Redwater, MS

Redwater is a census-designated place in Leake County and one of the eight communities of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The community is also known as Red Water, or Oka Homma, a Choctaw name meaning "red water." More than half of Redwater's residents are Choctaw, and the place sits within the larger reservation landscape of eastern-central Mississippi. Mississippi Highway 25 passes through, with Carthage just to the south and the roads toward Louisville and Jackson opening in opposite directions.

Redwater's daily life is tied to both county and tribal institutions. Leake County School District serves the community, while Red Water Elementary belongs to the Choctaw Tribal Schools system. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians maintains a tribal council presence for the community, and Choctaw language, family ties, and community traditions give Redwater a character that cannot be reduced to a highway marker. The CDP is small on the map, but it is part of a living Choctaw network that includes Pearl River, Bogue Chitto, Conehatta, Standing Pine, and the other reservation communities.