Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

President Andrew Jackson gained congressional passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830 to achieve this goal and eliminate Native American land claims in the Southeast.A Choctaw described their situation in 1849 as follows: "We have had our habitations torn down and burned, our fences destroyed, cattle turned into our fields and we ourselves have been scourged, manacled, fettered and otherwise personally abused, until by such treatment some of our best men have died.Historian Robert Bruce Ferguson wrote in his 2015 article that: In late January 1914, Chief Wesley Johnson and his delegates (Culbertson Davis and Emil John) traveled to Washington, D.C. ...While they were in Washington, Johnson, Davis, and John met with numerous senators & representatives and persuaded the federals to bring the Choctaw case before Congress.[22] During the Great Depression and the Roosevelt administration, officials implemented numerous initiatives to alleviate some of the social and economic conditions in the South.The first Tribal Council members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw were Baxter and Emmett York, with Joe Chitto serving as the first chairperson.Mississippi continued to be dominated by conservative whites of the Democratic Party, who maintained legal racial segregation and disenfranchisement well into the late 20th century.[27] In the 1950s, successive Republican administrations, supported by conservative Democrats in the South (a one-party region), became impatient with the gradual assimilation of Native Americans.[29] During the same period, the federal government, concerned about the isolation of many Native Americans living on reservations in rural areas with scarce job opportunities, created relocation programs to cities.[31][32] The Choctaw people continued to struggle economically due to bigotry, cultural isolation, and lack of jobs in their rural area.However, with the reorganization and establishment of a tribal government over the next decades, they took control of their "schools, health care facilities, legal and judicial systems, and social service programs.They worked to celebrate their strengths and to exercise appropriate rights, dramatically reversing the trend of abandoning Indian culture and tradition.Both presidents Lyndon Johnson and Republican Richard Nixon repudiated the termination of the federal government's special relationships with Native American tribes.[36] Donna Ladd wrote that a Choctaw, now in her 40s, remembers "as a little girl, she thought that a 'white only' sign in a local store meant she could only order white, or vanilla, ice cream."[37] The end of legalized racial segregation permitted the Choctaw to participate in public institutions and facilities that had been reserved exclusively for white patrons.Starting with New Hampshire in 1963, numerous state legislatures passed new laws to establish state-run lotteries and other gambling enterprises to raise money for government services.[38][39] Phillip Martin, who had served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, returned to Neshoba County, Mississippi, to visit his former home.He would later write, the thing I remember the most ... was the depressing sight of the Choctaws, their shanties along the country roads, grown men lounging on the dirt streets of their villages in demeaning idleness, sometimes drinking from a common bottle, sharing a roll-your-own cigarette, their half-clad children a picture of hurting that would never end.However, in 1992, Governor Kirk Fordice gave permission for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to develop Class III gaming.[53] Purporting to represent Native Americans before Congress and state governments to aid them in setting up gaming on their reservation, lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon used fraudulent means to gain profits of $15 million in payment from MBCI.The Choctaw have celebrated the day since as a tribal holiday, and made it an occasion to tell stories of their origin and history, serve traditional foods, and conduct related dances.[citation needed] The Choctaw regularly traveled hundreds of miles from their homes for long periods of time, moving to seasonal hunting grounds in the winter.