Four Choctaw Indians Enjoy New Home at Mississippi College

Kassie Cox, 19, a Mississippi College freshman from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Kassie Cox remains a wonderful ambassador for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

A Mississippi College freshman, Kassie is well-versed on the tribe’s culture, history, sports like stickball, fashions, and longstanding traditions on reservation communities near Philadelphia.

After just a few weeks on the Clinton campus, Cox, 19, is telling her classmates all about her Native American tribe. She’s also getting word to family and friends she grew up with in East Mississippi about the value of an MC education.

“I hope a lot of kids on the reservation do come to Mississippi College,” Kassie says. “Here, it already feels like home. I want some of my cousins to come.”

Led by Choctaw Chief Phyliss Anderson, (one of Kassie’s relatives), the tribe of nearly 10,000 members in Mississippi enrolls four students at the Baptist-affiliated university this fall.

And that seems to be a good fit for all four Mississippians.

After all, Mississippi College athletic teams have been known as the Choctaws for nearly 100 years. In 1920, MC undergraduates adopted the name Choctaws to exemplify the spirit of its sports teams and students.

Kassie is happy with the nickname MC Choctaws. Mississippi College supporters asked to adopt the name of her tribe “and that shows a lot of respect in our culture. I’m fine with it. It’s awesome for Native Americans to go to a school calling itself the Choctaws.”

But Cox notes that people typically know little about her tribe. Some learn by attending the Choctaw Indian Fair in July, visiting the Choctaw Museum or seeing Choctaw students dance at the State Fair.

The fascinating history of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians dates back centuries. By the early 1700s, the tribe maintained a strong economy based on farming, selling goods and livestock. At one time, there were over 19,000 Choctaw Indians in Mississippi, the year the Treaty of Dancing Creek was signed. Between 1801 and 1830, the Choctaws agreed to give 23 million acres of land to the United States. The year 1830 happened four years after Mississippi College’s founding in 1826.

Fast forward to October 4, 2011. That was when Phyliss Anderson, a native of the Red Creek community, became the first woman to serve as the tribe’s chief. There are many things Cox wants MC students to know about her tribe.

“We are hard workers. We find a way to achieve and overcome obstacles,” Cox said. “We love being Choctaws.”

The freshman plans to use her Mississippi College education to become a dyslexia therapist. She hopes to bring more knowledge about the subject to help students at tribal schools. In her spare time, Kassie likes to draw, paint, run, and sing at her church, Global Vision in Philadelphia.

She’s also planning to try again to win the Choctaw Indian Princess Pageant next summer after competing in July 2016. There’s a good chance she will succeed since over a dozen women in her family are Choctaw princesses! They include Princess Tia Anderson Grisham, who attended MC a few years ago.

Mississippi College was the right choice for another Choctaw Indian, freshman Marlee Tubby. A former Leake Academy point guard, the 18-year-old is thrilled to join the Lady Choctaws basketball team. At her high school, she played under coach Amanda Hatch, a former MC Lady Choctaws hoops player.

“I am excited to be playing here at MC. The team is so great. Our coaching staff is very encouraging and interested in our education first,” Marlee Tubby said.

The political science major hopes to attend MC Law School in Jackson after earning her bachelor’s degree.

While here in Clinton, Tubby hopes MC students get educated about the Choctaw tribe. “I’d like people to know that we take great pride in our culture,” she said. The Choctaw Indian Fair would be a terrific place to see the beadwork, basketry, stickball games, dances and meet the friendly people on the reservation, Marlee says.

Coming to MC wasn’t really a tough decision. That’s because her older brother, Thomas Tubby, is an MC senior who loves the school. “The faculty, staff and students of MC already make this campus feel like home,” Thomas says. “And now it seems even more like home having other members of the tribe here with me.”

Shonda Wesley, 24, added to the Choctaw Indian numbers at MC when she transferred from Meridian Community College. The MCC grad plans to become a music teacher. “I was sold on liking it here at MC on Move In Day. Everyone was welcoming,” says the native of the Pearl River community.

Kassie Cox believes more Choctaw Indians would go to college, but some express concerns. Leaving home can be hard. “They all grew up on the reservation,” she said. “They might get homesick early on.”

Whenever Kassie returns to the reservation, less than 90 minutes away from Clinton, she’s warmly embraced. “I’m related to half the tribe,” says the graduate of Choctaw Central High with a smile. Finishing in the top three in her class, a Choctaw Tribal scholarship helps pay for her tuition at Mississippi College.