Chickasaw Creation and the Sacred Pole (Chickasaw)
The Chickasaw creation story tells of their emergence as a people guided by a sacred pole. According to tradition, the Chickasaw and Choctaw were originally one people who migrated from the west. They carried a sacred pole (sometimes described as a dogwood pole) which they planted each night. Each morning, they would travel in the direction the pole leaned. After a long journey, the pole stood perfectly upright at the site of Nanih Waiya mound in Mississippi. There they divided: the Chickasaw, led by Chicksah, traveled north, while the Choctaw, led by Chata, remained. The Chickasaw settled in