Creek Country

by Ethridge, Robbie Franklyn

• ISBN13: 9780807828274
• ISBN10: 0807828270
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

A culture in crisis Reconstructing the human and natural environment of the Creek Indians in frontier Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, Robbie Ethridge illuminates a time of wrenching transition. Creek Country presents a compelling portrait of a culture in crisis, of its resiliency in the face of profound change, and of the forces that pushed it into decisive, destructive conflict. Ethridge begins with the arrival of U.S. Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins, whose tenure among the Creeks coincided with a period of increased federal intervention in tribal affairs, growing tension between Indians and non-Indians, and pronounced strife within the tribe. In a detailed description of Creek town life, the author reveals how social structures were stretched to accommodate increased engagement with whites and blacks. The Creek economy, long linked to the outside world through the deerskin trade, had begun to fail. Ethridge details the Creeks' efforts to diversify their economy, especially through experimental,farming and ranching, and the ecological crisis that ensued. Disputes within the tribe culminated in the Red Stick War, a civil war among Creeks that quickly spilled over into conflict between Indians and white settlers and was ultimately used by U.S. authorities to justify their policy of Indian removal.

Author Biography

Robbie Ethridge is McMullan Assistant Professor of Southern Studies and assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Mississippi

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(6)
Chapter One Benjamin Hawkins in Creek Country	7	(15)
Chapter Two The Beginnings of Creek Country: A Historical Overview	22	(10)
Chapter Three The Landscape of Creek Country	32	(22)
Chapter Four The Heart of Creek Country	54	(38)
Chapter Five The People of Creek Country	92	(28)
Chapter Six The Hinterlands	120	(20)
Chapter Seven Creek Farmers	140	(18)
Chapter Eight Creek Ranchers	158	(17)
Chapter Nine Entrepreneurs, Wage Laborers, Thieves, and the Creek Frontier Exchange Economy	175	(20)
Chapter Ten The Selling of Creek Country	195	(20)
Chapter Eleven The Closing of Creek Country	215	(28)
Appendix: Scientific Taxonomy for Plants and Animals Mentioned in the Text	243	(6)
Notes	249	(78)
Bibliography	327	(30)
Index	357