House Resolution 50

A RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING THE LEGAL CONFIRMATION AND RECOGNITION OF VANCLEAVE LIVE OAK CHOCTAW AS THE OFFICIAL NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE OF THE CHOCTAW PEOPLE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI.

WHEREAS, long before the exploration of the Mississippi Gulf Coast by the French under Sieur de Bienville and the building in 1699 of Fort Maurepas, in the location of present day Ocean Springs, central and south Mississippi was inhabited by the Muskogean speaking Choctaw and other indigenous peoples; and

WHEREAS, early French voyageurs married and settled among the Choctaw, and many of their descendants lived in or near traditional Choctaw settlements or otherwise kept close tribal connection to the Choctaw. Their descendants' tribal lands in south Mississippi were lost to them by the effects of a series of early treaties, starting with the 1786 Treaty of Hopewell, which defined and limited the Southern border of Choctaw lands in Mississippi recognized by the United States of America to areas north of the thirty-first parallel in central Mississippi. Later agreements, treaties and proclamations by which the United States of America eventually gained sovereignty over Mississippi south of the thirty-first parallel gave no recognition to the Choctaw living there whatsoever. The ensuing pressure of white settlement upon areas south of the thirty-first parallel caused many Choctaw in Harrison, Jackson, and George counties in Mississippi to withdraw into the recesses of deep forests and other remote areas, continuing to live as best they could with their tribal lifestyle and maintaining their traditions; speaking primarily French and Choctaw, and in time English; and

WHEREAS, the Choctaw residing south of the area defined as Choctaw Tribal Land by the Treaty of Hopewell and succeeding treaties were not removed from Mississippi along the Trail of Tears but remained in what had formerly been their ancestral land, in small communities in south Mississippi, such as the Choctaw residing in and near Poticaw Bayou and Bluff Creek in Vancleave, Mississippi, who worked in the turpentine camps, as laborers in the charcoal industry, and generally as unskilled laborers for the white settlers; and

WHEREAS, said Choctaw took in Native American refugees from other oppressed Native American communities north of the thirty-first parallel after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Throughout this difficult time in their Choctaw history up to the present day, the Choctaw in Vancleave have maintained their tribal integrity, marrying primarily among fellow tribal families and founding several churches in Vancleave, two of which still exist, and establishing two cemeteries, Beulah Cemetery and Vancleave Holiness Cemetery, where the tribe still buries its dead. These Choctaw people came to be called the Vancleave Indians; and

WHEREAS, despite their prior support of the English settlers against the French in the French and Indian War and the later enlistment of the Choctaw on the side of the Confederacy, the Vancleave Indians suffered greatly from racial discrimination and were severely affected by dejure and defacto segregation, and decided as a tribe to seek education for their children; and

WHEREAS, in 1918, a bill supported by State Representative W.R. (Bill) David of Jackson County and William M. Colmer Superintendent of Education in Jackson County, being Chapter 260, Senate Bill No. 347, which provided for education for all Indian children in the State of Mississippi, was passed by the Legislature and signed into law; and

WHEREAS, on May 22, 1919, a Vancleave Indian Elder, Edward Bang, sold an acre of land in Section 20 Township South, Range 7 West in Jackson County, Mississippi, to the trustees of the Live Oak Indian School for $1.00 and donated two acres of timber to build an Indian school. The school was built by the Vancleave Indians themselves and was named the "Live Oak Pond Indian Creole School," a reference to the mixed Choctaw and European ancestry of the community. The first school trustees were T.A. Shoemaker, Sylvester Waitman, Louis Moore and Tony Ely, all Vancleave Indians. The first teacher, Mr. Peter Dubois, taught until 1920, when Mr. Benjamin Ellis took over the school. Mr. Ellis wrote letters to Congressman William Colmer to obtain much needed additional funding for books, the school building and for transportation. Transportation for some of the Indian children was eventually funded sometime in the 1930s by the State of Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi School Register lists the Live Oak Pond School located near Vancleave in Jackson County, Mississippi, in 1919. A notation at the bottom of the Mississippi School Register noted that this was public property and must be returned to the Superintendent at the close of the school term. The 1919 school role lists 31 males, 16 females; a total of 47 Vancleave Indian children. However, there were at least twice as many Choctaw children who were unable to attend this school residing in the Vancleave area. State and county funding was provided, but only through the eighth grade, until this one room school was closed in 1965 when the public schools were integrated. Until 1965, since eighth grade was the highest educational level provided for most Vancleave Indian children, they could not matriculate to high school; and

WHEREAS, in 2013, the Vancleave Indian Tribe was incorporated as Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw Corporation, a Mississippi nonprofit corporation, and following tribal elections this corporation was sued by a splinter group, which had lost the election, Live Oak Indian People of SE MS, Inc., seeking to judicially establish which group had the right to file to obtain federal recognition of the tribe with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. The suit resulted in the voluntary dissolution of both corporations and their merger into a new Mississippi nonprofit corporation, Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw, which was recognized by the Chancery Court in Cause No. 2013-1442-NH in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, in 2015; and

WHEREAS, the City of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, did by proclamation dated December 5, 2015, recognized Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw and declared that day officially to be Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw Day in the City of Ocean Springs; and

WHEREAS, in light of the recognition by the State of Mississippi of this Choctaw Tribe extending back to 1918, the recognition by the Judgment of Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, of Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw and its recognition by the City of Ocean Springs and further in acknowledgment of the cohesiveness and persistence of the Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw in this geographical area for so long and its identity as a Native American Tribe distinct from any other tribe and unique in its heritage and history, the State of Mississippi reaffirms its recognition of Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw, wishes success and encouragement and endorses Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw in its quest for federal recognition; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend fine Mississippians, especially those such as the Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw Tribe, a determined conglomeration of remarkable, passionate, respected individuals that provide inspiration to those around them and bring honor to their tribe and the great State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate the Vancleave Live Oak Choctaw Tribe for achieving official recognition from the State of Mississippi as a Native American tribe and express best wishes for continued success in its pursuit of federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and all other future tribal endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Choctaw Tribal Council Chairman Mr. Terry Ladnier and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.