The Great Choctaw Chief Pushmataha

Published 6:29 am Sunday, February 22, 2026

As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, it is amazing to think that we Meridianites actually walk the same paths and breathe the same air as the Choctaw Nation did hundreds of years ago.

Coosa, The Choctaw Nation’s primary town is located only 15 minutes from downtown Meridian and the village was where the great Chief Pushmataha governed his people.

And oh, how he loved his people.

On the day he breathed his last breath, the great chief was in Washington D.C. arranging for more funding for his people. He wanted the children educated and the elders cared for during hard times. His thoughts were always for his people.

At the last he said, “I am about to die, but you will return to our country. When you reach home they will ask you, ‘Where is Pushmataha?’ And you will say to them, ‘He is no more.’”

He asked for a full military funeral. “When I am gone, let the big guns be fired over me.”

You will find his final burial in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C.

But if you want to know more, come out to The Downtown History Walk on Saturday, Feb. 28, beginning at noon in Dumont Plaza. You will find Choctaw Storytellers Hugh R. Isaac and his brother William Dan Isaac, and they will bring you into the Choctaw world from so many years ago.

Because America 250 in our area is The Choctaw Nation, we must learn more from the voices who know their history, as passed down through the years.

Anne McKee is a Mississippi Humanities Speaker.