The treaty with the Chickasaw Indian Nation ceding their land to the United States failed to specifically reserve Sixteenth Sections, and when the lands were later sold by the government, no provision was made for the reservation of school trust lands. Later, the United States granted the State of Mississippi lieu land as compensation for this error. However, this lieu land was sold by the state, and the money invested in railroad bonds. The investment was lost during the Civil War. The State Legislature currently makes annual appropriations to school districts in the Chickasaw Cession area to compensate for this lost source of local education funding.
