You know I now know why my mother would never talk about her grandmother being Indian,because she wasn't suppose to be married to a white man, they changed that law in 1920 my mother was 1 year old so they had kept that secret for years! ----- Original Message ----- From: <GARBERCNS@aol.com> To: <CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, August 09, 2002 11:19 AM Subject: [CHOCTAW-SE] Re: Choctaws in MS > I don't think anyone is contending that the Choctaws had much choice about > signing the treaty. Indians in many states in the southeast had already been > legally deprived of their civil rights by the individual states--Alabama, > Georgia, etc. For example, an Indian could not testify in court against a > white person; hence, white folks could steal his property, assault him, etc., > at will. So there wasn't really much choice. And it should be remembered > that many Choctaws were not in Mississippi but in Alabama along the Tombigbee > River. > > The point is that the federal government made treaties with the Indians that > were not properly administered by individuals within the states and > localities because of incompetence and greed. It is at this point that we > find first asserted in a legal context the principle of "states' rights" with > regard to the supposed right of the state to disregard federal treaties and > decisions by federal courts. > > The Choctaws who remained in Mississippi (and elsewhere) were likely mostly > of mixed blood or married to whites. The treaty specified that they could > become citizens and provided land for them that was to be allocated to them > before the cession was generally available for settlement by the whites. > These people stayed where they were based on these assurances. However, the > federal government failed to live up to its promises. And there was > effectively no recourse for these people. > > Kitty > > > ==== CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST Mailing List ==== > Got a PROBLEM?? Got a GRIPE?? Just wanna' WHINE?? Don't post it to the list. Write to me, the listowner, at CHOCTAW-SOUTHEAST-admin@rootsweb.com >