The Confederate States sign a treaty with…

The Confederate States sign a treaty with Choctaws and Chickasaws in Indian Territory on July 12, 1861.

At the beginning of the American Civil War, Albert Pike had been appointed as Confederate envoy to Native Americans

In this capacity he negotiates several treaties, one of the most important being with Cherokee chief John Ross, which is concluded in 1861.

The treaty will be ratified and be proclaimed on December 20, 1861 by the Confederacy.

The Choctaw and Chickasaw will also duly ratify the treaty.

Some Choctaws identify with the Southern cause and a few own slaves.

In addition, they well remember and resent the Indian removals from thirty years earlier and poor service they had received from the federal government.

The main reason the Choctaw Nation agrees to sign the treaty, however, is for protection from regional tribes.