Pushmataha (c. 1764 – December 24, 1824; also spelled Pooshawattaha, Pooshamallaha, or Poosha Matthaw), the "Indian General", is one of the three regional chiefs of the major divisions of the Choctaw in the nineteenth century.
Many historians consider him the "greatest of all Choctaw chiefs".
Pushmataha wis highly regarded among Native Americans, Europeans, and white Americans, for his skill and cunning in both war and diplomacy.
Rejecting the offers of alliance and reconquest proffered by Tecumseh, Pushmataha leads the Choctaw to fight on the side of the United States in the War of 1812.
He negotiates several treaties with the United States.
In 1824, he travels to Washington to petition the Federal government against further cessions of Choctaw land; he meets with John C. Calhoun and Marquis de Lafayette, and his portrait is painted by Charles Bird King.
He dies in the capital city and is buried with full military honors in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
