OklahomaHorses Magazine September 2023

September / October 2023 • OklahomaHorses 21 the South, and it was discovered that the Chickasaw horses could often win quarter- mile races. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 The Chickasaws’ original homeland was in northern Mississippi, northwestern Alabama, western Tennessee, and southwestern Kentucky. The American settlers wanted the Chickasaws and other Southeastern tribes out so that they could claim that land for themselves. President Andrew Jackson campaigned for Indian removal and eventually signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. That law granted unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River to tribes in exchange for their homelands within existing state borders. Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, became the new home of the Chickasaws, Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, and Choctaws (who became known as the Five Civilized Tribes). Because of the extreme hardship and high number of deaths that occurred during relocation, the removal became known as the Trail of Tears. The Chickasaws, however, fared better than other tribes during removal, and that might have been partly because of their horses. The tribe also controlled their departures and chose more favorable seasons for travel. “Unlike other tribes, the Chickasaw weren’t forced to sell their livestock,” said Littlefield. “They brought about 7,000 horses with them, which averaged about one horse per person.” The Chickasaws rode, but they also used their horses as pack animals and drove buggies and wagons to carry their belongings. Littlefield noted, “The tribes were told they could bring 30 pounds of personal property with them after they were forced from their homelands, but the Chickasaws averaged 450 pounds. Agents said they could pack more on a horse than anyone they’d ever seen.” Ferry receipts show that large herds of horses were transported over waterways on the journey to Indian Territory. As relayed by the National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov), an observer described the Chickasaw party just before crossing the Mississippi River: “I do not think that I have ever been a witness of so remarkable a scene … this immense column of moving Indians, several thousand, with the train of Govt wagons, the multitude of horses….” Immediately after removal, tension was high between the Plains tribes in Indian Territory and the Chickasaws, but in time, trading occurred between tribes, including the trading of horses. Once in Indian Territory, the Chickasaws merged with the Choctaws, but after several decades, the two tribes split, each establishing its own nation. The Chickasaw Nation capital was first in Tishomingo but is now in Ada. Chickasaw Horses Today After the tribe’s removal to Indian Territory, the Chickasaw horse breed slowly began to disappear because of crossbreeding with European and Arabian stock. However, the American Quarter Horse Association recognizes today’s quarter horse as a direct descendant of the Chickasaw horse breed. In fact, the prototype of the quarter horse was developed in the 1700s when an imported English thoroughbred sire named Janus was bred to colonial mares with Chickasaw horse bloodlines. In 1957, J. A. (Andy) Barker aimed to bring the Chickasaw horse back into existence. He purchased a stud from the Kainai Nation in Canada and bred him to some of the small Chickasaw horses living off the islands of the Atlantic Coast. He also started the Chickasaw Horse Association, based in Statesville, North Carolina. The organization registered more than 400 horses but is no longer active. Remnants of the Chickasaw horse breed still remain in a few places, however. Some roam free on the islands of the Outer Banks off Virginia and North and South Carolina. Those horses are now known as the Corolla wild horses and are protected by law, but they can still be seen by visitors. Lieb noted that there are other remnants of the Chickasaw horses too. “There are a few isolated farms in Mississippi still where isolated herds or families of Indian horses survive.” Wild Indian horses are also in the Kiamichi Mountains in the Choctaw Nation in southeastern Oklahoma, he added. During removal from the Southeast to Indian Territory in the 1830s, many Chickasaws traveled by horse-drawn wagons. The tribe brought about 7,000 Chickasaw horses with them. Artwork by Norma Howard. Courtesy of the Chickasaw Nation. Digital image provided by Brad Lieb.