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The Creek Confederacy
The Creek confederacy,
or "league of the Muscogulgee" was a
purely political organization connecting the
various and disparate elements, which
composed it, for common action against
external aggression. It had no direct
influence on the social organization of the
tribes, and the most appropriate term for
this, and other Indian confederacies as
well, is that of war-confederacy, war-league
or symmachy. In Creek the Maskoki
confederacy is called ísti Maskoki
imiti-halátka.
To call this loose
assemblage of towns and tribes a military
democracy, in the sense that the majority of
the votes decided a question brought before
the people in a manner that was binding for
the citizens, is entirely wrong and
misleading, for Indians regard their actions
subject to their own decisions only, or, at
the utmost, to those of their individual
gens. Every Creek town or individual could
go on the warpath or stay at home, in spite
of any wish or decree issued by the chiefs
or assembled
warriors. The young warriors,
anxious to obtain fame and war-titles,
joined the war parties on the call of a
leader. In questions of war unanimity was
seldom attained in the council of a town,
much less in the whole nation; "it is not
recollected by the oldest man, that more
than one-half of the nation went to war at
the same time or took the war-talk."
"When the míko and his
councilors are of opinion that the town has
been injured, the Great Warrior lifts the
war-hatchet, átăsi, against the offending
nation. But as soon as it is taken up, the
míko and his council may interpose, and by
their prudent counsels stop it, and proceed
to adjust the misunderstanding by
negotiation. If the Great Warrior persists
and goes out he is followed by all who are
for war."
These words, quoted
from the "Sketch" of the United States
agent, B. Hawkins, plainly show, that the
initiative for war rested with the civil
authority, and not with the military. But it
is possible that Hawkins speaks of white or
peace-towns only, and not of the red towns. He continues as follows:
"Peace is always
determined on and concluded by the míko and
councilors, and peace-talks are always
addressed to the cabin of the míko. In some
cases, where the resentment of the warriors
has run high, the míko and council have been
much embarrassed."
All this proves that
every town had the privilege to begin
warfare for itself, independent of the
confederacy, provided that the
civil
government consented to the undertaking.
This fact plainly shows the perfect
independence of the Indian tribe from the
war-confederacy, and forms a striking
contrast to our ideas of a centralized state
power. In some instances the Creek towns
left their defensive position to act on the
offensive principle, but they were not
sustained then by the
Maskoki confederacy.
The chief of the
confederacy had to advise only, and not to
command; he was of influence only when
endowed with superior talent and political
ability. The chief and principal warriors
had annual meetings in the
public square of
some central town, on public affairs; they
drank ássi, exchanged tobacco, and then
proceeded to debate. Time and place of these
conventions were fixed by a chief, and the
space of time between warning and that of
assembly was called " broken days." Major C.
Swan, after whose report this passage is
quoted (Schoolcraft V, 279) states that the
title of the chief of the confederacy was
the great beloved man, while Milfort, who
was himself invested with the charge of
great warrior of the nation, styles him " Le
Tastanégy ou grand chef de guerre," adding,
however, that in his time he was the highest
authority in civil and military affairs
(Memoire, Note to p. 237). The English,
French and Spaniards frequently called him
the Emperor of the Upper and Lower Creeks, a
term which is not entirely misapplied when
taken in its original sense of "military
commander," the imperator of the Romans.
At a later period the
meeting of the confederacy usually took
place at
Tukabatchi, which had become the
largest community. From the above it
results, however, that the Creeks had no
capital town in the sense as we use this
term. Col. B. Hawkins, who attempted to
introduce some unity among the towns for the
purpose of facilitating the transaction of
business of the nation, and their
intercourse with the United States
Government, proposed various measures, as
the classing of the towns into nine
districts; these were adopted at Tukabatchi
by the chiefs of the nation, on November
27th, 1799.1
The small degree of
respect which the Creek towns paid to
international treaties (sitimfátchita) or
other solemn engagements made with the
whites, as sales of territory, etc., is
another proof for the looseness of the
"powerful Creek confederacy." After giving
a list of six influential headmen of
different towns, Major C. Swan declares that
a treaty made with these chiefs would
probably be communicated to all the people
of the country, and be believed and relied
upon (Schoolcraft V, 263). Subsequent events
have shown this to be founded on a
misapprehension of the Indian character,
which is that of the most outspoken
individuality.
Major C. Swan, who only
traveled through the country to leave it
again, makes the following interesting
statement concerning the political and
social status of the disparate tribes
composing the Creek confederacy (1791; in
Schoolcraft V, 259. 260):
"Their numbers have increased faster by
the acquisition of foreign subjects than by
the increase of the original stock. It
appears long to have been a maxim of their
policy to give equal liberty and protection
to tribes conquered by themselves, as well as to those vanquished by
others, although many individuals taken in
war are slaves among them, and their
children are called of the slave race, and
cannot arrive to much honorary distinction
in the country, on that account."
Footnotes:
- Cf. his Sketch, pp.
51. 52. 67. 68.
Back to: Creek
Government
Notes About Book:
Source: Gatschet, Albert S., A Migration Legend of the Creek Indians.
Pub.
D.G. Brinton, Philadelphia, 1884.
Notes about Online Publication: This manuscript has been ocr'd and heavily
edited. Many of the Native American words have been reproduced as clearly as
online publication will allow us, but not all are exactly the way they were in
the original work. The structure of this manuscript has been changed to allow
better online presentation.
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