Under an Alabama oak in 1830, two men sealed the fate of 15,000 Choctaws

Gaines and Pushmataha’s Oak Tree Negotiations

In the 1820s, an oak tree near Demopolis, Alabama became the site of talks that would change a nation. U.S. Indian Agent George Gaines met with Choctaw Chief Pushmataha under what came to be known as the Pushmataha Oak.

Their talks led to the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, which took 11 million acres from the Choctaw. Soon after, nearly 15,000 Choctaw people were forced to walk to Indian Territory.

Sadly, about 2,500 died from cold and disease on this trail of tears.

The grand Gaineswood Plantation still stands today, where the 375-year-old Pushmataha Oak marks the spot of this painful turning point in American history.

Gaines Built Trust With Choctaws Through Years Of Trade

George Strother Gaines started working as a trader at the Choctaw Trading House in 1807. He built strong connections with Choctaw leaders, especially Chief Pushmataha.

By 1800, Pushmataha had become a chief and proved himself a good negotiator.

During the War of 1812, Pushmataha showed his loyalty by leading Choctaw fighters alongside American troops, earning the rank of brigadier general.

Despite this friendship, the U.S. government kept pushing the Choctaws to give up millions of acres through various treaties.

Land Grabs Grew Worse As Mississippi Became A State

The U.S.government first tried to get the Choctaws to move west of the Mississippi River in 1818. This failed because the Choctaw people flat-out refused to leave their homeland.

But by October 18, 1820, the Treaty of Doak’s Stand forced them to give up half their Mississippi land for territory in Arkansas.

Problems started right away when Choctaws found white settlers already living on much of their new Arkansas land. Mississippi officials kept pushing harder to kick all Choctaws out of the state.

The Chief’s Last Fight In Washington Ended In Tragedy

Choctaw leaders traveled to Washington D.C. in late 1824 to fix problems with the Arkansas treaty. Pushmataha joined them to ask the federal government to stop taking Choctaw land.

While there, he met with Secretary of War John C. Calhoun and Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette.

Artist Charles Bird King painted Pushmataha’s portrait. Sadly, the chief got sick and died from croup on December 24, 1824.

His funeral drew 2,000 people, including future president Andrew Jackson, and he was buried with military honors in Congressional Cemetery.

An Alabama Frontier Cabin Became A Place Of Historic Talks

After quitting his trading job in 1818, Gaines moved into banking and settled near Demopolis, Alabama in 1822. He bought a 480-acre property that later became the Gaineswood estate.

In 1821, Gaines built a simple double pen dog-trot cabin, a common frontier home style. During his time in Demopolis, he served two terms in the Alabama State Senate.

His property had an old post oak tree that soon became famous for political meetings that changed American history.

The Pushmataha Oak Saw Secret Discussions

When Gaines worked as U.S. Indian Agent, he held key meetings with Chief Pushmataha under the old post oak tree on his property. They talked about treaty terms that would lead to the Choctaw removal to Indian Territory.

People started calling it the “Pushmataha Oak” because of these historic meetings. Gaines used his long trading relationship with Pushmataha to help with treaty talks.

The oak tree, nearly 375 years old, became the spot where they signed a treaty with Chief Pushmataha that would change the fate of thousands.

Jackson’s Removal Act Set The Stage For Forced Relocation

President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, giving the federal government power to swap Native-held land for territory out west.

The Mississippi Legislature made things worse by extending state laws over Choctaw and Chickasaw territories in January 1830. Jackson pushed Secretary of War John C. Calhoun to start new talks with the tribes.

The president wanted to meet with Choctaw leaders in Franklin, Tennessee on August 25, 1830, but Secretary of War John H. Eaton learned that the chiefs strongly opposed the meeting.

Thousands Gathered At A Creek For Life-Changing Talks

Treaty talks officially started at Dancing Rabbit Creek on September 15, 1830. John H. Eaton and John Coffee spoke for the U.S. government in meetings with the Choctaw Nation.

The government asked Colonel George S. Gaines to gather supplies for the huge meeting, which brought together 3,000 to 6,000 people. Gaines hired Alabama frontiersman Sam Dale to help collect and move cattle and other food.

In traditional Choctaw society, women controlled land access and family decisions, making their input crucial in any land deals.

Threats And Secret Deals Led To The Treaty Signing

Eaton and Coffee got mad when the Choctaws first said no, so they stopped the public talks. They then met secretly with Choctaw chiefs Greenwood Leflore, Mushulatubbee, and others to work out a deal.

Some Choctaws threatened both the chiefs who signed and the U.S. officials. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was finally signed on September 27, 1830.

Colonel Coffee buried a pine knot in a traditional ceremony, promising the U.S. would never ask for more Choctaw land again.

The U.S. Got Millions Of Acres In The Unfair Exchange

The treaty handed over about 11 million acres of Choctaw land in Mississippi and Alabama to the United States. In return, the Choctaws got about 15 million acres in Indian Territory, now part of Oklahoma.

Article 14 let some Choctaw men and families claim specific pieces of Mississippi land. A supplement to the treaty gave extra land to chiefs who signed and to traders like George Strother Gaines.

After the U.S. Congress approved the treaty in 1831, Choctaws who stayed in Mississippi could become U.S. citizens.

Winter Marches Forced Thousands From Their Homes

In the winter of 1831, the Choctaws became the first Native nation completely forced out of their ancestral lands.

Nearly 15,000 Choctaws, along with 1,000 enslaved people, made the difficult journey to Indian Territory between 1831 and 1833.

They walked on foot, some in chains and marched in double file, without government food or supplies. When they reached Little Rock, a Choctaw chief called their journey a “trail of tears and death.”

The famous French writer Alexis de Tocqueville saw the Choctaw removals while visiting Memphis, Tennessee in 1831.

Thousands Died On The Journey To Oklahoma

The Choctaw Nation lost about a fourth of its people during the removal.

Disease and exposure killed many during the harsh winter of 1830-1831, and a cholera epidemic in 1832 took more lives. Around 2,500 people died along the trail.

The 12,000 tribal members who survived had to build a new government and start communities from scratch in Indian Territory. The removal of Choctaws continued throughout the 19th century.

By 1930, only 1,665 Choctaw people remained in Mississippi, their ancestral homeland.

Visiting Gaineswood Plantation, Alabama

Gaineswood Plantation at 805 South Cedar Avenue in Demopolis preserves the site where George Strother Gaines met with Choctaw Chief Pushmataha under the Pushmataha Oak tree.

Their negotiations led to the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, forcing 15,000 Choctaw people from Mississippi and Alabama to Indian Territory. Visit Tuesday through Saturday 10am-4pm for $10 adults.

You can take guided mansion tours or use cell phone audio tours for the grounds.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• MIT’s first black graduate and Tuskegee architect – Robert Robinson Taylor
• This WWII battleship was about to be scrapped. Then Alabama’s schoolchildren stepped in.
• When the KKK bombed a Sunday school and awakened a nation