How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story

Death is a symbol of transition in this story. When characters die, they transition from the physical world to the spiritual world but remain capable of participating in the physical world. When Isaac dies and transitions to the spiritual world, the other ghosts “wanted me to know that we were still Choctaws, always Choctaws, and that games and hunting and fishing still happen, even in the world of Choctaw ghosts” (86). Similarly, Mister Jonah explains, “Our lives are over, but we can still help the living” (44). Death also marks the transition from the world of vulnerability to the world of immortality. After Nita’s death, Isaac explains, “The soldiers could kill anyone they wanted, at any time they wanted. But we didn’t fear for Nita. She was a ghost. She could take care of herself now” (68). Isaac notices the same transition upon his own death.

Treaty Talk is a symbol of the Choctaws’ inevitable defeat and the Nahullos’ inevitable victory. Isaac explains, “We were nice to them, and they were nice to us. But Treaty Talk always meant something else, and that something else was never nice” (3).