As we traveled north on I-59, I noticed the similarities between the old Choctaw homelands through  which we were driving with the “new” Choctaw homelands in southern Oklahoma. Both lands are heavily wooded, and hilly. The earth in both places is reddish. The water in the creeks, streams and rivers is tobacco brown from leaf tannin. Were they given a choice in their new homeland?

Professor Frank Owlsey, Ph.D, wrote Plain Folk. He studied migration trails based on the taste of the water. If you’re doing Southern research, you need to read this book!