. Many Native Americans missed the census completely during the 1800's and much of the early 1900's due to poor communication and too much of a traveling distance for both recorder and the person being recorded. Others refused to admit to their Indian heritage due to fear and/or shame and some of those who DID make it onto the census books were recorded with misspelled names and misreported ethnic heritages. It is also not uncommon to be informed that census, birth, death, marriage and land records have been lost, damaged, stolen or destroyed from fires, floods, theft or employee mishandling. Whether these tales are true or not, in many circumstances, you will find that the documentation that you need the most no longer exists. May our lives be a reflection of the ancient contemporary American Indian life The smoke from a million past ancestors campfires are now carried with ours to you Great spirit: teach us to protect the innocent & helpless.To care for the sick - children & elderly. To turn from evil whenever it confronts us that our lives may follow the exemplification of you the creator of all and your freely given salvation to mankind. The sacred council drum will be struck each day in your honor and the sacred eternal flame will continue burning in our heart as long as one drop of blood flows through our veins. If the concept of Christianity in combination with American Indian spiritiallity makes you uncomfortable or offends there are many other sites on the Internet promoting an opposite view of Native religion which you may visit , we thank you for your visit and pray your path is peaceful. Our foundation belief is that the Southeast American Indian religion & spirituality was & is compatible if not one in the same with Christianity

"CONSUMMATION OF THE GOVERNMENT POLICY OF REMOVAL. PREVALENCE OF THE SMALL-POX AMONGST THE WESTERN INDIANS. 1837.

M. Van Buren, President. The Summer of 1837 is rendered memorable in Indian history by the visitation of one of those calamities which have so much reduced the Indian population, viz: the ravages of the small-pox, which then swept through the Missouri valley.

The disease was introduced among them from a steamboat, which ascended that river from the city of St. Louis, in July. On the 15th of that month the disease made its appearance in the village of the Mandans, great numbers of whom fell victims to it. Thence it spread rapidly over the entire country, and tribe after tribe was decimated by it.

The Mandans, among whom the pestilence commenced, are stated to have been reduced from an estimated population of 1600 souls to 125. The Minnetarees, or Gros Ventres, out of a population of 1000 persons, lost one-half their number. The Arickarees, numbering 3000, were reduced by this pestilence to 1500. The Crows, or Upsarokas, lost great numbers, and the survivors saved themselves by a rapid retreat to the mountains. The Assinaboins, a people roughly estimated at 9000, were swept off by hundreds. The Crees, living in the same region, and numbering 3000 souls, suffered in an equal degree. The disease appears at length to have exhausted its virulence on the Blackfeet and Bloods, a numerous and powerful genus of tribes. One thousand lodges are reported to have been desolated, and left standing, without a solitary inhabitant, on the tracts and prairies, once the residence of this proud and warlike race: a sad memorial of this dreadful scourge.

Visitors to these regions, during the year when this dread pestilence was raging there, represent the Indian country as being truly desolate. Women and children were met wandering about without protection, or seated near the graves of their husbands and parents, uttering pitiable lamentations. Howling dogs roamed about, seeking their masters.

It is reported that some of the Indians, after recovering from the disease, when they saw how it had disfigured their faces, threw themselves into the Missouri river.

Language, however forcible, fails to give an idea of the reality. On every side was desolation, and wrecks of mortality everywhere presented themselves to the view. Prominent among these was the tenantless wigwam: no longer did the curling smoke from its roof betoken a welcome, and its closed door gave sad evidence of the silence and darkness that reigned within. The prairie wolf sent up its dismal howl, as it preyed upon the decaying carcases; and the lonely traveller, as he rapidly passed through this scene of desolation and death, was frequently startled by the croaking of the raven, or the screams the vulture and falcon, from trees or crags commanding a view of these funereal scenes." Source: Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, History of the Indian Tribes of the United States: Their Pres ent Condition and Prospects, and a Sketch of Their Ancient Status, 1857. Report of smallpox in 1837, pp. 486-7.

"As above mentioned, I moved to Kaposia, an Indian village sixmiles [sic] by the river below St. Paul, in the autumn of 1846. During the winter I was called to see several genuine cases of ague, and a much larger number of abnormal cases of paludal disease; and here I will state that this disease which used to be called bilious fever is much less regular in form in Minnesota than it was in Ohio when I practised there. Usually there is much less of what is called fever, that is of heat and arterial action and often the chill or sweating stage is scarcely perceptible; so that, though readily recognizable by persons familiar with it, even regular physicians who know it merely from description in books are very liable to mistake it from some other disease.

Since I have ceased to practice medicine I have seen several instances of this, two of which proved fatal, as appeared to me, in consequence of this mistake. The summer of 1847 also was unusually warm and cases of paludal disease were numerous, both among whites and Indians in the country near Fort Snelling.

The Dakotas suffered most because, like our British ancestors, for security against their enemies they made their villages in the midst of swamps, and also because they lacked food. Government usually gave them their flour and pork in the month of June, but that year it was withheld for a month or two, and many of them died in consequence. In health they could have subsisted on roots, chiefly of sagittaria, obtained from swamps, and on wild ducks, pigeons and fish. But the stomach of the sick rejected fish and pigeons; and it often happened that when a man, after wading in swamps for hours, returned with ducks, or a woman with roots, he or she would fall down in a chill. The food brought home was speedily prepared, but the bringer in a chill or fever was gone and appetite had returned some hungry child had eaten all the food.

I suppose a majority of the Indians were more or less affected with the disease, and about one in thirty died of it. Many more would have died but for food given them by their white neighbors, and probably four-fifths of those that died might have been saved by proper food and medicine. Subsequent summers were cooler, more healthy sites were selected for some of the villages the next year, and there was less of the disease, and subsequently but little.

Some years later these lower Sioux, as they were called, suffered severely from whooping cough in the spring and early summer. To the children who were brought to me soon after the attack I gave small doses of tartar emetic for the first two weeks, keeping their stomachs a little irritable so that when the cough came on severely they would vomit a little. Later in the disease when they became feverish or the stomach so irritable as to reject necessary food, I gave laxatives, and of those thus treated I think not one died. At other villages the mortality was considerable. I was taken to see the sick after more than twenty had died, out of a population of about 400. On examining the little sufferers it was manifest they were perishing for lack of nutriment; and on inquiry I found that the whole village had for some time been subsisting solely on fish, and whenever a paroxysm of coughing came on they vomited what had been eaten. Medicine could do but little for them, so I told the chief to call together his principal men, told them all to look at the sick children and gave them a severe scolding for letting the children starve. When they pleaded poverty as an excuse I told them to send all the young men immediately to hunt deer, and for the older ones to go to their traders and get corn, flour and sugar for the children. They did as I directed and very few died afterwards. Similar treatment was less successful when the disease prevailed in winter, because it was impossible to keep the patient comfortably warm. Yours truly, THOS. S. WILLIAMSON." Source: Thomas S. Williamson, "The Diseases of the Dakota Indians," Northwestern Medical and Surgical Journal Vol. 4, 1874, pp. 418-9.

THE OLD SWIMMING HOLE In taking a stroll into the distant past, to a time before life's responsibilities have taken its toll on body, mind and soul. I see no excited kids splashing & playing in the carefree way of old. I knelt and looked into the still dark blue water of the old swimming hole, the reflection I see is not a face of a joyous youth but instead that of a time weathered person that I don't recognize. From nowhere a tear falls causing a circle ripple that quickly encompasses all, it seems impossible for so large a swimming hole back then, could now be so small. As I turn and walk away a veil of loneness surrounds me, as I glance back I know the swimming hole also gets lonely and know that it misses me too. Red Wolf

Righteousness

Paul points out that "if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:21).
If our good works could save or even help to save us--then Christ died for nothing, and His sacrifice was useless and unnecessary! If we could save ourselves on the basis of our own goodness we wouldn't need a Savior. We would in fact be our own savior.

May the Savior reveil these truths to those religious organizations who attempt salvation otherwise.
Thank you Lord Jesus for your forgiving and unchanging amazing grace

How Good Is Good Enough?

The Bible clearly teaches that no one can keep God's law nor can one reach heaven by trying. God's Word states, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we became conscious of sin" (Romans 3:20). The law brings "consciousness of sin"; not salvation. All our good works--our morality, our religion--fall short of God's holy standards. As the Bible states, "There is no one righteous, not even one...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:10, 23). In fact, God calls our good works "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). The apostle Paul wrote, "know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So, we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified" (Galatians 2:16). Paul goes on and points out that "if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:21). If our good works could save or even help to save us--then Christ died for nothing, and His sacrifice was useless and unnecessary! If we could save ourselves on the basis of our own goodness we wouldn't need a Savior. We would in fact be our own savior.
from Christian Youth Alliance http://home.computer.net/~cya/cy00008.html.


RELIGION
Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:5-6 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man decieve you: For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Perhaps this Generation? Luke¡¯s version of the fig tree parable, which mentions the fig tree (Israel) and all the trees, (nations of the world) (Judges 9:8-20) states: ¡°And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you. This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away¡± (Luke 21:29-33).

If the length of David¡¯s generation, Christ¡¯s generation, and those living today is 70-80 years (a 3000 year span), it would be reasonable to conclude that the generation Christ was talking about in the parable of the fig tree will also be 70-80 years in length. If the fig tree in this parable represents the nation of Israel, as many prophetic scholars believe, and the generation that is described has a lifespan of 70 to 80 years, then we see several strong indicators that the generation Christ was talking about has already been born. That would mean that the return of Jesus Christ to establish his reign for a thousand years is close at hand. The indicators we have seen include: the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948 (Isaiah 66:8), the Jerusalem controversy in the end times (Zechariah 12:1-3), preparations for rebuilding the Jewish Temple (Revelation 11:1,2), ongoing negotiations for a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians (Daniel 9:27)

The Most Significant End-Time Prophecy The end-time events described in the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Revelation could not have taken place without Israel back in their land. Israel¡¯s return to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the 20th century after dispersion by the Roman armies in 70 A.D. is the most important event that signals the soon return of Jesus Christ. Israel¡¯s rebirth as a nation has also served as a catalyst for other end-time prophecies that are beginning to converge on the world scene. The pieces necessary for development of the end-time prophetic puzzle began to fall in place between the middle of the 19th and first half of the 20th century when the Jewish people began coming back to their homeland in record numbers.

A movement called Zionism encouraged the Jewish people to return to the ¡°Promised Land¡± and brought about the Balfour Declaration in 1917, a statement by Great Britain that supported a home for the Jewish people. After much negotiation and endorsement of a partition resolution by the United Nations in 1947, the rebirth of Israel (Isaiah 66:7-9) took place on May 15, 1948. Following a period of wars between the Jewish and Arab nations in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973, peace negotiations have been ongoing and will continue until a covenant (Daniel 9:27) is confirmed between ¡°the prince that shall come¡± (Antichrist) and the nation of Israel.

GOD¡¯S BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE Christians who take the Bible seriously should be actively watching the prophetic shadows that are appearing in today¡¯s headlines. The primary purpose of God¡¯s prophetic Word is to point people to Jesus Christ, ¡°the author and finisher of our faith.¡± A Chosen Generation As we entertain the possibility that we may be the generation Jesus was talking about in the fig tree parable nearly 2000 years ago, we are admonished by the Scriptures to watch and be prepared. As stated clearly by Jesus in Matthew and Mark, no man knows the day or the hour of his coming but the Father only. The same Jesus, however, was very angry with the Pharisees and Scribes for not discerning ¡°the signs of the times¡± and not knowing the ¡°time of their visitation.¡± In these thought-provoking and challenging times in which we are living, we need to be informed and discerning like ¡°the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do¡­¡± (1 Chronicles 12:32).

One day there will be a generation of Christians that will escape the grip of death and be ushered into heaven, the ¡°final frontier¡± for believers. The generation that is ¡°left behind¡± will face the ruthless tyranny of a global dictatorship. The world stage is now being set for the closing act of this dispensation, and the climax of world history, Christ¡¯s return, is drawing near. As God¡¯s children, we may very well be the generation that is chosen to ¡°escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man¡± (Luke 21: 34-36). That possibility is certainly worth pondering!

excerpts from text writen by: J. Michael Hile

A TIME BEFORE COLUMBUS

There has been Icelandic legends for generations telling of daring voyages by Norsmen to a strange new land. These or now generally accepted as fact.The very first flag raised over the North American Continent was probably that of a black raven with out-streched wing on a white field.

This flag was flown in a colony of 160 Norsmen estabilshed in Vincland , ( probably Nova Scotia) by Leif Ericson's brother Thorfinn Karlsefui , in 1003 A.D.This land was descovered 3 years previously by Leif Ercson , son of Eric the Red when he was blown of course.Karlsefui and his follows remained about 3 years , his wife bore a son during this time.It is thought that the hostilities of the Native Indians drove them home in 1006 A.D.

Life as measured in time is only a whisp of smoke , use that time in holding close and cherish those you love,lest you regret.

Suggested reading for true history (1) General Thomas S. Woodward and Woodward's Reminiscences...He was Indian mixed blood ...Early southern life and leader of Jacksons Indian troops...his life and death in Louisiana...

There were many reasons why Columbus' voyages, which encountered the Americas, were inevitable. These reasons are only now being fully understood. Europe, just emerging from the Dark Ages into the Renaissance, had to do something revolutionary, or regress. Opportunities in Spain were few; and the economy was dying. After the discovery of the New World, the natural resources of the Western Hemisphere revived the economy of Europe, as well as creating a class consciousness. They also started a new mentality of aggressive capitalism and trade. During the 1400s, the population was on the rise in Europe for the first time since the days of Ancient Rome. Disease, especially the Black Plague, and poor nutrition had kept the population constant (at roughly 10 million) in Europe for nearly 1,000 years.

Jack Amos Newton County Citizen

excerpt http://nchgs.org/native/jackamos/During the late 1890¡¯s until his death, Jack Amos became friend, interpreter and guide to Henry Sales Halbert. Halbert was a teacher and writer who lived among the Choctaw Indians and wrote much about their history, customs, schools, and living conditions. It was also during this period that Jack moved to Indian Territory for about three weeks.

Nothing has been found as to why he did not remain in Indian Territory, but both his visit and return may have been connected to the activities of the Dawes Commission.

The Dawes Commission was created by Congress in 1893 for the purpose of privatizing tribal land west of the Mississippi. Each successful claimant of Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, or Seminole blood would be given a parcel of land then under tribal control. The land was offered in Indian Territory only. A board of commissioners began the process of receiving and approving applications, but the program was problem-riddled from the start as Indian ¡®wannabes¡± and opportunistic lawyers (often charging 50% commissions), filled the courts with fraudulent claims. Rules for eligibility changed without notice, and the under-staffed commission often kept poor records of each applicant.

Little attention was paid to the more than 1,000 Choctaw Indians living in Mississippi until 1897. Much of the land in Indian Territory had already been allocated and the Choctaw Tribal Council, based in Indian Territory, showed little interest in sharing this land or cash-in-lieu with their Mississippi cousins.

It was only in December 1900 that the commissioners paid a visit to Mississippi to take applications. From December through June of the following year they scheduled meetings and accepted applications at Hattiesburg, Carthage, Philadelphia, Decatur, and Meridian.

Jack Amos, along with more than 100 others, filed a claim when the Dawes Commission met at Decatur. But Jack Amos, along with other Mississippi Choctaws, was already disillusioned with the delay. In 1898 Congress passed the Curtis Act which allowed claimants to apply the provisions of Article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. So they tried a new tactic¡ªthey asked that they be granted the land, not in Indian Territory, but in Mississippi, AND on the rights given in Article 14 of Dancing Rabbit Creek. What followed was a class-action suit with the name of Jack Amos listed first in the petition to the courts.

Among other concerns, the Dawes Commission addressed the legitimacy of each claimant relative to the Article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830. This was the treaty that released two-thirds of central Mississippi into the hands of white settlers and sent most of the Mississippi Indians on a Trail of Tears to the western lands, later to become the state of Oklahoma. Article 14 of that treaty provided that any Choctaw head of household who remained in Mississippi would be granted a section of land. Any child over the age of 10 was granted a half-section of land and any child under the age of 10, a quarter of section of land. The Indian agent Rufus Ward appointed to process these claims failed to do so in most cases; therefore, few Choctaws Indians received these benefits.

(Rufus Ward failed to process more than 75 applications under the terms of the 14th Article of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and was frequently intoxicated or absent from his station. He later told members of Congress that he thought he was doing what was intended of his position by disregarding these applications.)

The Dawes Commission began the process of determining how many Choctaw Indians were still residents of Mississippi, producing a census that came to be known as the McKennon Roll. Jack Amos was one of the first individuals from the Mississippi Choctaws who filed an application with the Dawes Commission in 1896 in order to receive a land grant, and which was largely ignored. It was at this time that Jack Amos, along with many other Mississippi Choctaws, contracted with attorneys Robert L Owen and Charles F. Winton to acquire land they had been denied under the terms of Article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.

This suit found its way into federal court as Jack Amos et al vs. The Choctaw Nation, U. S. Court of Central District of Indian Territory, No 158 (1897). During 1896 and 1897 Mr. Owen testified and lobbied the United States Congress on behalf of Jack Amos and the other Mississippi Indians named in the suit. Out of all the litigation on his behalf and the behalf of others, Jack Amos never received any compensation or land. He was promised land in the Indian Territory, but he refused to leave his beloved Mississippi.
The Civil War began in 1861 and it did not take long for Mississippi to become involved. Troops were called up for service all over the state. The newly formed Confederate States of America quickly made treaties with the Choctaw Nation, bringing this nation into the war on the side of the South. Both the Choctaw tribe in Indian Territory and in Mississippi began to raise units for service in the Civil War, and in 1861, Jack Amos, along with 200 other Mississippi Choctaws from Newton and Jasper Counties joined the Confederate Army. Jack served the Confederacy as a scout and interpreter between the Choctaws and Whites. Jack Amos first enlisted in the 1st Choctaw Battalion, Mississippi Calvary under the command of Maj. J. W. Pearce. Recruitment and training camps were set up in Newton County and in Tangipahoa, Louisiana. During the course of the war, members of this unit, both White officers and Choctaw soldiers, were engaged with Union troops at Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and were taken captive. Some of the Choctaws and White officers escaped and returned to Newton County, others escaped into the Louisiana marshes and were never heard from again, while still others were captured, placed in the Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, and later paraded in New York City as prisoners-of-war. With many of their warriors lost or killed, the unit disbanded on May 8, 1863.
Jack Amos was among those who escaped the clash at Ponchatoula. All members still present, including Jack Amos, were transferred to Spann’s Battalion of Independent Scouts under the command of Maj. S. C. Spann. Jack remained with his unit until its surrender in Meridian, Mississippi, on May 9, 1865. After the war, his commanding officer, S. G. Spann, wrote for Confederate Veteran’s Magazine a compelling story about the role of this Choctaw unit in the Confederacy and how this man--Jack Amos--made such an impact as an individual under his command.

Someone to care
Thank you for your visit, Red Wolf

Thank you for visiting my page at Angelfire. Please come back and visit again!

Email: wolf2dove@yahoo.com