The Struggle of the Creek by Gabriella

You’re looking into the river with a spear in hand when, out of nowhere, a white man in a uniform with a gun pointing at you starts yelling in some unknown language and points with his free hand at a group of other tribe members and pushes you along. Though you know you shouldn’t, you fight, struggling against his tight grasp, struggling to win. This was the life of the Creek Indians. They were always fighting for the land of their ancestors, their food, their Clans, for peace.

At first, the Creek used to live in modern day Alabama and Georgia. They may have moved to the U.S. from a land-bridge in Asia about 10,000 years ago. When they settled there, they made their homes near bodies of water in the woods. This is how they got the name “Creek” from settlers. Their real name is the Muskogee tribe. Muskogee means "wet or flooded lands." At first, the settlers were thought of as friends, and they once even traded with the Creek. However, settlers wanted the land that belonged to the Creek and so many hardships like these led to many battles which resulted in many dead Creek and later the Trail of Tears.

Another important part of the Creek Native Americans was food. Food, especially corn, was sacred to the Creek. The Creek had a long growing season and good soil, and so the women were able to plant and harvest two yearly crops of corn. The women were also able to grow beans, squash, pumpkins, and gathered berries, seeds, fruit, wild onions, and potatoes. The men hunted deer, small animals, birds, and fish. Men would sometimes trick these animals by wearing a deer “cape."  To hunt, they used bows and arrows, spears, traps, and blow-guns. Some food was eaten right away while others were stored for winter and festivals. Without the food they worshiped, the Creek would have been wiped out.

Equally important, there are the clans of the tribe. There are nearly fifty clans, all of which had its own totem that they believe they had some power. Some examples of Creek clans would be Bear Clan, Wind Clan, and Eagle Clan. It was important to the clan to have loyal members. Each member had to marry outside of their clan. This tradition helped strengthen bonds between each clan. All Clans had Italwas, or villages. It was custom to have only about four hundred to six hundred people in a town. When this limit was reached, they would split into two different communities. These communities stayed friendly toward each other. All itwalas were arranged in a similar way. There was always an opening in the center where they had the sacred fire. There they had ceremonies and games such as the corn dance, stick-ball, and Chunky, a “bowling” game played by the elders of the clans.

The Creek had many peaceful times, such as ceremonies. They once traded with Europe until the settlers started coming closer to Creek land, and a lot had already been trying to bargain for their land. Some towns wanted war with the settlers. These towns were called Red Towns while others wanted peace with the settlers and were called White Towns. Red Towns started the Creek War in 1813, and it ended the next year. Peter McQueen and William Weatherford were mixed blood and led the red sticks into many battles, but the one that started it all was a full-blooded Creek named Little Warrior, who led a band of Creek against the US in the War of 1812. He killed many settlers along the Ohio River and was later executed by the White Sticks. The Creek were also on the Trail of Tears, a long perilous journey from Alabama or Georgia all the way to Indian Territory, or modern day Oklahoma. Hunger and despise haunted about 1500 to 2000 Creek who were removed from their home. The Creek had few powerful weapons to defeat the settlers and keep their land.  Bows and arrows, spears, and blow-guns were not enough for war with the settlers who were stealing land. Blow-guns are sharp darts made of small thin wood pieces inserted into hollowed out tubes of river cane.

As you can see the Creek had many hardships but are still alive today. They worked hard to keep what was theirs. These powerful people thrive today, and still have some of their traditions to this very day.

References

Green, Michael.  The Creeks.  Philadelphia, New York. Chelsea House Publishers, 1990

Robinsky, Natalie. The Creek and their History. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Compass Point Books, 2005

Waldman, Carl. “Creek” Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Third Edition. New York :Facts on

                File,inc., 2006. American History online. http//www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? Item ID=

     WE4&iPin=ind2344&SingleRecord=True(accessed October 30, 2008). 

last updated 12-10-08