“Whole Number of Inhabitants”

   It is important to illustrate all of the people who traveled the Choctaw “Trail of Tears and Death” because the “whole number of inhabitants” of the nation’s three districts, Netuchache, Moshulatubee, and LeFlore, unfortunately, some people are missing from the story.

   In 1831, a census of the three districts was conducted, recording the nation's population, which included whites, slaves, free people of color, and “mixed” Choctaws. In 1835, Special Agent F.W. Armstrong totaled those population figures, and they tell the story that has remained unspoken for decades.   

   In the first group of inhabitants of the “Mushulatubbe” district, Armstrong broke the figures down into three groups: Indians, 5,598; Whites, 97; and Slaves, 248. He then totaled them and arrived at the number of 5,943 for Mushulatubbe. Clearly, indicating that enslaved people were considered as inhabitants of the nation and deserve to be recognized today as people who survived the “Trail of Tears and Death.”  © Terry Ligon 2025