. Mvskoke History

Stephanie:

Muscogee Creek are a Native American tribe of the Southeast.  Traditionally the tribes were mound builders that lived in small towns with a distinct political organization.  The Creek were mainly stationary and were great agriculturalists.  A Creek woman would grow corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and melons in a private family garden and would also have a plot within a community garden in which the entire town would tend together.  In addition to growing crops, the Creek women would gather local plants such as wild onion and berries.  The Creek men would hunt deer, bear and small game such as squirrel.  Corn was a main-stay in the Creek diet and many social and spiritual ceremonies including the Green Corn Ceremony are still a very important part of Creek culture.

The Kincaid Site in Massac Co., Illinois, showing platform mounds. Illustration by artist Herb Roe

Stephanie:

Creeks were mound builders and lived in small villages.
Creeks planted a small private garden where the women of the family grew corn, beans, tobacco, and other crops.
Outside the town a larger plot of land was used for the communal field in which the main food supply was grown.
Corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and melons were grown in abundance.
The Lower Creeks also grew rice.
Hickory nuts and acorns were a source of sustenance.
Hunting deer and bear and fishing also supplemented the food supplies.
Pork was introduced by Europeans. Though widely used today, ethical and health issues have surfaced.

Read more: Overview of the Creek Indian Tribe

Jimi:

How I got interested in the food-systems of the Native American Southeast was through my children’s mother, Aria. According to her family’s oral tradition, she is descended from Creek grandmothers, through her mother’s side of the family. They came out of the Coosa River country of Northern Alabama, the traditional homeland of the Mvskoke Red Stick (resistant to European colonization) Upper Creek villages that fought against the theft of their homelands. The removal of the nations of the Creek Confederacy only happened after a colonizing army, under the command of Andrew Jackson and with the military help of the Cherokee nation and assimilated Lower Creeks, defeated the outnumbered and outgunned Mvskoke at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in northern Alabama. This event happened in 1814 and Mvskoke sovereignty was never reestablished over Alabama. By the 1830’s Pres. Jackson’s Indian Removal policy was in full swing and most Mvskoke and other Creeks were forcibly removed to Oklahoma, fled to the swamps of Florida to become the Seminoles, or tried to blend in. Aria’s grandmothers managed to blend in and stay in the Coosa country, although virtually all Mvskoke culture was extinguished from her family, probably thanks in large part to intermarriage with colonizing men who did not practice Creek culture or values.

Menawa was one of the principal leaders of the Red Sticks. After the war, he continued to oppose white encroachment on Muscogee lands, visiting Washington, D.C. in 1826 to protest the Treaty of Indian Springs. Painted by Charles Bird King, 1837.

In researching her family history I came across numerous references to Mvskoke cultural practices and life-ways. Prominent was their cultural food-system based solidly upon the cultivation of many varieties of maize (corn) and complimentary vegetables. Beans and squash also figured prominently in their traditional diet, as well as gathered foods, and hunted meat. Later, when collective land was lost to colonization and wild gathering and hunting became impossible, Creeks diets gradually became almost indistinguishable from surrounding working-class colonizers and freed slaves.

The prospect of creating some old-time traditional foods from the Mvskoke side of the family was exciting to me. Especially since it could easily be four generations since anyone in the family had prepared food in the Mvskoke way with the intention of eating Osofkee. No one in the family knew how, so I was very fortunate to make contact with the Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative (MFSI) organization in Okmulgee Oklahoma. Many of the removed Alabama Creek families still reside in the area around Okmulgee and I was happy to discover that an effort is being made to keep Mvskoke food-culture alive. I spoke with a representative of the MFSI over the phone and she was very willing and helpful, and supportive of the goals of our class.

My own contribution to the feast was vegan Osofkee, a hominy and vegetable stew. By leaving out meat and adding mashed winter-squash in the Osofkee our group could offer vegetarians a taste of Mvskoke-style cooking without requiring them to compromise their 21st century ethical commitments and dietary practices. I liked it a lot! The kids ate it too, and then had a wonderful time playing outside for the remainder of the feast. There is a lot of energy in Osofkee! Our group’s meat-based and meatless Osofkee was quite flavorful when mixed together too as I found out when taking care of the children’s left-overs! It is my hope that our children’s Mvskoke grandmothers would have approved of our humble offering.

. Southeast Native Peoples

Melinda:

A research guide to the Five Southeastern Tribes:
the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole
created by the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at Arizona State

Tribes and Languages of the Southeast
Wikipedia: Southeast Woodlands
Southeastamericanindians.webs.com
Mrdonn.org
Davemcgary.com

SE Native American Indians are considered members of the Woodland Indians
There are approximately 30 tribes in the SE territory, among them

– QuaPaw
– Chickasaw
– Natichez
– Choctaw
– Acawama
– Cherokee
– Caiawba
– Creek
– Yamsee
– Apacchee
– Seminole

State territory ranges in and around:

– AR
– KY
– TN
– LA
– MS
– AL
– GA
– NC
– SC
– FL
– PR & VI (?)

Tribes & States:

– Catawba Indian Nation, Catawba, SC
– Chitmacha Indian Tribe of Louisiana, Charenton, LA
– Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Elton, LA
– Eastern Bank of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee, NC
– Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Jena, LA
– Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, Miami, FL
– Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Philadelphia, MS
– Poarch Creek Indians, Atmore, AL
– Seminole Tribe of Florida, Hollywood, FL
– Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, Marksville, LA

In researching some of these tribes, it seems all tribes have common themes throughout history. They share similarities in the following areas:

– early nomadic ways, especially in following food sources
– tribes, bands and clan structures
– hunter-gathering to farming, to reservation life
– spiritual and ritual ceremonies for almost every action taken in their daily lives
– arts & crafts:
– daily hand tools (hunting, cooking, etc.)
– clothing, jewelry, art work, pottery, etc.
– story tellers (elders passing on history of their people and used in training young people
– dancing and singing

Southeastern Tribes
Southeastern tribes lived in states like Louisiana, Georgia and Alabama. They were hunters and gatherers. Some of them moved from one area to another but the majority stayed in the same area. It just depended on where they lived and how much food was available.

Shelter
Some of the tribes lived in round homes much like wigwams – made from logs and sticks, then covered with grass. There was a hole in the top so light could enter. A few tribes had two-storey frame houses covered with bark, others had thatch-roofed houses.

Food
The food hasn’t changed that much over the years. It’s still the same typical diet of southeastern diets. They ate cornpones, corn bread, hominy grits, tomatoes, potatoes and sweet potatoes. They also had more possum, bear and most other available meats, but rarely pork. Turkey was a regular meal as well as veggies.

Clothing
Some of the Southeastern tribes were into bright colors, while others probably didn’t have that option. In the summer the woman usually went naked from the waist up. In the winter they wore moss and wool. One of the styles of clothing that became popular later on was a long skirt and a cloth that went over the shoulders.

Ceremonies
The Green Corn Festival was one of the most important ceremonies. It happened in the fall. Tribal members circled a cooking fire, carrying corn. After the corn was boiled, it was hung up above the fire as a sacred offering to the Great Spirit. A new fire was built and enough corn for the entire village was made while people danced.

Did U Know?
Southeastern tribes were famous for intermarriage. The Shawnee Chief, Blue Jacket, was an adopted Caucasian. There was even an African American, John Horse, who was a Seminole warrior. Many others were a mix of races and tribes. Nobody cared as long as the culture was kept alive

Read more: American Indian | Native | First Nations | Plains and Southeastern Tribes | Sioux | Cheyenne

. Traditional Technologies

Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden
as recounted by Maxi’diwiac (ca.1839-1932) of the Hidatsa
full text online at the University of Pennsylvania Library digital project

Montana Indian Education For All

National Museum of the American Indian

Nativetech.org

Native American Food: Agriculture, Hunting and Gathering, Fishing, and other food sources

Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web site:
“Hunting Tools and Techniques; Food Preparation and Storage”

see also: Readings

. Feast for Change

On October 28, 2012, the Native Food Systems Class at Montana State University prepared and organized a grand feast with all Native American Food, from different parts of the continent. We gathered at Christus Collegium just off campus.

Southeast group:

Jimi+kids, Ryan, Melinda, Stephanie, Evan, Ben, Lynn

. Indigenous Food Systems

“The Indigenous Food Systems Network Website is designed to allow individuals and groups involved with Indigenous food related action, research, and policy reform to network and share relevant resources and information.”

foods indigenous to the Western Hemisphere
from Devon Mihesuah’s website
AIHDP: American Indian Health and Diet Project

. Corn

Ben:

I believe that what has impacted me most in our study of Southeastern native communities is their multitudinous use of corn to create a plethora of flavors and dishes. The corn itself, traded to the area from Mexico and points south, made an incredible journey to become a staple food among nearly all native cultures. It is impressive that, dependent on the region, climate, and culture, corn was used in so many unique ways; but always respected as something sacred.

Through various cooking styles and preparation methods, native cultures were able to extract or impart different forms of nourishment from many simple ingredients. Aside from their genius in culinary preparations, their ability to live among their natural environment, instead of in spite of it, truly points to an enlightened culture. I can’t help but wonder what our world would look like today had the greed of manifest destiny not clouded the minds of our forefathers.

Selu and Kana’ Ti: Cherokee Corn Mother and Lucky Hunter by Red Earth
Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother’s Wisdom by Marilou Awiakta

Jimi:

This article explains the benefits of making hominy from whole-kernal corn.
Wikipedia: Nixtamalization

. Hominy

Stephanie:

Hominy is a traditional food used by many North American Tribes.
Some of the corn was dried to preserve and keep it for food throughout the winter months. Dried corn could be made into a food called hominy. To make hominy, the dried corn was soaked in a mixture of water and hard-wood ashes for two days. When the kernels had puffed up and split open, they were drained and rinsed in cold water. Then the hominy was stir-fried over a fire.

from Hokti’s Recipe Book of Creek Indian Foods

(We found it very difficult to obtain hard flint corn locally.)

. Southeast Recipe Book

Evan’s beautiful recipe book, including Sour Corn Pancakes, Pork Hominy Stew, Stuffed Quail, Pumpkin Soup, Sofkee, Three Sisters Soup:

Southeast Native Recipes

Evan:

Recipes were gathered from the group members and from the Mvskoke Food Sovereignty website and nativetech.org. The artwork was inspired by patterns on Cherokee woven baskets from online museum exhibits.

We thought it was important to provide lists of ingredients at the event for dietary, allergy, and educational reasons.

– – – – – – –

Roasted Turtle

Ingredients
one turtle
one campfire

Directions
Put a turtle on his back on the fire.
When you hear the shell crack, he’s done.

. Videos

Dr. Henrietta Mann
Keynote Speech:

“Echoes of the Earth in Times of Climate Change” Conference
Seventh Generation Fund

Oren Lyons – Climate Change

What does wild rice mean to the Ojibwe people?

Winona Laduke – Powershift 2012

Winona LaDuke – Seeds of Our Ancestors, Seeds of Life

. Readings

All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life by Winona LaDuke

Blackfoot Physics by F. David Peat

Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden by Maxi’diwiac
(online)

Iroquoian Women: The Gantowisas by Barbara Alice Mann

Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions

Indigenous Peoples’Food Systems (FAO at UN)

Make a Beautiful Way: The Wisdom of Native American Women Barbara Alice Mann, Winona LaDuke

The Mitsitam Cafe Cookbook: Recipes from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples by Jeff Hart

Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence by Gregory Cajete

Recovering Our Ancestors’ Gardens: Indigenous Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness by Devon Mihesuah

Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming by Winona LaDuke

The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions by Paula Gunn Allen

Selu and Kana’ Ti: Cherokee Corn Mother and Lucky Hunter by Red Earth

Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother’s Wisdom by Marilou Awiakta

Traditional Knowledge at Native Science

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People

Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity by Gary Paul Nabhan

. Three Sisters

“The Three Sisters all work together” …

Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden

Cornell Garden-Based Learning: How to Plant the Three Sisters

three sisters planting

. Deer

Ryan: I have been deer hunting with my sons. Trying to teach the value of traditional meat harvesting and the values I associate with that event.

photos by Lynn, hunting prowess by my nephew Dan

. Gift baskets

Lynn:

We prepared gift baskets to be honor chosen guests at the end of the feast. The Southeast group went with a pan-Indian theme and included recipe books, jars of sour corn starter, handmade soaps, beeswax candles, abalone shells (thanks Molly!), canned Alaska salmon, Tanka bars (buffalo/cranberry from Kyle, SD), rainbow quinoa, dried mushrooms, dried rose hips, blueberries, & mint, chocolate, maple butter … and a reusable grocery bag!

Special thanks to the Bozeman Community Food Co-op for their generous donation.

| Pumpkin Bake

Ryan’s delicious offering

Ryan:

So I was charged with locating and cooking some eating pumpkins for our group’s midterm project. Finding the pumpkins was easy because I live so close to Town and Country foods that all I had to do was walk over and pick them up. I got to the store and carefully examined each pumpkin for similarities in size, shape, and color. I also thumped each one in order to get a consistent ripeness. I also made sure their colors were near the same. I heard that the smaller the pumpkin the better so I chose small ones for flavor.

The only difficulties in getting these pumpkins back to the house were my lack of funding and transportation. I hurt my back while falling through a roof and carrying a 100lb roll so I cannot work and do not get very much money, so my funding has been extremely meager. Also I ride a motorcycle wherever I go so carrying the eight pumpkins that I purchased was going to be hard. I decided to walk with the pumpkins. That in itself was a feat and time-consuming because I injured my low back at work and then I accidentally bought WAY more than I needed (18 lbs). Needless to say, I looked quite humorous if you saw me stopping and going. A bag ripped and I had to underarm carry some of them. 18 lbs of small pumpkins is quite clumsy and awkward to walk with.

Once I got the pumpkins to the house, I started to wash them. I have no idea why other than I always wash vegetables first before anything. I acquired the product on Thursday and didn’t need to cook until Saturday. I woke up Saturday morning and started to chop the tops off of the pumpkins so that I could quarter them up for easy cooking.

Once the tops were off of half of them, I started to scoop out the insides of them and stuck it all in a large bowl for later. Got them all cleaned out and arranged them on some baking sheets. Pre-heated the oven to 350 before I put them in and added some water to the pans so there would be some hydration. While the first batches of slices were cooking, I went ahead and cleaned the seeds from the strings. That was in itself quite tedious. That took the most time of all because of the attention to detail involved in the separation of the seeds. I mean the strings are slimy and the seeds will shoot out from in-between your fingers to some unknown spot across the room to rot if I cannot find it. If you’ve cleaned seeds before, you know what I mean. My kids got a good laugh at their dad trying to clean seeds and getting frustrated at the flying seeds. I also decided to go ahead and slice the other pumpkins in halves in order to have some serving bowls. Cleaning the bowls to perfection while not splitting the already cooked skins was quite a chore as well if you’re not prepared. I had to take my time and do it right or risk losing halves. I ruined one half and ended up with three. That was actually perfect because of the yield.

The house smelled so good while they were cooking. Once the cooking was complete and I had scooped out all the cooked pumpkin, I got out the mixing bowl. That was not a good tool to use for the job because the mash climbs up the mixers and starts to fling off everywhere. I made a huge mess in a hurry. I got in trouble.

Even if I hadn’t got into trouble, the mixer wouldn’t have done the job. I was forced to get out the old school food processor that my great aunt gave when she passed. Took two separate batches to get the mix properly chopped to a mush.

Then I added the Agave. I was not into using the agave because I know of what it is. It is not my place to tell people what to eat so I stuck in the agave. My reasoning is this: agave is processed by the liver unlike honey. That means that agave will not raise your blood sugar, but it will metabolize into fat cells instead. So it is a choice of do you want fat cells or your blood sugar spiked.

Also, agave is not natural, organic, or raw. It is as processed as white sugar. It has not been used by Mexicans for 100’s of years. In fact, people have used the agave plant for sweetener but it was made way different and was more similar to homemade maple syrup than agave nectar. Honey is processed by honey bees in the way the creator intended. Furthermore, I know where these bees live and where the honey comes from. Either way, sugar is sugar. Scooped the mix into the halves and started to salt the seeds.

Some of the seeds that got salted with Mortons; I wanted sea salt but I am poor.

The day of the feast, all I had to do was warm up the product and get ready to eat. My wife was at work the day of the event so I brought my younger brother David, my step daughter Eliscia, and my son Talon. I got to try almost everything on the tables and left full and happy. I thought this community gathering was great because I am a little anxious around others and this is a way to help me get through the difficulties.