Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the Muskogee Creeks for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students
and teachers to visit our Creek language and culture
pages for more in-depth information about the tribe, but here are our answers to the questions we are most often asked by children, with
Creek pictures and links we believe are suitable for all ages.
Where did the Creek Indians get their name?
The white settlers called them Creek Indians after Ocmulgee Creek in Georgia. They originally called themselves Isti
or Istichata, but began to identify themselves as Muskogee soon after Europeans arrived.
How do you pronounce "Muskogee"? What does it mean?
It's pronounced "muss-KOH-gee," with a hard 'g' as in 'go.' Sometimes it is spelled Muscogee or Mvskoke instead.
It comes from Maskoke, which was originally the name of a particular Creek band. Later, this name became used to refer to
Creek people in general. Today, many people use the two words together: Muskogee Creek.
Are the Creeks Seminole people?
No, but some Seminoles are Creek people. The Seminole tribe
was originally an alliance between certain Creek, Miccosukee, Hitchiti, Oconee, and other Indian people of northern Florida and southern
Georgia. Only some Creek people, not all of them, joined the Seminoles.
Where do the Creeks live?
The Creeks are original residents of the American southeast, particularly
Georgia,
Alabama,
Florida, and North Carolina.
Most Creeks were forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800's, like other southern Indian tribes.
There are 20,000 Muskogee Creeks in Oklahoma today.
Other Creek people are living in southern Florida as part of the Seminole tribe, in the Poarch Creek band in Alabama, or
scattered throughout the original Muskogee homelands.
How is the Creek Indian nation organized?
There are two Creek tribes today. The Poarch Creeks in Alabama live on a reservation, which is
land that belongs to the tribe and is under their control. The Oklahoma Creeks live on trust land.
The Creek Nation has its own government, laws, police, and other services, like a small country.
However, the Creeks are also US citizens and must obey American law.
In the past, each Creek village was led by a chief called a miko who was selected by a tribal council.
Historically, all these chiefs were male. Today, the Creek councilmembers and principal chief are
elected, just like senators and governors, and can be either gender.
What language do the Creeks speak?
Most Creek people speak English today. Some people, especially elders, also speak their native
Muskogee Creek language. If you'd like to know a few easy
Muskogee words,
hesci (pronounced heese-chee) is a friendly greeting, and mvto (pronounced muh-toh) means 'thank you.'
You can also read a Creek picture glossary here.
What was Creek culture like in the past? What is it like now?
Here is a link to the Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma,
where you can learn about the Creek people past and present. You can also read
simple articles about the Creek Indians here and
here.
How do Creek Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?
They do the same things all children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house.
Many Creek children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more
chores and less time to play, just like colonial children. But they did have
beaded dolls,
toys and games to play with.
Lacrosse
was a popular sport among teenage boys as it was among adult men. Creek mothers, like many
Native Americans, traditionally carried their babies in
cradleboards
on their backs--a custom which many American parents have
adopted
now.
What were men and women's roles in the Creek tribe?
Creek men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Creek women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking.
Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, the chief was always a man, but today a Creek
woman can participate in government too.
What were Creek homes like in the past?
The Creek people lived in settled villages of single-family houses arranged around a village square. Creek houses were made of
plaster and rivercane walls with thatched roofs.
Here are some pictures of Indian homes like
the ones Creek Indians used.
They also built larger circular buildings for ceremonial purposes, and most towns
had a lacrosse field with benches for spectators. Some Creek villages had palisades (reinforced walls) around them, to guard against
attack. Today, the Creeks live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you.
What was Creek clothing like? Did they wear feather headdresses and face paint?
Creek men wore breechcloths and leather leggings.
Creek women wore wraparound skirts and mantles made of deerskin or woven fiber.
Creek men did not originally wear shirts, but both genders wore cloaks in cooler weather.
The Creeks also wore moccasins on their feet.
Later the Creeks adapted European costume into their own characteristic style, including cloth blouses, jackets, and
full skirts decorated with ribbon applique. Here is a webpage with pictures of
traditional Creek dress, and here are some photographs
and links about Indian clothes in general.
The Creeks didn't wear long headdresses like the
Sioux. Creek men usually shaved their heads in the
Mohawk style, and sometimes they would also wear a
porcupine roach.
(These headdresses were made of porcupine hair, not their sharp quills!) Creek women usually wore their long hair in topknots on top
of their heads. Creek men, especially warriors, decorated their bodies with complex
tribal tattoos, and often painted
their faces bright red during battles and dances. Creek women didn't usually tattoo or paint themselves.
Today, some Creek people still wear moccasins
or a ribbon shirt, but they wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths... and they only wear roaches in their hair on special
occasions like a dance.
What was Creek transportation like in the days before cars? Did they paddle canoes?
Yes--the Creek Indians made long dugout canoes from hollowed-out cypress logs. Over land, the Muskogees used dogs as pack animals.
(There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.)
Today, of course, Creek people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes.
What was Creek food like in the days before supermarkets?
The Creeks were farming people. Creek women did most of the farming, harvesting crops of corn, beans, and squash.
Creek men did most of the hunting, shooting deer, wild turkeys, and small game and fishing in the rivers and along the coast.
Creek dishes included cornbread, soups, and stews cooked on stone hearths.
What were Creek weapons and tools like in the past?
Creek hunters primarily used bows and arrows. Fishermen used fishing spears, nets, or hooks made of bone.
In war, Creek men fired their bows or fought with tomahawks and war clubs. Creek warriors also
used hide shields to defend themselves.
What are Creek arts and crafts like?
The Creeks were known for their baskets,
woodcarvings,
and glazed pottery. When they had to move to Oklahoma,
the Creeks couldn't get the materials they used to use for some of their traditional crafts, so they concentrated more on other crafts such as
beadwork.
What other Native Americans did the Creek tribe interact with?
The Creeks traded regularly with all the other tribes of the southeast. These tribes communicated using a simplified trade language
called Mobilian Jargon.
They frequently fought with the
Cherokee and
Choctaw tribes. The closest Creek allies included the
Yuchi,
Miccosukee,
Alabama, and
Coushatta tribes, who were united into a loose
confederacy in the 1700's.
What kinds of stories do the Creeks tell?
There are many traditional Creek legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very important to the
Creek Indian culture. Here is a story about why oppossums have bare tails.
What about Creek religion?
Religions are too complicated and culturally sensitive to describe appropriately
in only a few simple sentences, and we strongly want to avoid misleading anybody. You can visit this site to learn more about
Creek rituals or this site about
Native American religion in general.
Can you recommend a good book for me to read?
Younger readers may enjoy The Great Ball Game,
a picture book retelling a Creek legend, or
Jingle Dancer, the story of a modern Muscogee
girl gathering regalia for a powwow. Older readers may like
Gray Eagle, a novel about an 18th-century Creek
Indian boy. Two good books about Creek culture and history for kids are
The Creek: Farmers of the Southeast and
Creek Indians Today.
You can also browse through our reading list of recommended American Indian books in general.
How do I cite your website in my bibliography?
You will need to ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use. Our names are Laura Redish and
Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. The site was first created in 1998 and last updated in 2007.
Thanks for your interest in the Creek Indian people and their language!
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