Southeast Native Americans: Crossing Bok Chitto
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Indigenous Peoples of the Southeast
Lesson Plans by Liane Hicks
The Southeast Cultural Region was populated for over ten thousand years before the arrival of Europeans. The Indigenous peoples of this region benefited from the warm climate, and developed sophisticated methods of farming and complex societies with diverse languages and customs.
Storyboard Description
Native Americans of the Southeast: Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom by Tim Tingle. Create a plot summary today!
Storyboard Text
- CROSSING BOK CHITTO BY TIM TINGLE
- MARTHA TOM CROSSED BOK CHITTO
- MARTHA TOM WATCHED THE ENSLAVED PEOPLE'S CHURCH SERVICE
- LITTLE MO HELPED MARTHA TOM HOME TO THE CHOCTAW PEOPLE
- In the early 1800s, the Bok Chitto river in Mississippi was a boundary between the Choctaw and Mississippi plantation owners. If an enslaved black person escaped and crossed over Bok Chitto to Choctaw Nation, they were free according to law.
- MARTHA TOM AND LITTLE MO BECOME GREAT FRIENDS
- Martha Tom was sent to gather blackberries for a wedding. Unable to find them on her side of the river, she crossed Bok Chitto using the secret stone path built by the Choctaws just below the surface of the water.
- LITTLE MO'S MOTHER WAS SOLD
- Martha Tom got lost and found a secret church service by enslaved people. Little Mo and his father saw her. Little Mo's father told him to take Martha Tom back to her people. He told him to go "not too fast, not too slow, eyes to the ground, away you go!" to sneak past their white enslavers.
- LITTLE MO HELPED HIS FAMILY ESCAPE
- Little Mo escorted Martha Tom past the plantation house back to the river and she showed him how to cross it. Martha Tom's mother was upset that she crossed without permission but was thankful to Little Mo for bringing her back.
- THE CHOCTAW GUIDED LITTLE MO'S FAMILY ACROSS BOK CHITTO
- Martha Tom and Little Mo's friendship lasted for years. Every Sunday morning, Martha Tom attended Little Mo's secret church and in the evening Little Mo would visit with the Choctaw.
- One tragic day, Little Mo's mother was sold. She had to leave at sunrise. His father told them to prepare for her departure but Little Mo insisted that they try to escape saying they could go "not too fast, not to slow, eyes to the ground, away you go to become invisible!" and get to Bok Chitto.
- The white men of the plantation house surround the enslaved people's quarters with their dogs and guns. Seemingly by magic, Little Mo and his family escaped! They made their way to the banks of Bok Chitto but Little Mo was afraid he wouldn't find the hidden stone path in the dark.
- Little Mo's father reminded him that his real name is Moses and he could lead them across the river just like his namesake. Little Mo found the path and ran to Martha Tom's house. The Choctaw women lit candles and guided the seven family members to freedom.
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