Greenwood LeFlore
Greenwood LeFlore or Greenwood Le Fleur (June 3, 1800 – August 31, 1865) served as the elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw in 1830 before removal. Before that, the nation was governed by three district chiefs and a council of chiefs. A wealthy and regionally influential Choctaw of mixed-race, who belonged to the Choctaw elite due to his mother's rank, LeFlore had many connections in state and federal government. In 1830 LeFlore led other chiefs in signing the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, which ceded the remaining Choctaw lands in Mississippi to the US government and agreed to removal to Indian Territory. It also provided that Choctaw who chose to stay in Mississippi would have reserved lands, but the United States government failed to follow through on this provision.
Greenwood LeFlore | |
|---|---|
Portrait before 1865 | |
| Chief of the Choctaw Nation | |
| In office March 15, 1830 – February 24, 1831 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Cole |
| Succeeded by | George W. Harkins |
| Member of the Mississippi Senate and Mississippi House of Representatives | |
| In office 1841–1844 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 3, 1800 Lefleur's Bluff, Territory of Mississippi |
| Died | August 31, 1865 (aged 65) Malmaison, Carroll County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Resting place | Greenwood LeFlore Cemetery, Carroll County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Nationality | Choctaw, American |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouses | Rosa Donley
(m. 1819; died 1829)Elizabeth Cody
(m. 1830; died 1833)Priscilla Donley
(m. 1834; died 1910) |
| Children | John Donley "Jack" LeFlore , Rebecca Cravat LeFlore Harris, Jane G. LeFlore Spring |
| Parent(s) | Louis LeFleur and Rebecca Cravatt |
| Education | Educated by Major Donly in Nashville, Tenn. |
| Occupation | Politician, planter and entrepreneur |
While many leaders argued that removal was inevitable, others opposed the treaty and made death threats against LeFlore. Ousted by the tribal council in a coup, he stayed in Mississippi, where he settled in Carroll County and accepted United States citizenship. He was elected to the state government as a legislator and senator in the 1840s. During the American Civil War, he sided with the Union.