Chakchiuma facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| extinct as a tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States (formerly Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee) |
|
| Languages | |
| Chakchiuma | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Chickasaw, Choctaw |
The Chakchiuma were a group of Native American people. They lived in the area of the upper Yazoo River in what is now Mississippi. French explorers in the late 1600s said the Chakchiuma were like a "Chicacha nation." This means they were related to the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. They probably came from the same ancestors. By the mid-1700s, the Chakchiuma joined the Chickasaw Nation.
What Does "Chakchiuma" Mean?
The name Chakchiuma originally came from the words Sa'ktcihuma. This means "red crawfish." The crawfish was an important symbol, or totem, for their tribe. The Choctaw people also used a similar name, shakchi humma, for "red crawfish."
Over time, Europeans wrote the name in different ways. You might see it as Sacchuma or Saquechuma in old records. Another explorer, d'Iberville, wrote it as Choquichoumans. Some historians believe the name of the Houma tribe also came from Chakchiuma.
A Look at Chakchiuma History
The Chakchiuma tribe first appeared in historical records around 1540. This was when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto sent his soldiers to their lands. De Soto was staying with the Chickasaw people at the time.
Later, in 1700, English traders tried to get the Quapaw tribe to capture Chakchiuma people. The English wanted to sell them as slaves in their colonies. But the Quapaw were not successful in this plan. Some historians think the English asked the Quapaw because the Chickasaw, their usual trading partners, might not have wanted to attack their own relatives.
The Chakchiuma also took part in the Yazoo War on the French side. Around 1739, the Chakchiuma had serious conflicts with other tribes. These were mainly with the Chickasaw. These conflicts led to the end of the Chakchiuma as an independent tribe. They became part of the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. The Chickasaw and Choctaw were very upset with the Chakchiuma. They fought fiercely against them.
Even after these conflicts, the Chakchiuma people were still numerous. They formed their own group, called the Crawfish clan, within the Choctaw tribe. This happened when they joined the Choctaw in the 1730s.
How Many Chakchiuma People Were There?
In 1702, a French governor named Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville said there were 400 Chakchiuma families. Based on this, historians believe there were about 2,000 Chakchiuma people in total.
However, by 1704, their numbers had dropped a lot. They had only about 80 families left. This was mainly because of diseases brought by Europeans. These diseases spread quickly and caused many deaths. Their population likely fell to fewer than 500 people.
By 1735, Bienville recorded only 60 Chakchiuma families. The governor-general of New France, Phillippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, wrote that the tribe had been wiped out by warfare. But an English trader named Jerome Courtance wrote in 1757 that some survivors had settled in Chickasaw villages.
