Tandy Walker

Tandy Walker (October 10, 1814 February 2, 1877) was a Choctaw chief who served as a Colonel in the Confederate Army in the Indian Territory during the American Civil War.

Biography Walker was born in 1814 in Mississippi. He was of mixed descent. Previously the President of the Choctaw Senate, he assumed the role as Governor of the Choctaw Nation following the resignation of Alfred Wade. He served at a time when the Choctaws were divided over choosing a constitution and forming a new government, with differing factions forming at Skullyville and Doaksville to argue their proposals. Walker served the remainder of Wade's term; his successor, Basil LeFlore, supported the 1857 Skullyville Constitution. However, a new convention held in Doaksville in 1860, ratified the Doaksville Constitution that governed the Choctaw Nation until its annexation by the United States in 1906.

Following the outbreak of hostilities and the Choctaw alliance with the Confederacy, Walker served as a lieutenant colonial in the First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles under Douglas H. Cooper. Walker was given control over the regiment in early 1863, and he was promoted to colonel. In 1864, the regiment was reorganized as the Second Indian Cavalry Brigade. During the Battle of Poison Spring, also known as the Poison Spring massacre, Walker stated that his men were motivated by the thought of shedding "the blood of their despised enemy...the ravagers of their country, the despoilers of their homes, and the murderers of their women and children." His Choctaw troops were accused of desecrating corpses and scalping.

Walker died in Skullyville, Oklahoma in 1877.

Walker's Station was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route. It served as Walker's residence and office.