S.E. Ruckman: Muscogee Nation gathers around treaty tree

Wednesday, November 2, 2011  

"It matters little to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation whether it was fair or not. They remember the signing of an 1832 treaty that removed them from their ancestral lands to new country in Indian Territory. The agreement outlined the way the old Creeks would leave their homelands in Alabama and Georgia to stay, farm and work in parts that would someday be symbolized on South Cheyenne Street in Tulsa, OK.

As far as treaties go, who’s to judge that all the iron provisions would turn out to be so pliable? Eventually tribal members would be allotted individual plots in lieu of their original jurisdiction that spanned eight modern counties. The old-timers signed one treaty under the watchful arms of a Tulsa oak tree under fall sunlight on a day that was really not that long ago.

Their progeny met again this year at the 26th Annual Council Oak Ceremony. I had been before, but this year it was a little different. If the land was like a favorite shirt, it had been washed, starched and ironed to look its best. The adjoining Stickball Park was manicured and chairs were set out for the nearly 300 Creeks in attendance. The American and tribal flags were marched in by war veterans with white feathers floating from their berets."

Get the Story:
S.E. RUCKMAN: A 'civilized' afternoon under the Creek Council Oak (The Native American Times 11/2)