Choctaw Resurgence in Mississippi: Race, Class, and Nation Building in the Jim Crow South, 1830-1977

Epilogue and Conclusions. Choctaw Juridical Status and Self- Determination, 1964–1977

Epilogue and Conclusions Choctaw Juridical Status and Self-Determination, 1964–1977 Following the opening of the high school, the Mississippi Choctaws inaugurated a series of initiatives that ultimately brought about the Choctaw Miracle. Working within pan-Indian networks and with allies in the Mississippi congressional delegation, tribal leaders instituted dramatic changes. From 1964 to 1977, the band constructed its own judicial system and restructured the tribal government, eventually taking over most governmental operations from the Bureau of Indian Affairs . Tribal leaders also designed social service organizations and developed a successful economy. Economic development depended on transforming rural Mississippi into a place where companies wanted to relocate, which meant addressing problems of poverty and crime. Choctaw leaders used the Choctaw Community Action Agency (ccaa) to renovate Choctaw communities. The tribal council initially founded the ccaa in 1964 to improve housing, but it soon became the framework for organizations that fundamentally altered Choctaw life. Phillip Martin stepped down from the council in 1964 to run the ccaa, where he instated community health initiatives, Head Start, and welfare services. The ccaa also created the Choctaw Housing Authority (cha) in 1965 to build and repair houses and established a tribally owned construction business, the Chahta Development Company, in 1969.1 As the tribal government expanded into economic ventures, Choctaw leaders recognized the need for an autonomous court system. 204 Epilogue and Conclusions The Choctaws had a Tribal Court of Indian Offenses with one chief justice and two associate judges appointed by the secretary of the interior . The court had jurisdiction over misdemeanors in Choctaw communities . Major crimes such as rape, murder, and arson fell under the Major Crimes Act, an 1885 law that reserved prosecution of serious crimes committed on Indian lands for federal authorities.2 In 1968 the Association on American Indian Affairs (aaia) helped the council draft a comprehensive Choctaw criminal code. Martin then created an administrative structure for procuring and administering federal and state grants and began reaching out to businesses.3 These steps signaled the council’s growing realization that the Choctaws would have to supply their own employment by enticing businesses to rural Mississippi. As an Indian reservation, Choctaw lands were exempt from state and federal taxes and regulations that some companies found burdensome. Once the band had its own legal system, Martin also marketed the reservation as a haven from lawsuits. Choctaws eager to obtain nonagricultural jobs supplied a cheap labor force. Senator John Stennis lobbied for state and federal matching funds at every step of Choctaw economic development.4 The patronage economy was once again proving politically powerful. In 1969 the Chahta Development Company secured funding from the Federal Economic Development Administration to construct an industrial park in the Pearl River community. It was completed in 1971 but remained empty until Packard Electric opened a plant to construct automotive wire harnesses for General Motors in 1979. Choctaws initially grappled with the discipline of factory work, but the band gradually gained a reputation for quality manufacturing, and the park began to fill.5 These economic accomplishments prompted new political organization. Economic development meant the tribal government needed to be more centralized and focused on long-term planning. The council brought the ccaa under its authority and created the Strategic Planning Center for Choctaw Self-Determination in 1971. They streamlined governmental operations so that anyone desiring to open a business on the reservation followed one set of policies.6 205 Epilogue and Conclusions This restructuring caused conflict with Superintendent John F. Gordon , who had replaced Hardin in 1968 and who recognized he was losing control of agency affairs. A skirmish ensued in which the council pressured the bia to hire a Choctaw Indian agent and federal officials refused on the grounds that employing a Choctaw superintendent would result in a “conflict of interest.” Officials finally relented and appointed Robert Benn as the first Choctaw Indian agent in 1972.7 Benn joined with the council to propose a new constitution, which shifted the office of tribal chief to a position elected at large, not from within the council, and clarified the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. Both the council and the chief would now serve for four years instead of two. The Choctaws ratified the constitution in 1975.8 They had created a government aimed at maximizing their self-determination. Choctaw nation building ultimately depended on the Choctaws’ status as an Indian tribe, which...