We are committed to authenticity as descendants of our Chickamauga ancestors. With that being said, there is a need to go back historically and find the roots of our beginnings.
We know in no uncertain terms that on this continent, in the Mississippi River Drainage Basin that the Mound Building Culture's Southeast Ceremonial Religious Cult and the was at its zenith in the 800 - 1100 CE. There are many archaeological dig sites which date the Mound Culture in different eras and different dates based on the cultural and religious practices at the mounds. We do know we can trace the origins of the Mound Culture and religious practices back to between 2000 and 1600 BCE.
We also know that there was communication between the numerous different tribes who participated in the Mound Culture and Religion. One of the locations in particular is the Southeast Woodlands where the Chickamauga, Choctaw, Muskogee Creek, Chickasaw, and other tribes were all interrelated in culture and religion. There was a verbal form of communication which developed between these people while they maintained their traditional languages. This "trade" language began to develop as the Southeast Woodland Tribes traded with each other as well as other groups of people throughout the Mississippi River Drainage Basin.
As part of the Southeast Woodland Tribes, the Chickamauga would have spoken a Mound Building Culture Language originating in the Mississippian, Muskogean, and Mobilian eras. There are few remnants of our original language "Erate" and it would be astronomically expensive to try to piece it back together when there is an inexpensive option available which would be authentic for our ancestors. Prior to the 1670's the Mound Culture people spoke different variants to the Mobilian Trade Language (MTL). The MTL is a later variant called a pigeon language meaning it has French influence, it also has Spanish influences as well.
We have chosen to skip an entire historical era, and revert back to a language our ancestors would have spoken prior to the 1670s. Our purpose in doing so is honor our ancestors. We want to honor the history and culture of our ancestors and carry on their traditions for centuries to come. The time of the 1670's is important for us more than the other Mound Building Cultures because of our ancestral territory in the Tennessee Valley. We would have been the first to trade with the group from Canada who spoke an Iroquoian dialect the Iroquoians called the "strange language."
In reality the Chickamauga never spoke the Cherokee Trade Language prior to the 1670’s because we are of the Mound Building Culture of the Southeast Woodlands while the Cherokee and their “strange language” are of Canadian descent. The reason the Chickamauga picked up the Cherokee Trade Language is because of the necessity of trade with the Cherokee since they immigrated into our homelands and took what they wanted as their own.
The Erie peoples were booted out of the Iroquoian Confederacy at the End of the Beaver Wars in the 1660s and 1670s. They began their track south out of Canada in the 1670s and immigrated southward along the Appalachians through New York, Pennsylvania and into Virginia before coming to North Carolina.
Therefore: We will seek to learn the Mobilian Trade Langue and begin to speak it when we gather together as a way of honoring our ancestors and their struggle to survive.
Pronunciation Guide for the Mobilian Trade Language
Adapted from the works of Kaufman, D.V & Crawford, J. M.
We will be learning the Anglicized spelling for the words to make it easier to write and speak to each other.
a as “a” in English word father
ã is a “nasal” pronunciation, like pronouncing father through the nose
b is same as English
č is the “ch” sound in English
d is pronounced as a mix between the “d” and “t” in English
f is same as English
h is same as English
i is “ee” sound like Beef in English
ĩ is a “nasal” pronunciation of “i” like pronouncing “beef” through the nose
k is same as English but may also take the English “g” sound
l is same as English
lh place tongue in position to make “l” sound then blow air out around the tongue. Often replaced with the shl sound
m is same as English
n is same as English
o pronounced as “oo” in the word root
õ is a “nasal” pronunciation of “oo” like pronouncing “root” through the nose
p is same as English
r is trilled like in Spanish
s is same as English
š is pronounced “sh” like in the word sheep
t is same as English
w is same as English
y is pronounced as the “y” in the word yet.
(C) This document was produced at the request of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on July 18, 2019, to document the History, Anthropology, Culture, Religion, and Archaeology of The Chickamauga Nation.