The problem with the term iska is it is used so indiscriminately that it has really confused alot of us, and I think at present complicated our research by failing to understand what is meant by the term in each context and how that relates to our research.
The literal translation of the term iska in Choctaw I am unaware of, but it seems to mean a group with common bonds. In that context it has been used to describe two facets of the Choctaw nation and culture. The first has to do with locality, and is literally the location of which the people lived. The three districts or clans in the Choctaw nation are Okla Hannalli (Six towns), Ahi Apet Oklah (potato eaters), Oklafalaya (long people). The chiefs associated with these districts, and for whom the districts in Oklahoma were named are
1. Apuckanubbee in Okla falaya which was the northern most district. Grenada County MS is located within what was part of that district. Known families from that district are the Cole, Leflore, McCurtain, and Blevin families.
2. Pushamataha in Okla Hannalli distict which was south east of the Oklafayala district and included the Tombiggee River area where the Brashears family lived in Hinds County MS. Known families within this district were Trahern, Juzan, and the Brashears family.
3. Mushatubbee in the Okla Ahi Apet district which was a much smaller district (due to losses in the treaties of land), and was south of the Oklafayala and west of the Oklahannalli. Known families in this district were the Folsoms and the Kincade families.
Generally, women were tied to the area where they were born, as the heredity of the nation was matriarchal. A brief explanation of familial relationships based on this system cannot be understood unless you take in the other use of the word Iska within the Choctaw nation. The entire nation, reguardless of location was divided into two Iska's. Marriage within your own Iska in this context was considered incest and was a taboo until after removal to Oklahoma. The assumption that cousins couldn't marry under this system is erroneous, because what mattered was the Iska in which you came from, the term cousin is a western concept, and had nothing to do with how the Choctaw viewed family relationships. Ceremonies and tribal life was divided by which Iska you belonged to, and members of each Iska celebrated seperately. To make it easier I will illustrate both the concept of Iska and family relationship by using the term's Iska A and Iska B. I do this because not only am I unfamiliar with the names of each, but I have no idea which Iska the people I am speaking of belonged to.
Pushmataha belonged to Iska A. His wives and children would belong to Iska B. As such, his children while recognized by his wife, (Choctaw custom after marriage was the wife did not speak her husbands name but referred to him as (Child's Name) 's father.), belonged to Iska B and were not considered to be under his authority nor where they considered relatives by his sister or her children.
Nahomtima, Pushmataha's sister would also belong to Iska A, her husband Iska B, and her children also would belong to Iska A. As such, they were under the authority of Pushmataha, and if he refered to his sons and daughters he was actually more than likely refering to his neices and nephews. When Pushmataha died, traditionally it was the neices and nephews who inherited his property, his own children would inherit from their maternal Uncle.
Brother's were related, but their children were not unless the mother's of those children were related themselves. The children of brothers were though of the same Iska, so children of his sisters could marry his children, but children of his brothers could not.
In the case of Peggy Trahern and Phoebe, in order for the marriage to be accepted both women would have had to been of the same Iska, which in my example would be A. As such, Phoebe could only be the sister of, or the neice (through a sister) of Oklahoma. The reason for this is explained below.
Peggy and Oklahoma were of the same Iska as her mother, Iska A in my example. Charles Juzan would be Iska B, and the children of Oklahoma would also be of Iska B. Marriage of the same Iska was prohibited, so the marriage of Juzan to Phoebe would have been taboo if she were a true daughter of Oklahoma. Given his prominence and acceptance within the nation, it seems likely that he did adhere to these customs.
The children of Juzan would be of Iska A, the same iska as their mother. Mary Juzan who married Benjamin Leflore would be of Iska A, and her husband would be of Iska B, and again her children would be of Iska A, while her brother's children would be of Iska B, and not considered relatives. (A case which further's the argument that Pushmataha was not the blood Uncle of Greenwood Leflore, as he and Benjamin Leflore were brothers and of the same Iska)
By the end of the 1830's the practice was abolished, and the intermarriage of cousins starts among the mixed blood families to a larger degree.
The reason that both wives were generally sisters or closely related again goes to this concept of Iska's. A man had to marry a woman of the opposite Iska, and unless the women were related they would not share the same domicile. Thus it was easier on the man, who had to provide for the family to marry close female relatives, rather than support two seperate households.
Traditionally among the Choctaw, the term brother or sister could mean actually the child of their mother's sister, and the term mother and grandmother took in account many female relatives and is so complex it is not easily understood. When we look back and read statements from various accounts that come from traditional Choctaw and their customs, we cannot assume what the term means to us meant the same thing. Surely, as the mixed bloods became more educated in traditional Western teachings, and as the old traditions died out after removal the terms take on more traditional English meanings, however, especially prior to 1830 it is vital to take into account the differences when we are researching.
