The Poarch Band Of Creek Indians

"Descendants of two of the ancestral Poarch families: Moniac and Rolin."

THE RISE OF THE POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS REVISED EDITION is basically a history of the Creek Indians, leading to the formation of the Poarch Band, the only Federally-recognized Creek tribe in Alabama. The Creek were one of five civilized Native American Tribes located in the Southeastern USA. The book details the activities of the Creek in their movement from Mexico in the 16th Century toward the east, finally setting in what is now the states of Georgia and Alabama. The Creek in Alabama were noted as the Upper Creek and settled mostly along the waterways in Central Alabama in the 18th Century. In the late 18th century, the Europeans came to Creek country, and many males intermarried with women from the Wind Clan of the tribe. These half-breeds (metis as they were called) became noted Creek leaders and were instrumental in building viable and growing communities throughout the central and southern parts of what later became the state of Alabama. The Creek Indian War of 1812-14 aligned Creek against Creek. The warring Creek, known as Red Sticks, were led by Billy Weatherford (Red Eagle) and fought against the U.S. soldiers led by General Andrew Jackson, and those Creek (White Sticks) who remain loyal to the U.S. Government. After the Creek Indian War, many of the Creek who remained loyal to General Jackson and the Federal Government were given land grants of 640 acres of land and settled in and around what today is the Poarch reservation located in Southwest Alabama, near Mobile.Most of the Creek who settled in the Poarch area were not included in the relocation process to the territory of Oklahoma. Known as the "Trail of Tears," more 3,500 Creek Indians lost their lives on the trail west, including the author, Lou Vickery's, fourth generation grandfather, Sam Moniac.The Moniac family was one of the original families to settle first in Creek country... and later in the Poarch area. David Tate Moniac, son of Sam and Lou's fourth generation Uncle, was the first Native American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy in l822. Chapter 17 details his amazing story.The avid history buff will find Vickery, a former professional baseball player, depiction of Creek history to be a "must" read.

This book is very well researched and written. It contains all the details of the life experiences and journey of "Creek" Indians in the early days of settlement in Alabama. It clearly shows the little heard and understood the perspective of Native Americans in their struggle for survival and how they were treated by various European colonial governments, as well as the U.S. government. Their story is a testament to their strength, courage, heart, and grit. Highly recommend this book This book offers timeless material that helps the reader navigate the historical, genealogical, and biographical base of the only Federally-recognized Native American Tribe in the state of Alabama. It is a well-thought-out, thoroughly researched book about the transitions, turning points, and crossroads the ancestral Poarch Indians encountered as they used the past as a springboard to the future. The authors literally reviewed thousands of supporting documents and instruments in their research.

This dissertation focuses on the history and identity of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama. This work contributes to the larger body of scholarship that challenges the invisibility of Native Americans in the East and the South. The dissertation describes the economic conditions of the Poarch Creeks from the early twentieth century to the present. I trace the process Poarch went through in order to gain access to equal educational opportunities in the segregated South. I also discuss the integration of local white schools with Indian children. Two chapters of this dissertation are devoted to the way in which the Poarch Creek define kinship and tribal membership. I analyze the way in which blood quantum is used to identify members of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. I also examine how the tribe's legal definitions of tribal members differ from the broader Poarch community's understanding of who belongs in the community and who is deserving of current tribal member benefits. Drawing on Janet Carsten's (1997, 2000, 2004) idea of "shared substance" as the basis of kinship relations, I trace the idea of "shared discrimination" as one way in which tribal members have formed familial bonds even without being biologically related. I also examine the religious components of life in Poarch, including both Christianity and the traditional religious practice of stomp dancing. I describe the legal process of federal recognition and the Poarch Band of Creek's petition for acknowledgment that was granted in 1983. I discuss the Wind Creek Casino and Hotel, a recently constructed Class II gaming facility on the Poarch Band of Creek Indian reservation, which supports the process of self-determination by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Finally, I discuss the ways in which tribal members are now able to express their pride in being a tribal member, as well as the ways that the tribe has contributed to the surrounding community.

The result of more than ten years of research, A Dictionary of Creek/Muskogee draws on the expertise of a linguist and a native Creek speaker to yield the first modern dictionary of the Creek language of the southeastern United States. The dictionaryøcontains over seven thousand Creek-English entries, over four thousand English-Creek entries, and over four hundred Creek place names in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Oklahoma. The volume also includes illustrations, a map, antonyms, dialects, stylistic information, word histories, and other useful reference material. Entries are given in both the traditional Creek spelling and a modern phonemic transcription. A Dictionary of Creek/Muskogee is the standard reference work for the Creek language.

2018 Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2019 Dwight L. Smith (ABC-CLIO) Award from the Western History Association Between 1827 and 1837 approximately twenty-three thousand Creek Indians were transported across the Mississippi River, exiting their homeland under extreme duress and complex pressures. During the physically and emotionally exhausting journey, hundreds of Creeks died, dozens were born, and almost no one escaped without emotional scars caused by leaving the land of their ancestors. Bending Their Way Onward is an extensive collection of letters and journals describing the travels of the Creeks as they moved from Alabama to present-day Oklahoma. This volume includes documents related to the “voluntary” emigrations that took place beginning in 1827 as well as the official conductor journals and other materials documenting the forced removals of 1836 and the coerced relocations of 1836 and 1837. This volume also provides a comprehensive list of muster rolls from the voluntary emigrations that show the names of Creek families and the number of slaves who moved west. The rolls include many prominent Indian countrymen (such as white men married to Creek women) and Creeks of mixed parentage. Additional biographical data for these Creek families is included whenever possible. Bending Their Way Onward is the most exhaustive collection to date of previously unpublished documents related to this pivotal historical event.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians are a segment of the original Creek Nation that avoided removal and remained in Alabama. This dissertation is a qualitative study designed to record oral histories of Poarch Creek people. Together the tribe and I collected and recorded oral histories from four generations of four Poarch Creek families. In addition, I did participant observations, analyzed documents, had informal conversations, and recorded field notes. All of this data helps us to understand more about family, community, education, religion, relationships, living situations, and many more aspects of Poarch Creeks from 1920 to 2011. Other stories were shared about the history of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians before, during, and after federal recognition. All of these stories teach us about how Poarch Creek identity has changed and been maintained over time.