CHOCTAW, Miss.—Six weeks ago, inside the Choctaw Central gymnasium, a moderator stood on a stage flanked by flags and video screens. Glancing at a sheet lying atop the clear podium, he leaned into the mic.
“Question number six: Which Native American tribe was the largest in Mississippi before European settlement?” he asked the students gathered in bleachers in front of him. “OK, if you believe it is us, the Choctaw, hold up the U.S. flag. If you believe it was the Cherokee, hold up the state flag.”
Students flashed their flag cards in the air, holding up the side featuring the United States flag.
“The correct answer is … ,” he continued.
“Choctaw!” the crowd yelled, interjecting.
“Choctaw,” the moderator confirmed. “Before European settlement, the Choctaw Nation was one of the largest and most powerful Native American tribes in Mississippi, with extensive villages, farmland and trade networks throughout the region.
Cheers erupted, and the game continued with students answering questions about the U.S. Constitution and historical facts. The Jan. 20, 2026, presentation was part of the U.S. Department of Education’s “History Rocks! Trail to Independence Tour.” The tour is part of the department’s America250 celebrations in coordination with the America250 Civics Education Coalition, honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary. The tour includes games, hands-on learning and student projects focusing on patriotic education.
“I’m very thankful not only from a national spectrum of America 250 and the celebration it (holds, but) to be able to celebrate all of us,” Chief Cyrus Ben told those gathered at the celebration. “We are part of history. We are creating history. You are creating history every day that you live.”
‘A Meaningful Celebration’
Choctaw Central Middle School was the only school the tour visited in Mississippi. The tour will visit one school in each of the 50 states in the order in which they joined the Union. Mississippi is the 20th tour stop as the 20th state, having joined on Dec. 10, 1817.
“We are deeply honored that Choctaw Central Middle School was selected by Secretary Linda McMahon as Mississippi’s representative for the 20th stop of the ‘History Rocks’ America250 tour,” Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben said in a statement. “A big thank you to Gov. Reeves and his office for recommending our school. It was a privilege to welcome Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland as our distinguished guest.”
“I am a strong proponent of education and am dedicated to ensuring our tribal educational system receives its recognition,” Chief Ben continued. “The Tribe has a great working relationship with both the Departments of Education and Interior, most presently on the new school project. This partnership helped to bring this program to CCMS. A250 History Rocks was a meaningful celebration of history, and it was truly inspiring to participate alongside our students.”
U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs William Kirkland joined the tour stop. While on the reservation, Kirkland visited the NASA Teacher Enhancement Center, the only center of its kind on a school campus. He toured the current school campus and the new Choctaw Central schools under construction, and he learned about the tribe’s new Workforce Development Center.
Kirkland praised the tribe’s innovative programs. “There could be the next astronaut (at Choctaw Central). I’d prefer that over a football player at Ole Miss beating my beloved Dawgs,” he told the Mississippi Free Press.
A member of the Navajo Nation, Kirkland said it is impossible to celebrate 250 years of American history without acknowledging the contributions of Native American tribes such as the Mississippi Choctaw.
“Native American history is American history,” Kirkland told the Mississippi Free Press. “You cannot celebrate one without the other.”
‘Chahta’ History
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is the only federally recognized Native American tribe in the state. The Choctaw tribe traces its lineage back to 18,000 B.C. However, a Spanish priest in Florida was the first to record the tribe in modern history as the “Chahta,” which the Choctaw still call themselves today.
In 1786, the United States and the Choctaw signed a treaty that reaffirmed the Tribal land and Choctaw sovereignty. Yet, by 1830, the Choctaw had signed several treaties which eventually led to the loss of 32 million acres of land, and the Indian Removal Act forced most of the tribe to what is now Oklahoma.
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians are the descendants of Choctaw tribal members who refused to leave the state during the Trail of Tears. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek allowed Choctaw who did not want to move to the new territory to stay. More than 4,000 remained, became U.S. citizens and were given land grants based on family size. However, by 1850, most of the Choctaw who had received land in Mississippi had been scammed out of the land or forced away by white settlers.
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Constitution was ratified in 1945 and officially recognized by the federal government. MBCI is a sovereign nation with an enrolled population of more than 11,000 tribal members and more than 34,000 acres of land.