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Cyrus Byington

Cyrus Byington was a White Christian missionary from Massachusetts who worked with the Choctaw in Mississippi and later in Indian Territory, later called Oklahoma, during 19th century. He set out to construct a lexicon of the Choctaw language in order to translate Christian prayers, hymns, and bible passages. Byington's work is considered one of the most complete lexicons for a Native American language. He worked for nearly fifty years translating Choctaw as a written language.