Levi Colbert

Who was Levi Colbert?

Levi Colbert, also known as Itawamba in Chickasaw, was a leader and chief of the Chickasaw in the American Southeast. Colbert was called Itte-wamba Mingo, meaning bench chief. He and his brother George Colbert were prominent interpreters and negotiators with President Andrew Jackson's appointed negotiators related to Indian Removal; the United States wanted the people to cede its traditional lands and move west of the Mississippi River to extinguish its claims in the Southeast. The US Government Indian Agent with whom Chief Levi Colbert had the most dealings was John Dabney Terrell, Sr. of Marion County, Alabama.