LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In celebration of the Frazier Museum’s new exhibit, 'Commonwealth: Divided We Fall,' one Native American was in town so their history could be properly documented.
LaDonna Brown is a Chickasaw citizen and belongs to the Racoon Clan.
“Our history on this continent spans thousands of years,” she said.
Brown said her ancestors met with federal officials where they surveyed the homeland boundaries and their original settlements which included Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Chickasaw’s homeland was located where the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River according to Brown.
"When you arrive from the western side, and you look across the river toward Kentucky, all the land that you can see on the eastern shore, up the Ohio River, and then all the land on the eastern shore as you look down the Mississippi River and all the land across the river is Chickasaw homeland,” she said.
Brown said they are a viable population, and had it not been for their ancestors who met and traded with the European explorers, "then I believe American history would be totally different than what we know today."
“And we want to share that with everybody and just help educate everybody. So that they will know that, you know, we're still here, we didn't go anywhere,” she said.
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