Originally structured to enhance the Chickasaw body of knowledge and equip Chickasaw children with resources needed to succeed in the American world, Chickasaw boarding schools began as an exercise in self-determination and sovereignty. Even as lives uprooted during removal, Chickasaws saw the value, and hope, in education.

But the lingering effects of Jefferson's Manifest Destiny introduced threats, challenges and trauma: endangerment to the tribe's language and culture.

Yet, through it grew an entire generation of Chickasaws. Future tribal leaders with a reinforced First American identity who would go on to play instrumental roles in treaty negotiations and the creation of the Constitution adopted in 1856.

"When I think about the legacy of boarding schools ... The descendants of these people are still actively involved in tribal affairs," Joshua "Lokosh" Hinson, Executive Officer for the Chickasaw Language Preservation Division, says.

"I don't know that they were thinking about 100 or 200 years in their futures, but they certainly took their experiences and acquired knowledges and used them in service of our people," he adds. "And I don't see anything bad about that."