The Choctaw are a great nation of the Southeast, whose homeland was in what is now Mississippi. At the center of their story stands Nanih Waiya, the Mother Mound, a sacred earthen mound still standing in Mississippi today.
In one telling of their origin, the people emerged from the earth itself through Nanih Waiya and dried themselves in the sun before going out to live on the land. In another, they journeyed for many years, following a sacred pole that leaned each morning to show the way, until it stood straight at Nanih Waiya.
The Choctaw teach that we come from the earth, and the earth is our mother. Home is a sacred place, given and guided by the Great Spirit. The Choctaw are also remembered for their generous heart: in 1847, still recovering from their own forced removal, they gathered money to help the starving people of Ireland during the Great Famine.
Generosity in hard times is one of the highest teachings of all.
Reflect: Who could you help today, even while you are still healing yourself?
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