The Choctaws

Bonvillain writes about the Choctaws in Chapter 7 of Native Nations. The Choctaws inhabited the southeast, more specifically Mississippi, western Alabama, and eastern Louisiana, before being forced off their land during the "Trail of Tears". The Choctaws were the second most populous indigenous people of the southeast nations - the Cherokee being first. Though the Choctaw, like the Seminoles, had to deal with an intense bayou type environment, they farmed and foraged as a way of accumulating subsistence. (Shout out to my Choctaw friend Joanna!)

I've always been interested in cultural norms and mores of different societies and when I read about Choctaw clothing, it sparked my interest. Choctaw men wore a breechcloth that hung from their waists around the front and back, and women wore skirts consisting of deerskin or buffalo hair or plant fibers. Both sexes went topless. There is a clear stigma in Western culture against toplessness, most certainly due to sexual arousal and social conditioning which states baring breasts is indecent. This was illustrated later in the chapter when Bonvillain explained consequences of European expansion. Bonvillain described British traders who were served graciously by Choctaw women and showed no respect for them by blatantly placing their hands on the breasts of the wives. This was not permitted, obviously, and in fact, death was preferable to humility. Needless to say, this caused problems not only between the traders, but within the psyche of Choctaw women as well.

Another interesting aspect to cultural norms and mores is tattoos. To the Choctaws, tattoos were symbols of honor as well as decoration. Bonvillain states that warriors, chiefs, and their wives adorned tattoos on their faces, arms, shoulders, thighs, and legs, while warriors particularly adorned them on their chests. This lends itself to another Western stigma of social conditioning and indecency, particularly in regard to religion. Currently, tattoos are much widely accepted by western culture. People sport them for a variety of reasons, including honor and pure decoration, but Choctaw strictly used black, red, and blue pigment as these were the types available at their disposal.