Expulsion and Diaspora in the North-American Southeast

Document from the year 2026 in the subject Ethnology / Cultural Anthropology, , language: English, abstract: The longer and more frequently one studies the Natchez, who originally lived on the Lower Mississippi River, the clearer the contrast becomes between the references in the literature to the demise of the Natchez, the destruction and desintegration of their society on one hand, and the fact that even today people still or repeatedly refer to their Natchez ancestry on the other. "Expulsion and Diaspora" explore this contradiction and attempts to trace the Natchez´ footsteps over the centuries since their last uprising against the French colonial power to the present day. Initially most of the surviving Natchez sought refugee with the Chickasaw in the northeast of what is now the state of Mississippi. With parts of the Chickasaw, they move further east to the Cherokee in the southern Appalachians, and later from there to the Creek in what is today Alabama. Together with the Cherokee and Creek, in the 19.century they were driven by the European Americans to Oklahoma, west of the Mississippi. Although the Natchez gradually adopted to the cultural expressions of their host groups, they nevertheless managed to preserve many of their ancestors´ traditions.