Ishtaboli between the Two Great Removals

Between 1830 and 1903, Ishtaboli (Choctaw stickball) games were reported in hundreds of newspapers from Indian Territory to Washington D.C., advertised as ‘Grand Indian Ball-Plays’ and featuring teams such as Eagle County, Bogue Chitto, Col. Folsom’s band, and the Sixtowns. Jason Lewis, a Choctaw Nation citizen who works for the Mississippi Choctaws’ Cultural Department gives a tour of games reported across the southern United States and the Choctaw Nation in the era between the two great removals of our Choctaw ancestors. This talk was presented on July 30, 2022.

The Chahta Tosholi series is organized by Choctaw Nation Historic Preservation and features Choctaw community members, artists, culture keepers, scholars of Choctaw history, and other experts.