The cloud in this week's template (for round #159 in the LMAC collage contest) dominates the picture. I thought of something ceremonial, but I wasn't sure what. Then, as I was doing casual reading I came across an article on Native American peoples. I knew at that point the cloud for me, in my collage, would rise from a ceremonial fire.
The Choctaw People, of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma, would keep a Council Fire burning. When a new tribe was formed, a bit of fire would be taken to the new place and that would suggest continuity of the people.
And so, in my collage, the dramatic cloud in 
The Choctaw
The Choctaw pony was a prized possession. These animals were direct descendants from the horses brought over from Spain by the Spanish Conquistadors. According to Wikipedia, the Choctaw horse often has pinto coloration and resembles a mustang. The breed, according to Wikipedia, is rare today.
Though Native Americans generally kept ponies and dogs, they did not keep cats as pets. However, there is evidence that bobcats might have been domesticated.
Choctaw Ponies
Credit: Source: Return to Freedom. Author: unknown. Used under CC 3.0 license.
The Choctaw people lived in the Americas for centuries before the arrival of Europeans. The Choctaw ancestral homeland straddled three states: Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Under Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act (voted into law by Congress) the Choctaw and other Native American peoples were forced to give up their lands and move to what was an unsettled western territory.
Today the Choctaw Nation is in Oklahoma, where the people may preserve their traditions.
Choctaw Traditional Dress Patterns
Credit: Rob (Talk). Public Domain.
I found pictures of these patterns on Wikimedia Commons. Because Wikimedia Commons is not on the LMAC White List, I could not used the picture in my collage. However, I did my best to mimic the design and I used the copy for my teepee decorations.
You can see the originals and my copies in the image below. The teepee picture from Pixabay was without decoration.
Choctaw Beaded Sash
Credit:Uyvsdi. Public domain.
The sash shows traditional Choctaw symbols. I tried to copy these, also. I added them to the black geometric designs on the sides of teepees for my Choctaw village. You can see the result in the image below.
Although the teepees were fun to make, there is another type of home the Choctaw people lived in, the Chukka. I couldn't find a public domain picture of this abode, but did find a nice video that shows the Chukka and explains how it is used (video by Choctaw Nation OK):
I couldn't find much information on Council Fires, either, but there was a lot of information about mounds.
Nanih Waiya, Sacred Mound of Choctaw People
Credit: Phil Konstantin. Used under CC Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Earthen mounds were built by Native Americans across Eastern North America. These either served as burial mounds or as sites where religious rituals were conducted.
There is a mound in Arkansas that is believed to be 3500 years old. Nanih Waiya, the Choctaw mound, has artifacts that date back to what is known as the Middle Woodland time range (100 B.C. to 400 A.D.). However, the archeological investigation has not yet been done that would verify this age.
The Choctaw believe that Nanih Waiya is where their people originated. Here's a news clip that describes the significance of the mound to the Choctaw people.
Collage Process
I first thank those who made the collage possible. There are three contributors to LIL (the LMAC Image Library)
I added logs to 
I also borrowed a picture from Pixabay. Thank you
- erika wittlieb for the teepee
I used Gimp, Paint 3D and Paint to manipulate the different elements and fit them into the picture. Here is an intermediate step:
Join Us at LMAC
Making collages is fun, a creative exercise and a learning experience. This week I learned about the Choctaw. Every week is another adventure.
Please check out this week's winning collages at the LMAC community site. Tomorrow we begin another round (#160). Come back then, discover the new template, and try your hand at making something unique.
You can see that LIL, the LMAC Image Library, is an important part of my collage creating process. Everyone on Hive can contribute to the library and borrow from the library. Learn about the procedure here..
I wish all my readers peace and health.
Thank you for reading my blog