Chaloklowa Chickasaw
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The Chaloklowa Chickasaws are a remnant of the Chickasaw tribe of the eastern United States that avoided the forced 1838 Indian removal to what is now Oklahoma. The event, in which the Five Civilized Tribes were forced on foot, in winter, with few provisions, to migrate with great suffering has come to be known as the Trail of Tears.
Some members of the tribe avoided the transfer and subsequent legal discrimination by concealing their Native American status, and managed to live as "The Shadow People" for several generations until legal discrimination ended. In have their tribal headquarters at Indiantown, South Carolina which was their historic eastern homeland.2005 members of the tribe gained official recognition from the State of South Carolina, and
Chalaklowa means "dancing turkey," in reference to the ritualized mating dances of the wild turkey. The tribe, officially known as the Chaloklowa Chickasaw Indian People is governed by Mingoes (chiefs) Vernon Tanner and Uly Joe Tanner. The group has started recreating a small village as a living history and teaching center for the public.
The group has been able to preserve many of the old customs and traditions by oral history and pow wows (pau waus) held secretly as family reunions. According to Chief Vernon Tanner many of the eastern tribes have lost their traditions and have had to borrow from the western tribes.
