Chief Tishomingo

Chief Tishomingo, also known as Joe Factor, was born near Chickasaw old fields about 1735 and became the greatest and last full blood Chickasaw warrior. A chief counselor and national orator of the Chickasaw Nation, his words were recognized as law, and he was the principal leader in the tribe next to Ishtohotopa, the Chickasaw King. Deeply involved in tribal affairs, he made several trips to Philadelphia and later to Washington D.C., where he was presented a great silver medallion, or Peace Medal, personally decorated by President George Washington. He was a signer of the Treaty of Pontitock with the Chickasaws on October 22, 1832, in general council assembled at the council house on Pontitock Creek in the Chickasaw Nation. Revered and honored by the Chickasaw people, his picture was placed on the official seal of the Chickasaw Nation. Forced to leave his homeland, he died because of age, exposure, and hardship on the Trail of Tears near Little Rock or Ft. Smith, Arkansas, in March 1839. The town of Tishomingo and county of Tishomingo in Mississippi and the city of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, are named for this highly respected and renowned Chickasaw chief.

Tishomingo, Oklahoma · United States