The Chickasaw first lived in western North America. Before the first European contact, they moved to east of the Mississippi River. They settled mostly in what is now northeast Mississippi. They were living here when European explorers and traders came. They had relationships with the French, English and Spanish during the colonial years. The United States considered the Chickasaw one of the Five Civilized Tribes. The tribe had advanced social structures and did many things that European Americans did. The US forced them to sell their land in 1832. They also forced them to move to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) during the 1830s.