Introduction

The Creek lived in what is now Alabama and Georgia. They formed villages and lived in log houses. The Creek were a religious group. They celebrated ceremonies at the plaza in the center of their village. The village was ruled by a cheif with the help of a town council.


They lived in the forests of Alabama and Georgia

The Creek people lived in northern Georgia and Southern Alabama. They fished and gathered fruit and nuts. They also grew corn and beans in the forest clearings. They hunted too and ate animals such as deer and other smaller forest creatures.


The Creek Lived in Villages

The villages were often built by a river or creek, which is how they got their name. Each family in the village had their own log house. Some families owned two houses, one built to be warm in the winter, another built to be light and airy for the summer. They made their houses out of lofs and painted the outsides with clay. The houses wer arranged around a plaza, or wide open space. The largest house was for the cheif. The town council lived on smaller mounds.


The Town Council

The town council was made up of men who had shown bravery and wisdom. There were no women on the council. One of the men from the council was chosen as the cheif. The cheif and the council made all the decisions for the tribe.


Religious Ceremonies

The Creek were a very religious group. One of their ceremonies was the Green Corn Dance which took place after the harvest in late summer. During the festival, the Creek people were required to put aside their anger or hatred of eachother and live in peace for the up coming year. They also promised to live in harmony with nature. This was one of their most important ceremonies. It was celebrated in the plaza.


Conclusion

As you can see, the Creek were a fabulous tribe. They had a government and tried to live at peace with eachother and with nature. Though the tribe is gone now, you can still see their mounds today.


Bibliography

America Will Be MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. p. 91

"Creek" Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, Microsoft Corp. 1993-1997.

"Georgia State" Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, Microsoft Corp. 1993-1997.


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