Creek Indians

The Creek Indians consisted of more than one tribe of Indians. They were a confederacy of tribes banded together for the good of all members. The Creek culture is thought to have started as a defensive strategy against the other larger Indian tribes of the region. The confederacy was always changing in size; it would gain and lose land and people as small tribes joined and withdrew. At the start of the 1500's the Creeks occupied nearly all of what is the southeast United States. That came to an end in the 1600's when the Cherokee, and later the Europeans, drove them west to Alabama and finely to what is now Oklahoma.

The Creek problem started with a battle in Lumpkin County near Slaughter Gap. It was the first of many defeats that forced the Creeks farther west. A later battle for which Cherokee County is now named, forced the Creeks south and west to the Chattahoochee and Coose Rivers. This is why the names upper and lower were added to the new separate Creek tribes. The fighting only became more intense after the Red sticks, a small faction of Creeks, slaughtered 250 men, women, and children at Fort. Mims, Alabama. The battle started the Creek War. The fitting gave the Democratic party more support to drive the Creeks out. Gov. George Troup finally did just that after the treaty of Indian Springs was singed. By 1827 the Creeks were gone from Georgia.

The Creek culture was the most sophisticated of cultures north of Mexico. The name Creek is not the real name of the tribe. It is Muskogee, Creek is the European name given because of geographic location. The Creek towns are based around a Mother town. When a town reached 400 to 600 people, part of the town would move to a new area just outside the Mother town. They would then start there own village which would maintain the same layout. They were centered around a plaza used for dancing, religious ceremonies and games. This plaza also contained a rotunda for council meetings. The plaza had houses around it for the members of the village. The town government consisted of a Chief, Assistant Chief and a Chief Speaker. This arrangement is still used today. The traditional home of the Creek people is the hut which is roofed with grass or wood. Today the homes are now much more modern.

References:

Muscogee (creek) History http://www.ocevnet.org/creek/history.html
The Creek Nation - American Indians in North Georgia wysiwyg://59/http://ngeorgia.com/history/creek.html

Written by: Kyle Ramaker

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