"The Chickasaw Nation, an active tribe now in the Arbuckle Mountains of Oklahoma, was once known as the “Spartans of the Lower Mississippi Valley” and the “Unconquered and Unconquerable Chickasaw.”

The Chickasaw's original homeland was in what’s now Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. Their first contact with Europeans came in 1540, when Hernando de Soto was exploring for gold. Rather than acquiesce to his demand for 200 slaves, they attacked his camp at night. Forty Spaniards were killed and their equipment was destroyed.

In 1837, the Chickasaw were forced from their ancestral lands by the federal government to move to what is now Oklahoma. This proud nation has built a cultural center open to the public in Sulphur, Oklahoma."

Get the Story:
Tamar Fleishman: Unconquerable Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma (The San Diego Reader 11/1)