Chapter 2: Chickasaw Children Go to School

In the previous chapter I had mentioned Reverend Carr's envisiones of an all female boarding school, which was later built and named the Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw Females. The history of his plans for success was just the beginning of a new life for Chickasaw women who believed that literacy was crucial to thier life skills and future. However, chapter two tells a little bit of history prior to the boarding school. For instance, I learned that at one time it has been believed that the Choctaw and Chickasaw were one nation.

The stories is told that during migration, a sacred pole was carried by the tribes holy men every day of the march, and at night as the men placed the pole upright into the ground, in the morning it would magically be pointing toward the east. This continued until after crossing the Mississippi River, two brothers had argued on which direction the pole was leaning. They were unable to settle their argument and so they separated each taking members of the tribe with them. This is the condensed version of their traditional creation story. Today, the Chickasaw and the Choctaw both share similar creation stories, although the dialect has minor differences, they both share the same language.

It also touches base regarding the Removal Act of 1830, the fourteen treaties with the U.S. government between 1786-1902, the expenses from tribal funds to build indian boarding schools, and the excitement of finally attending schools to educate themselves on literacy. Unlike other Native American tribes, Chickasaw nation welcomed the english language. It is interesting how in this chapter it shared the history, traditional values, and the importance of education. The collision with white settlers demanding land on their reservations and the birth of sovereignty and independence. This second chapter gives history and knowledge of the beginnings of how the Bloomfield Academy for Chickasaw Females came to be, as well as other boarding schools throughout the reservations.