Creek Nation

In the beginning, the Muscogee people were born out of the earth itself. A thick fog sent by Esakitaummesee, the Master of Breath, covered the entire area and separated the people from one another. The people could not see and wandered aimlessly throughout the land, and, fearing isolation, called out to one another. They became lost and drifted apart. The people became separated into small groups, which clung together for fear of being entirely alone.

The Master of Breath took pity on the people and, from the eastern edge of the land, began to blow away [Page 170]the fog until it was completely gone. The people, thankful to the Master of Breath, celebrated with song and swore allegiance to each other. They promised from that day that the groups would be like large families and the members of each family would care for the others.

The group closest to the eastern edge of the land praised the wind that blew the fog away. They named themselves the Wind Clan. As the wind moved west, clearing the fog as it passed, the other groups named themselves after the first animal they saw. They in turn became the Bear, Deer, Alligator, Raccoon, and Bird Clans. The Master of Breath told them, “You are the beginning of each of your families and clans. Live up to your name. When you forget, your clans will die as people.”

For thousands of years, indigenous peoples have moved from place to place in what has come to be called North America. Early migrations were a necessity for survival. The hunters and gatherers had to adapt to diverse climates, making certain types of agriculture prohibitive. Natural wildlife migrations resulted in a mobile dinner table and therefore a mobile society. These people had to follow the game for a continuous supply of food, clothing, and shelter. A consequence of the nomadic nature of these people was the relocation of their villages to different locations with some frequency. When the town moved, they took the name of the town with them—it was their identity. With no written language, it is difficult to trace tribal origins other than through oral histories passed down through generations.

Beginning in the late 15th century, Europeans from England, Spain, France, and the Netherlands continued their own migrations, making their way west to explore the so-called New World and claim its wealth and abundance for their respective royalty. What they discovered upon their arrival were scores of indigenous tribes inhabiting the land. What follows is a brief look at the Muscogee (Creek) people and how their lives were impacted by this European invasion.

The Creeks were not one tribe, but rather a loose confederation made up of many tribes within the Muskhogean linguistic group. One of the many myths surrounding the Creek people is the origin of their name. The simplistic version is that the English colonists gave them the name because of the abundant creeks and streams that meandered through their lands. In fact, that geographic area was scattered with a profusion of waterways and tributaries along which the people settled. It was common for the English to name a waterway after the tribe that occupied the land adjacent. Thus the section of the Ocmulgee River in Georgia inhabited by the Ocheese tribe was called Ocheese Creek and the people Ocheese Creek Indians. Over time, the name was abbreviated to simply Creek and was applied to the many tribes of the surrounding area. Maskoki, another common spelling for the tribe, is also a derivative. The Native word for “water” is oki, and muskhoge means “dwellers in the swamps.”

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