Muscogee Tribe

“The Civilized Creeks”

By: Kristen Marchese,

Maureen Lynch & Susan LaBella

The History of the Muscogee

• Also known as the Creek Indians
• Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling
• Descendants of the Mississippian culture who built earthwork mounds which are various styles of mounds for religious and ceremonial, burial and elite residential purposes
• They lived by a chiefdom hierarchical political organization
• The first Native Americans considered to be civilized under George Washingtons civilization plan.
• Known as one of the “five civilized tribes” because they integrated numerous cultures and technological practices.

Where did they live?

• Traditionally from southeast United States and the Northeastern border of Mexico
• Today Muscogee people live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
• They lived in villages of single-family houses.
• They lived in thatched huts that were plastered on the outside with clay.

Muscogee Culture

• Known for being modern
• One of the first tribes to develop a written language
• Owned their own land
• Accept European and African Americans into their tribe
• Common rituals are the Stomp Dance and the Green Corn Ceremony

Stomp Dance Ceremony

What did they wear?

Traditional clothing was made out of:

• Plant materials during the

Summer and animal skins during

the winter

• Muscogee tribe adopted European clothing style in the 17th century. Clothing became more colorful and decorated with silk ribbons and beads

Muscogee clothing

What did they eat?

• The creeks were farming people.
• Women: Farmed, harvest crops of corn, beans, and squash. They also raised cows, horses and pigs.
• Men: hunting, shooting deer, wild turkey, and small game. They also fished in the rivers.

The Muscogee’s Special Meals

Creek dishes included cornbread, soups, and stews cooked on stone hearths.

Their Habitat

• Creek Indians lived in villages
• Each was surrounded by a high wall of spiked logs.
• Each had a tall pole in the entrance painted red or white.
• This let everyone know if the village was “red” or “white”.

Red Villages

• The red villages were the War Zones.
• War leaders lived in these villages.
• In these towns blood could be shed & warriors came here to learn.
• Others would come here to work out their differences.

White Villages

• The white villages were Peace Zones.
• No one could be attacked in a white village
• Everyone had to promote peaceful solutions
• If they could not solve their problems they had to go to the red zone.

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The Homes of the Muscogee

• In both villages their homes were:
• Long buildings of one or two rooms
• Small huts
• Most had long proches
• Roofs were thatched with long grasses
• mats were hung on the walls for color and warmth.

Two Houses

• Just as they had two villages they had two homes.
• Homes were sessional
• Summer homes: open & airy
• Winter homes: warm & solid

Double House Method

• The double house method was a form of trickery.
• The Creek tribes did this to trick others into thinking they had more people in each village than there really were.

Famous Muscogee people

• Carrie Underwood - Country Singer
• Fred Beaver- Muscogee painter and muralist
• Acee Blue Eagle- Artist, actor, author, and director of art at Bacone College
• Ernest Childers- Lieutenant in U.S Army during WWII and first Native American to be awarded a Medal of Honor
• Joy Harjo- Poet and musician
• Jack Jacobs- Football player
• Alexander McGillivray- leader of Muscogee during American Revolution
• Will Sampson- Actor in One flew over the cuckoo’s Nest

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Lets Review

What is another name for the Muscogee tribe?

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Let’s Review

What is the difference between a red village and a white village?

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Let’s Review

How are the Green Corn Ceremony and Stomp Dance related?

Kahoot

Kahoot Quiz

Resources

1. Southeast Indians- The Muscogee (Creek) Native Americans in olden times for kids. (n.d). http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/southeast/creek.html 3/31/2014

2.Creek Indians (n.d) http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/cms/lib3/GA01000373/Centricity/Domain94/documents