CREEK
The Creek occupied most of what are now Alabama and Georgia, and were the second most powerful grouping of Indians south of New York, after the Cherokee. At one time their number reached about 30,000.
The Creek were an agricultural tribe who's villages were situated along creeks and rivers, which accounts for their name, given to them by early traders. They were an orderly society, arranging their log houses in a rectangle around a central space reserved for public ceremonies. Some villages were designed for war ceremonies, other for peace ceremonies.
The Creek men accomplished the hunting, and the women planted and harvested crops of corn, squash, and beans. Tribal members, like other Native Americans of the southeast, were heavily tattooed and ornamented.
The Creek supported the British during the American Revolution, but signed a peace treated with the United States in 1790. However, in 1813, still under the influence of the British, the Creek declared war against the United States. They attacked Fort Mims in southern Alabama, and for several months war ensued. After a few months they were soundly defeated by General Andrew Jackson, and forced to give up more than half of their territory. Eventually, after being forced to cede more land to the Americans, they agreed to relocated in Oklahoma, where they became a member of the Five Civilized Tribes. Only a few remained behind.