Peter Pitchlynn

Who was Peter Pitchlynn?

Peter Perkins Pitchlynn, or Hat-choo-tuck-nee, was a Choctaw chief of Choctaw and Anglo-American ancestry. He was principal chief of the Choctaw from 1864-1866 and surrendered to the Union on behalf of the nation at the end of the Civil War.

Educated in Choctaw culture and American schools, in 1825 he helped found a school for Choctaw boys: the Choctaw Academy in Kentucky. He also worked to reduce the sale of alcohol in their territory. After removal to Indian Territory in the 1830s, he was appointed by the National Council in 1845 as the Choctaw Delegate to Washington, DC. At the time, the Nation was proposing to be recognized by the US Congress as a territory.

After the war, Pitchlynn returned to Washington, DC, to represent Choctaw interests and work for concessions from the government for the Choctaw lands sold under pressure to the United States in 1830 during Indian Removal. He died in Washington, DC.