Choctaw language in the context of Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands

The Atchafalaya River (/əˌtʃæf.əˈlaɪ.ə/) is a 137-mile-long (220 km) distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and is the fifth largest river in North America, by discharge. The name Atchafalaya comes from Choctaw for 'long river', from hachcha, 'river', and falaya, 'long'.

Oklahoma (/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ OH-klə-HOH-mə; Choctaw: Oklahumma, pronounced [oklahómma]) is a landlocked state in the South Central and Southwestern region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the southeast, New Mexico to the west, and Colorado to the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla, 'people' and humma, which translates as 'red'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the Sooners, American settlers who staked their claims in formerly American Indian-owned lands until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorized the Land Rush of 1889 opening the land to settlement.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: Chahta Okla) is a federally recognized Native American tribal nation with an Indian reservation encompassing portions of Southeastern Oklahoma in the United States.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw people, an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. The other two are the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and Jena Band of Choctaw Indians in Louisiana. The U.S. federal government forcibly removed the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma from their Mississippi homelands in 1831 to 1833 to Indian Territory, later to become Oklahoma. A smaller group of Mississippi Choctaw were coerced to migrating to Oklahoma in 1908.

The Choctaw (Choctaw: Chahta Choctaw pronunciation: [tʃahtá(ʔ)]) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes: the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Jena Band of Choctaw Indians in Louisiana. Choctaw descendants are also members of other tribes.

Oklahoma (/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ OH-klə-HOH-mə; Choctaw: Oklahumma, pronounced [oklahómma]) is a state in the South Central and Southwestern region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the southeast, New Mexico to the west, and Colorado to the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla, 'people' and humma, which translates as 'red'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the Sooners, American settlers who staked their claims in formerly American Indian-owned lands until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 authorized the Land Rush of 1889 opening the land to settlement.

The Chickasaw language (Chikashshanompaꞌ, Chickasaw pronunciation: [tʃikaʃːanompaʔ]) is a Native American language of the Muskogean family. It is agglutinative and follows the word order pattern of subject–object–verb (SOV). The language is closely related to, though perhaps not entirely mutually intelligible with, Choctaw. It is spoken by the Chickasaw tribe, now residing in Southeast Oklahoma, centered on Ada.

The language is currently spoken by around 50 people, mostly Chickasaw elders who grew up with the language. Due to boarding schools in the 20th century and Chickasaw removal from their homeland in the 19th century, the widespread knowledge about the language and culture amongst the nation has largely decreased.