Chickasaw Choctaw

The Chickasaw and Choctaw of the Southeastern Woodlands spoke Muskogean languages, were related, and shared much of their history. The Chickasaw held northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky, and were divided into two moieties, the Imosak Cha'a' and the Inchokka' Lhipa'. The Choctaw were based in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and their name is said to mean ‘people of the river’.

The expedition of Hernando de Soto met the Chickasaw, whom he recorded as Chicaza, in 1540. Both peoples later dealt with French, English and Spanish colonists.