Choctaw treaty of 1830 recalled at University of West Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Near a creek just west of Sumter County in Mississippi, leaders of the Choctaw nation and representatives of the United States signed a "treaty of perpetual friendship, cession and limits" 180 years ago.

Called the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, it was the first treaty with American Indians that not only handed over land to the states — nearly 11 million acres — but also forced the removal of tribes to U.S. territory in present-day Oklahoma, the first step to the infamous Trail of Tears.

In Alabama, it opened up Sumter County to white settlement in 1830, and the University of West Alabama, located in Sumter County, is hosting a commemoration of the treaty's signing Wednesday. It is part of UWA's year-long celebration of it's founding 175 years ago.

"It's significant to the region because it is out of that treaty that ultimately Sumter County was carved and led to the founding of the university five years later," said Ashley Dumas, head of the Black Belt Museum at UWA.

Held in the Bell Conference Center, remarks will be given by representatives from Choctaw tribes in Mississippi and Oklahoma along with a lecture from James Carson, a history professor at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, who studies American Indian culture in antebellum U.S. He wrote a book in 1999 about Choctaws from pre-history to removal.

After the lecture and remarks, there will be a panel discussion followed by a performance of the Ala Hinte Children's Dancers from Tennessee band of Choctaws.

The University of Alabama will take a Crimson Ride bus from Moundville Archaeological Park, where the Native American Festival will be this week, to Livingston for the ceremony, Dumas said.

Despite the fanfare, Dumas is careful to point out Wednesday is not a celebration of the treaty. It is likely the first time anybody has formally gathered to remember the signing of the treaty, at least in the Southeast, said Kennith York, director of the development for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

"I guess because it's a dismal event in our history the tribe here in Mississippi really doesn't celebrate it," York said.

Still, York agreed to come and speak at UWA because the treaty is important, he said.

"Good or bad, we should have some recognition of what's gone on in our history," York said.