Nanih Waiya, a sacred 25-foot-tall earthwork platform mound in Winston County, Mississippi, is the legendary birthplace and "Mother Mound" of the Choctaw people. According to tradition, the Choctaw emerged from a cave near the hill, or settled here after an arduous eastern migration following a sacred, leaning pole. According to oral histories, the ancestors of the Choctaw traveled eastward from the West. Each evening they planted a sacred pole in the ground, and in the morning, they would travel in the direction the pole leaned. When they finally arrived at the fertile lands of Mississippi, the pole stood upright, signaling they had reached their destination. Nanih Waiya became the ultimate symbol of the Choctaw homeland. When the U.S. government forced the vast majority of the tribe to relocate to Oklahoma under the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (sparking the Trail of Tears), approximately 10% of the Mississippi Choctaw refused to leave their sacred mother mound. The descendants of those who stayed formed the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI). Today, Nanih Waiya remains a deeply revered site. In 2008, the state of Mississippi returned ownership of the Nanih Waiya mound to the MBCI, an event celebrated annually during Nanih Waiya Day. Does your area have any earthwork mounds?

The Kowi Anukasha, also known as Bohpoli, are powerful figures in Choctaw stories who require respect. When a young boy wanders into the woods, he may be taken by spirits to deep caves. There, he can choose between a knife, poisonous herbs, or good medicinal herbs. Choosing the latter gives him knowledge to become a great doctor. Bohpoli are known for harmless mischief, like throwing rocks, and oral tradition says that only prophets and herb doctors can communicate with them. They often appear as glowing lights in the woods. Do you take any herbal medicines?

Considered to be a type of "shadow being" or "shadow person" which are beings resembling animate human shadows by paranormal investigators, the Nalusa Falaya, meaning "Long Black Being" or "Long Evil Being," is a dark spirit in Choctaw Mythology. It appears as a tall, thin humanoid with small eyes and pointed ears, stalking deep woods and swamps. The creature tricks hunters and travelers by imitating human voices, instilling fear, and enchanting them with a thorn. Nalusa Falaya can stand upright but may also slither like a snake or blend into shadows. It mainly targets those walking alone at dusk. Some tales say it has children who can remove their insides at night and become glowing bodies near marshes. Do you believe in shadow people?