NHPA Section 106 Program

Mission

To consult on all federal undertakings that have the potential to impact Choctaw Historic sites that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or that are potentially eligible for inclusion on it.

Area of Historic Interest

Choctaw Nation's area of historic interest is defined as the geographic area, in which Choctaw historic sites are known to be or are likely to be located on the landscape, whether within or outside of the current boundaries of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Choctaw historic sites include, but are not limited to, sacred sites, traditional cultural properties, burials, earth mounds, villages, camp sites, special use areas, battlefields, churches, schools, historic buildings, and trails. Choctaw Nation's Register of Historic Places is an ArcGIS database that contains the locations of all such known sites, according to information contained within oral history, archaeological research, historic maps, interviews with elders, historic accounts, and any other relevant source. This is restricted information.

The locations of Choctaw historic sites are combined with the locations in the Choctaw Place Names ArcGIS database to define Choctaw Nation's Area of Historic Interest. The area of Historic Interest is not restricted information. It is subject to change, based upon the preponderance of new evidence. It is Choctaw Nation's view that making the Tribe's Area of Historic Interest available as widely as possible promotes the preservation of Choctaw sites, by limiting the amount of time and resources wasted on consultation requests that come from outside of this area. Maps of Choctaw Nation's Area of Historic Interest are freely available down below.

As a result of Removal, the Choctaw Nation, like many other Tribes and unlike the SHPOs, finds itself located in an area that is distant from many of its historic resources. It is the view of the Department that the historic sites created by the Choctaw ancestors of today's Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Tribal members are of equal value and importance, whether they are located within the external boundaries of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, within the original Choctaw homeland, or in faraway places. The Department has an equal responsibility to protect each.