A Little of Our History
Prior to Kilihoti
In the early 1900s in McAlester, the East-West Railroad Company built the Kali-Inla building for its offices, just about a block from the railroad station on Main and Choctaw Streets. In 1910, the building was remodeled into a hotel with some office space. The building had several names over the years. Two names recalled were the Komar Hotel and the Doss House.
In the early 1900s in McAlester, the East-West Railroad Company built the Kali-Inla building for its offices, just about a block from the railroad station on Main and Choctaw Streets. In 1910, the building was remodeled into a hotel with some office space. The building had several names over the years. Two names recalled were the Komar Hotel and the Doss House.
Today, a red granite boulder, approximately 40" high and 47" wide and dedicated to this magnificent structure, stands in Chadick Park in McAlester. The marker was placed by the Sachem Sequoyah Chapter. There is a brass plaque which reads, "A tribute to Our Revolutionary Ancestors, erected by Sachem Sequoyah Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, McAlester, Oklahoma, 1916." |
The Choctaw Indians in This Area
In 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek forcibly relocated the entire Choctaw nation from its homeland in Mississippi west to what is now known as Southeastern Oklahoma. Over twenty thousand Choctaw Indians were relocated on this long journey. Only seven thousand survived this journey on what has come to be known as "The Trail of Tears." The Choctaw population has now grown from the original seven thousand survivors to more than seventy thousand.
In 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek forcibly relocated the entire Choctaw nation from its homeland in Mississippi west to what is now known as Southeastern Oklahoma. Over twenty thousand Choctaw Indians were relocated on this long journey. Only seven thousand survived this journey on what has come to be known as "The Trail of Tears." The Choctaw population has now grown from the original seven thousand survivors to more than seventy thousand.
"Okla" (The People)
The Choctaws were one of the largest and most advanced tribes in all of North America. Yet, with all of their knowledge, they left few if any written records. The first written treaty between the United States and the Choctaw Indians was January 3, 1786. Nine more treaties were agreed upon, the final being the infamous Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek signed September 15, 1830. There were additional treaties made with the Choctaws who had relocated to Indian Territory in what is now the State of Oklahoma. The Choctaw who remained in Mississippi became the target of unscrupulous land speculators as the Federal Government made repeated efforts to remove them. In 1830 the U.S. government passed the Indian Removal Act which was to affect all southeastern Native Americans and immediately followed it up with the Choctaw-specific Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. To this day there is a tombstone-like marker at Dancing Rabbit Creek commemorating the signing.
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek abrogated all previous agreements and called for the removal of all Choctaw, by 1833, from the remaining ancestral lands to reservations in what was to eventually become Oklahoma. Each individual also had the option of accepting a parcel of land and remaining in Mississippi. However, the price of doing this was the loss of Choctaw identity and the acceptance of U.S. and Mississippi citizenship.
Choctaw leader, Allen Wright, first suggested the name for Oklahoma, which meant "people red" in the Muskogean language. Wright was a minister who went on to become the Principal Chief of the Choctaw Indians in 1866. After the Removal Act, part of the land (now Oklahoma) was designated Indian Territory. This territory comprised the Choctaw and Cherokee Nations, and later the Chickasaw Nation in 1855. Once the Civil War was over, the U.S. government began to consider the idea of merging all the tribal governments in the territory, at which point Wright suggested they rename the territory Oklahoma. The reorganization did not take place until 1890, in an act passed by Congress.
The Choctaws were one of the largest and most advanced tribes in all of North America. Yet, with all of their knowledge, they left few if any written records. The first written treaty between the United States and the Choctaw Indians was January 3, 1786. Nine more treaties were agreed upon, the final being the infamous Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek signed September 15, 1830. There were additional treaties made with the Choctaws who had relocated to Indian Territory in what is now the State of Oklahoma. The Choctaw who remained in Mississippi became the target of unscrupulous land speculators as the Federal Government made repeated efforts to remove them. In 1830 the U.S. government passed the Indian Removal Act which was to affect all southeastern Native Americans and immediately followed it up with the Choctaw-specific Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. To this day there is a tombstone-like marker at Dancing Rabbit Creek commemorating the signing.
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek abrogated all previous agreements and called for the removal of all Choctaw, by 1833, from the remaining ancestral lands to reservations in what was to eventually become Oklahoma. Each individual also had the option of accepting a parcel of land and remaining in Mississippi. However, the price of doing this was the loss of Choctaw identity and the acceptance of U.S. and Mississippi citizenship.
Choctaw leader, Allen Wright, first suggested the name for Oklahoma, which meant "people red" in the Muskogean language. Wright was a minister who went on to become the Principal Chief of the Choctaw Indians in 1866. After the Removal Act, part of the land (now Oklahoma) was designated Indian Territory. This territory comprised the Choctaw and Cherokee Nations, and later the Chickasaw Nation in 1855. Once the Civil War was over, the U.S. government began to consider the idea of merging all the tribal governments in the territory, at which point Wright suggested they rename the territory Oklahoma. The reorganization did not take place until 1890, in an act passed by Congress.
Kiliahote, the son of Ishtemahilvbi and his wife, was born on the left bank of the Yaknukni River in Attala County, Mississippi in the latter part of November, 1826. At birth he was invested with the name Kiliahote by his parents and in later years was given the name Allen Wright. He was seven-eighths Choctaw. His mother died when he was just six years old. She was full blood Choctaw Indian of the Ahepat (Hayipatuklo) Oklahoma Clan. |
Ishtemahilvhi and his family of four children, his own mother, sister and brothers and their families, left Mississippi in October 1833 arriving at Lukfata Creek in what is today McCurtain County, Oklahoma, in March 1834. He entered schools in the west and became a scholar and a minister of the Presbyterian Church. He became the Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation in 1860. Principal Chiefs were referred to as Governor. He named Oklahoma "Land of the red people." He died in 1878.
Dr. Harriet Wright O'Leary Mackey (Mrs. Pat), a deceased member of Kilihoti Chapter, was a granddaughter of Allen Wright and was named for her grandmother, Allen Wright's mother. Dr. Mackey was Regent of Kilihoti Chapter from 1986 to 1988. Allen Wright's Choctaw name, Kilihoti, was chosen for the name of the McAlester Chapter, which incorporated the ideals and aspirations which the chapter members wished to be their motivating force. Kilihoti means "Onward with progress," a fitting motto for a chapter in the lands allotted to the Choctaw Indians.
|
The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR.
Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters.
Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters.