Choctaw Nation Council House

 The big red brick building might seem out of place to the unknowing visitor coming on it unexpectedly there in the center of the Yanush Valley.  It stands empty, alone, surrounded by the woods and hills of northern Pushmataha County, far from any sizeable town.  But it has an air of having once known affairs of importance. Obviously old, its narrow white-framed windows, heave stone foundation, Mansard-type roof and dormers give it an imposing look. It was an important and imposing structure in its day, for it was the capitol of a republic, the center of a constitution government with a system of laws, courts and schools for an industrious people.

This was the last capitol of the Choctaw Nation. The tribal council house at Tuskahoma should not be confused with the three district Council Houses which were located in the Choctaw Nation. The three district Council Houses and their original chiefs were: Fort Towson, Chief Greenwood LeFlore, near Antlers; Chief Nitakechi; and Latham, Chief Mosholatubbee. Near the Tuskahoma Council House is the site of Nanih Waiya, which translates to "Leaning Mountain," the original Choctaw capitol established in 1834. It was named for a sacred hill in Mississippi, the Choctaws home before they were horded over the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory in the 1830s. The stately old capitol was completed in 1884 when Jackson McCurtain was tribal chief. Native timbers and stone wont into it and the door and window facings and stair railings were hand-carved. They're still sound. Each spacious room has at least one fireplace, and some have two. All the fireplaces are vented through one chimney outlet. The fire places still draw well and heat the rooms effectively; there are 21 in all. Members of a supreme court, senate, House of Representatives—and other national officers—conducted tribal affairs here. The "lighthorsemen", tribal police, had their headquarters here. The building fell into near ruin after Oklahoma statehood and the end of the Choctaw government as a separate republic. It was restored by Indian workers in the CCC in the 1930's and is now the scene of occasional councils and an annual Labor Day gathering of the tribe. A caretaker lives in a cottage nearby. He keeps the old building in repair, keeps the 5-acre grounds neat and battles the woodpeckers which threaten to take over the structure. It's a popular picnic spot and sightseeing stop, drawing several thousand visitors each summer despite its remoteness. The Choctaw capitol one day soon may again become more than just an empty building.  Tribal leaders are exploring ways, including federal aid, of turning it into a first-rate museum. Two extremely large trees stand on the capitol grounds.  One, a giant bois-d'arc tree, is located at the southwest corner of the Council House.  A huge oak tree standing on the capitol grounds is sometimes identified as a "hanging tree".  Visitors are always welcome at the Choctaw Capitol at old Tuskahoma.