The Yowani were a historical group of

Choctaw people The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

who lived in Texas. Yowani was also the name of a preremoval Choctaw village. When this area became part of the United States under the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

in 1803, many of the resident Indian tribes wanted to emigrate to less hostile environs. Spain agreed to allow the Yowani and the Alabama-Coushatta to move to

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created ...

. In 1824, after Mexico gained independence, a second group of Yowani received permission to establish villages in Texas.Correspondence Between General Manuel Mier y Terán and Texas 1828-1832 The Yowani gradually abandoned their original Mississippi homelands. By 1850 most Yowani had moved west and lived within the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation () is a federally recognized Indigenous nation with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation descends from an Indigenous population historically located in the southeastern United States, in ...

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

near present-day Ardmore and Marlow, Oklahoma, and in Rusk and Smith counties in east Texas, as a part of the

Mount Tabor Indian Community The Mount Tabor Indian Community (also Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands of the Mount Tabor Indian Community) is a cultural heritage group located in Rusk County, Texas. There was a historical Mount Tabor Indian Community dating from the 19th ...

. During the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

in 1836, the Yowani were a party to a peace treaty with the new

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

of Texas. Following Texas's independence and the creation of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

, relations between Indian tribes and English-speaking settlers deteriorated. Under President Mirabeau B. Lamar, the Texas Army drove most of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

out of Texas. A

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

group attacked the Choctaw instead. The survivors split up, with most leaving Texas. Between 1840 and 1843, elements of the Mexican militia, led by Vicente Cordova, fought a

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

war against the Anglo settlers, using warriors from remnant groups of displaced tribes, primarily Cherokee but including some Yowani Choctaw. General Adrian Woll led the Mexican occupation of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

in September 1842. Both Indian and Mexican regulars were involved in the defeat of the Dawson Expedition and the Battle of

Salado Creek Salado Creek ( ) is a waterway in San Antonio that runs from northern Bexar County for about to the San Antonio River near Buena Vista.Mexican troops soon departed from Texas. For the remnant tribes, peace came when

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

was elected as President of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

the next year. He approved the

Treaty of Birds Fort The Treaty of Bird's Fort, or Bird's Fort Treaty was a peace treaty between the Republic of Texas and some of the Indian tribes of Texas and Oklahoma, signed on September 29, 1843. The treaty was intended to end years of hostilities and warfare b ...

, which brought an end to hostilities, especially for the Cherokee residing at

Monclova, Mexico Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...

under Chicken Trotter. Following the end of the Texas-Indian Wars, some of the Yowani returned to East Texas, where they settled with members of Chicken Trotter's Texas Cherokee, along with Old Settler and Ridge Party Cherokee, and McIntosh Party Creek. These three groups combined to form the

. Most of the men served in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In the early 20th century, several members of the Yowani Choctaw, led by

William Clyde Thompson William Clyde Thompson (c. 1839–1912) was a Texas Choctaw-Chickasaw leader of the Mount Tabor Indian Community in Texas and an officer of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. After moving north to the Chickasaw Nation in 188 ...

of Texas, relocated to the

in Indian Territory. They wanted to be included in registration for the

Dawes Commission The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893. Its purpose was to convince the Five Civilized Tribes to agree to cede tribal title ...

Final Rolls as citizens by blood of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo, exceeding t ...

and recognized by the federal government. This would enable them to be eligible for allotments of land, as the United States had decided to allocate the tribal communal land to individual households to encourage their adoption of subsistence farming. A long political struggle ensued between 1898 and 1909, as the Choctaw leaders of Indian Territory did not want the long-absent Yowani to receive any of their land. In 1905 the Bureau of Indian Affairs struck all the registered Texas Yowani from the Final Rolls of the Choctaw Nation. Thompson pursued a legal challenge, appealing the government's action ultimately to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. It ruled in favor of the Yowani,United States Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior-Choctaw Citizenship Cases, #4 William C. Thompson et al., pgs 151-157 and these families were included on a 1909

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

reinstatement list, giving them citizenship in the

and the right to any associated benefits.

Village

The original Yowani village appeared on a 1777 French map near the village of Chiasawhay and the

Pascagoula River The Pascagoula River is a river, about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 square miles (23,000 km²) and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico. ...

, west of what was described at the "Choctaw Capitale." The Yowani Choctaw were associated by name with the village where they were living when French traders from the ''

La Louisiane Louisiana or French Louisiana was a district of New France. In 1682 the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle erected a cross near the mouth of the Mississippi River and claimed the whole of the drainage basin of the Missis ...

'' colony encountered them. The word in Choctaw is believed to have meant "caterpillar," likely common at that site. Over time, the Yowani band expanded its territory westward to the eastern dividing ridge of Bogue Homa, then northward as far as present-day Pachuta Creek. From this point, their territory ran south to the confluence of the Chickasawhay and Buckatunna rivers. By 1764, a group of Yowani had moved west into Louisiana, where they established contact with the

Koasati The Coushatta () are a Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When the Coushatta first encountered Europeans, their Coushatta homelands where in present-day Tennessee ...

and

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

indigenous peoples. Over time, the Yowani adopted Caddo customs and the groups became very interlinked by marriage. In the late 19th century, the American anthropologist

James Mooney James Mooney (February 10, 1861 – December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. Known as "The Indian Man", he conducted major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as of tribes on the Great ...

listed the Yowani as one of the 13 divisions of the

Caddo Confederacy The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

Moving westward

At the time that the Yowani ventured into

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, the territory had been under Spanish control since 1763, when

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

ceded it after defeat by Great Britain in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, fought both in Europe and North America. In 1800, Spain traded Louisiana back to France. After Napoleon briefly attempted to re-establish control over Saint-Domingue, with visions of empire in North America, he sold the mainland territory in 1803 to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as what they called the

. It doubled the area of the new nation. Many of the ethnic French residents of Louisiana, and many of the Indian tribes, did not want to be ruled by the United States. Spain agreed to allow several Indian tribes, including the Yowani Choctaw and the Alabama-Coushatta, to relocate to the neighboring Spanish colonial province of Texas. Other Indian tribes later emigrated to Texas to avoid the Americans; these included some

, Muscogee-Creek,

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

, Delaware,

Quapaw The Quapaw ( , Quapaw language, Quapaw: ) or Arkansas, officially the Quapaw Nation, is a List of federally recognized tribes in the United States, U.S. federally recognized tribe comprising about 6,000 citizens. Also known as the Ogáxpa or � ...

, Kickapoo and

Miami Indians The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...

."Texas Indian Papers 1825-1845", Texas State Library and Archives, Austin, Texas Following the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

from Spain, Mexico assumed control of

. In 1824, another group of Yowani, led by Atahobia, petitioned the Mexican government to settle within the province of Texas. They were given permission to establish several villages east of the Trinity River and west of the border with Louisiana. During the period between 1810 and 1836, many of the relocated tribes, including the Yowani Choctaw, were often subject to attacks from the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

who roamed the western part of Texas. The

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

, located in the southern part of the province, also attacked them. The Yowani often joined forces with the English-speaking settlers for self-defense against these

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

tribes. By 1832, all but two families had left the traditional Yowani lands in Mississippi to migrate west.Frederick Webb Hodge, ed., ''Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico'' (2 vols., Washington: GPO, 1907, 1910, rpt., New York: Pageant, 1959 Although some settled briefly in what is now

Rapides Parish, Louisiana Rapides Parish () () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,023. The parish seat and largest city is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides'' is th ...

, by 1850 many of the Yowani had settled with other Choctaw in the

. This area had been established during Indian Removal of the 1830s, when the US forced tribes from the East to west of the Mississippi River, exchanging lands and arranging payments or annuities in some instances. The Yowani remaining in east Texas joined with other remnant peoples to form a part of what is now recognized as th
Mount Tabor Indian Community
In Louisiana, they were closely related to the remaining Coushatta, the Louisiana Band of Choctaw and the Jena Band of Choctaw.

Texas Indian Wars 1835–1843

In 1835, English-speaking settlers and some anti- Santa Anna

Tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...

s in Texas launched the

to gain independence from Mexico. The provisional Texas government sent

, a man much respected by the

, to negotiate a treaty with the Indians living in

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

. They concluded a treaty at Bowles Village on February 23, 1836, between the Cherokee and Twelve Associated Tribes and the provisional Texas government. This treaty was the first in an attempt to form an inter-tribal community in which the Choctaw were fully involved. In March 1836, the

was established, gaining full independence from Mexico the following month. Elected the first president of the Republic, Houston continued to negotiate peace with the various Indian tribes. After 1837, the Yowani combined settlements to form a single village on Attoyac Bayou in extreme southeastern Rusk County.Texas Indian Papers, Census of Tribes, Texas State library and Archives, Austin, Texas An 1837 census of Indians in the

noted that 70 Yowani Choctaw lived in this village, along with several

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

. The census also noted that these people were peaceable. The Texas Legislature refused to ratify many of Houston's treaties. The second president of the Republic,

Mirabeau Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 19, 1859) was an American attorney, politician, poet, and leading political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was elected as the second president of the Republic of Texas after Sa ...

, did not share Houston's respect for the native tribes, and refused to honor Houston's treaties. New settlers to the region often settled or encroached on lands that had been granted to Indian tribes, and some tribes retaliated against them. In the summer of 1839, Lamar ordered the

Texian Army The Texian Army, also known as the Revolutionary Army and Army of the People, was the land warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It spontaneously formed from the Texian Militia in October 1835 following the Bat ...

to attack Cherokee villages. The Americans eventually drove the Cherokee out of Texas; some went to Indian Territory, where the Cherokee Nation had relocated, and others to northern Mexico. Several small Cherokee bands escaped detection and removal. One small band, led by Chicken Trotter, tried to regain some of their lands in 1840. While his petition was pending in the Republic legislature, Chicken Trotter and several other Cherokee were involved in an altercation with three white men near

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and specia ...

. The resulting scuffle resulted in the deaths of the three whites. Fearing hostility of other whites, Chicken Trotter led his group to Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Angry at the death of the three white men, a vigilante group formed in Nacogdoches. Unable to catch up to Chicken Trotter and his group, the vigilantes attacked the nearby Yowani village, massacring some eleven Choctaw men, women, and children. After the attack, the Yowani Choctaw abandoned their village. Some returned to Mississippi and others moved to Indian Territory to join the Chickasaw Nation. A third group joined the Caddo at the Brazos Reservation further west, and eventually accompanied the Caddo to a reservation in Indian Territory. A fourth group, led by Woody Jones, chose to remain in East Texas, moving further into the piney woods to avoid detection by Texas military forces. Throughout Lamar's term as president, the Republic of Texas conducted a policy of attrition against various groups of Natives, including those under Chicken Trotter. He launched a

campaign against Texans. When Lamar's term expired, Sam Houston was elected to a second term as president. Houston began treaty negotiations with the tribes, culminating in the Treaty of Birds Fort, which was concluded on September 29, 1843. This treaty ended most hostilities in Texas with the tribes who had migrated to Texas decades before. Although the Yowani were not a direct party to it, they had several ties to those in attendance. Many of the displaced tribes, including some Yowani Choctaw, formed a new community
Mount Tabor Indian Community
Many Yowani continued to live under the authority of Woody Jones in Houston County near the border with Trinity County.

Mount Tabor Indian Community

The

formed following the purchase of 10,000 acres of land in Rusk County by Benjamin Franklin Thompson in the spring of 1844. Acting on behalf of the Cherokee, Thompson was the American husband of Annie Martin, a Cherokee and daughter of John Martin, first Chief Justice of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

. These Cherokee were joined by those who had been a part of the original Texas Cherokee Nation and removed to Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. The Mount Tabor community continued to grow after Texas joined the United States in 1845. President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

in 1844 granted permission to both members of the Ridge Party and the Old Settlers of the Cherokee, who had political differences with the

, to relocate from Indian Territory to Mount Tabor. The community was named by John Adair Bell, a Cherokee signer of the

Treaty of New Echota The Treaty of New Echota was a treaty signed on December 29, 1835, in New Echota, Georgia, by officials of the United States government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction, the Treaty Party. The treaty established terms ...

. More Yowani Choctaw, led by Atahobia's grandson Archibald Thompson and Nashoba's grandson Jeremiah Jones, relocated to the Mount Tabor Indian Community before 1850. These were followed by McIntosh Creek Indians, led by brothers William and Thomas Berryhill, also before 1850.

Civil War

When the

erupted, almost all of the people living at Mount Tabor supported the Confederacy. It had promised the Native American tribes a state of their own if the Confederacy won the war. Many enlisted in the

as part of the Cherokee Mounted Rifles under

Stand Watie Brigadier-General Stand Watie (; December 12, 1806September 9, 1871), also known as Standhope Uwatie and Isaac S. Watie, was a Cherokee politician who served as the second principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1862 to 1866. The Cherokee ...

, who was commissioned as a high-ranking officer. During the war, two other Cherokee communities formed in Texas. These were mainly for the protection of Confederate soldiers' families. Besides Rusk County, another Cherokee community formed near present-day

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

, as well as one in Wood County near Quitman. The Wood County group consisted of both Cherokee and Choctaw. While a few of the Mount Tabor Yowani enlisted with the Cherokee Mounted Rifles, most became part of the Texas 14th Cavalry under John Martin Thompson. The war took a heavy toll on the community, as nearly one-quarter of all male residents were dead by the end of the war.

Dawes Commission

Between 1866 and the close of the

Final Rolls in the early 20th century, 80% of the Cherokee left Mount Tabor to return north to the Cherokee Nation. Most of the Texas Choctaw stayed in Texas, with a few relocating to the Chickasaw Nation. Only during the period of registration in the

Dawes Rolls The Dawes Rolls (or Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, or Dawes Commission of Final Rolls) were created by the United States Dawes Commission. The commission was authorized by United States Congress in 1893 to exe ...

under the Commission, when members registered to be eligible for allotments of communal land, did a number of Choctaw take the opportunities available and move north. A handful settled in Atoka in the Choctaw Nation. One family moved to Tuskahoma. The majority moved into Pickens County in the Chickasaw Nation near present-day

Marlow, Oklahoma Marlow is a city in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,385 at the time of the 2020 Census. Marlow is located 10 miles north of Duncan, Oklahoma, and 30 miles east of Lawton, Oklahoma. History The site that would be ...

. Many of the Yowani Choctaw from Texas sought to register on the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes as Citizens by Blood in the Choctaw Nation. Because of their long residence in Texas, the Choctaw Nation officially opposed them and challenged theirs and other registrations. In 1906, 70 members of the Yowani Choctaw who lived in Texas were stricken from the membership rolls of the Choctaw Nation. William C. Thompson and his cousin John Thurston Thompson, Jr. were among them, and sued to be reinstated. In 1909, the

ruled in their favor, saying that the Texas Choctaw should be reinstated.

Recent years

Throughout the twentieth century, there have been a number strong leaders among the Texas Choctaw community within the overal
Mount Tabor Indian Community
which has been recognized as a tribe by the state. These include

and

Martin Luther Thompson Martin Luther Thompson was a Texas Choctaw leader and rancher who along with his relatives, William Clyde Thompson (1839–1912), Robert E. Lee Thompson (1872–1959) and John Thurston Thompson (1864–1907), led several families of Choctaws from t ...

, who helped gain registration for their peoples as citizens "by Blood" in the Choctaw Nation. They also helped to keep the Texas community viable. The Cherokee predominated by number in the group and generally led the community. No Choctaw was selected as Chairman of the Executive Committee before 1988. When the

adopted its 1975 constitution, it excluded the Texas Cherokees and Associate Band
Mount Tabor Indian Community
as a band or affiliate of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, although they had been considered so during the earlier part of the 20th century. Cherokee who remained in Texas were no longer recognized formally as part of a tribe or as Native Americans by the Federal Government. In 1972 Judge Foster T. Bean, an original enrollee on the

Guion Miller Roll The Guion Miller Roll is a roll created by the US government between 1906 and 1911 to document Eastern Cherokee people, for the purposes of distributing money paid as restitution for the violation of treaties. History In 1902, Congress authorized t ...

, took over as Chairman of the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands. Keeler became Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Judge Bean served until retiring from in 1988. He was replaced by J.C. Thompson, who as a descendant of the Thompson-McCoy family was of Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw descent. Thompson held the position for eleven years until Terry Easterly took over in 1999. Terry was descended from Arthur Thompson, brother of

. Terry was the first woman to hold the position and the first who did not have Cherokee blood. Terry was Choctaw, Chickasaw and Muscogee-Creek, and was the first person of Creek ancestry to head the community. In 2001, she was succeeded by Peggy Dean-Atwood, Choctaw and Chickasaw, a descendant of Archibald Thompson. In 2002, J.C. Thompson was then again chosen as Chairman and remained in that capacity until August 2018. He was succeeded by William Ellis "Billy" Bean. Chairman Bean is the great grandson o
Mount Tabor
Chief John Ellis Bean, an original enrollee on the Cherokee Old Settler payment roll. Chairman Bean was removed as Tribal Chairman by action of the Tribal Court for cause on September 2, 2019. He was replaced by Cheryl Giordano of Arp, who is of Choctaw-Chickasaw descent and had previously served as Operations Coordinator on the Executive Committee. She is assisted today by Deputy Chairman Rex Thompson, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee of Troup. The next tribal election is tentatively scheduled for October 2020. The Community is continuing to seek Federal Acknowledgment as an American Indian Tribe. On May 10, 2017, Texas Governor Greg Abbot signed into law 84 SCR 25, recognizing the Mount Tabor Indian Community in Texas. The community adopted a new constitution in August 2017, establishing a three-tier government made up of the five-member Executive Committee; a seven-member Tribal Council, and a three-member Tribal Court. There are more than 500 enrolled members, with offices in both Kilgore and Troup, Texas. The Community also supports the Mount Tabor Indian Heritage Center

References

Notes

Bibliography

Sources

* ''The Choctaw Before Removal'' By Carolyn Keller Reeves, Published by University Press of Mississippi, 2004, , * Texas A&M University-Sons of Dewitt Colony Texas: Texas—Disputed Border and Buffer between New Spain and the United States, Neutral Ground (No Man's Land) between the Sabine and Arroyo Hondo—Attempts to Control Immigration 1805-1809 * Texas A&M University-The Journal of Lieutenant Colonel Don Manuel Salcedo, March 11, 1810 - June 23, 1810 * Texas A&M University-Tenoxtitlan, Dream Capital of Texas; by Dr. Malcolm D. McLean, Originally published in "The Southwestern Historical Quarterly" July 1966, Vol. LXX, No. 1 * Texas A&M University-Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas: Some difficulties of a Texas Emprsario, Letter from L.R. Kenny to Stephen F. Austin, May 5, 1826 * Texas A&M University-Sons of DeWitt Colony Texas: Letter of Peter Ellis Bean to US President Andrew Jackson September 11, 1835 * Texas Indian Papers 1837, census of tribes in the Republic, attitudes of the Yowani Choctaws and allied Chickasaws of Attoyac Bayou, Nacogdoches District * Texas by Terán By Manuel de Mier y Teran, Jack Jackson, John Wheat, Scooter Cheatham, Lynn Marshall * William C. Thompson and the Choctaw-Chickasaw Paper Chase, by Dr. Douglas Hale, Oklahoma State University * The Old Mount Tabor Community; Genealogy of Old and New Cherokee Indian Families, (out of print) By George Morrison Bell Sr. 1969 * Oklahoma Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 9, Number 2, 1964 *
Cherokee Adairs, By Betty Barker and the Adair Reunion Committee; A family history recording the Adair family from Europe to the Cheorkee Nation, 2003, ARC Press
* The Dawes Commission and the Allotment of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1914 By Kent Carter, Published by Ancestry Publishing, 1999, , 9780916489854 * Cherokee Cavaliers: Forty Years of Cherokee History As Told in the Correspondence of the Ridge-Watie-Boudinot Family, 1939 By Edward Everett Dale and Gaston Litton, University of Oklahoma Press; , 13:978-0806127217 *
The Handbook of Texas Online: Indians; Republics of Mexico and Texas, George Klos
*
The Handbook of Texas Online: Yowani Indians, Margery H. Krieger
*

* ttps://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fth43 Handbook of Texas Online: John Martin Thompson, By Thomas D. Isern* Texas-Cherokees vs United States Docket 26, 26 Ind Cl Comm. 78 (1971) * Library of the University of Michigan, Department of the Interior, Laws, Decisions and Regulations Affecting the work of the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes 1893-1906 pgs 130-138 * United States Department of the Interior, secretary of the Interior-Choctaw Citizenship Cases, #4 William C. Thompson et al., pgs 151-157 * Texas Legislature Online "Actions" Senate Recognition of the Mount Tabor Indian Communit

External links

The Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma (official site)The Handbook of Texas Online: Yowani Indians, Margery H. KriegerThe Handbook of Texas Online: Indians by George KlosThe Handbook of Texas Online: Mount Tabor Indian Community by Patrick PynesLaw Offices of Steven D. Sandven, Texas Choctaw proposed constitution separate from the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands, 2005
{{authority control Native American history of Texas