Muscogee Creek Nation
Since the arrival of Americans, the Muscogee Creek Nation has changed tremendously. We no longer dress up in head dresses and make sacrifices, but we do try our best to preserve and teach our culture and heritage. Today the Creek Nation is still an organized community with a leader, meetings, rituals, and a language.
Creek Indians can be found in many places today, and there is no definite way to tell that one is of the creek descent except by their blood. To declare yourself as a creek citizen you must first be able to "trace back to a direct ancestor listed on the 1906 Dawes Roll" ("Muscogee"). As the creek heritage passes from generation to generation a degree of blood is also passed down. To be considered a member of the Creek Nation you must have a certain degree of blood. This is proven with a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood Card (CDIB Card). From my observations I would say that you could tell a creek citizen by their dark complexion, dark hair, and brown eyes, but these characteristics could also be true for any other American Indian. Cheri Lollman a member of the Creek Nation says you can tell that someone is Native American by their "high cheek bones". She also says that their "skin looks very rough leatherlike, from the stress of their hard life" (Lollman). To me the clothing of this community does not individualize them either, like it may have years ago. You might see some wearing native jewelry but they dress no differently than any other average citizen of the United States in blue jeans and a tee shirt.
A way that Creek's have kept their culture alive is by teaching and using the creek language. This is also a good way to tell that someone is a Creek citizen is by the use of the creek language. The language is not very prevalent among its members, but some do still speak it fluently. It seemed as though mainly the older members of the community knew it and the younger members recognized words but did not comprehend or speak the language.
Creek Indians can be found in many places today, and there is no definite way to tell that one is of the creek descent except by their blood. To declare yourself as a creek citizen you must first be able to "trace back to a direct ancestor listed on the 1906 Dawes Roll" ("Muscogee"). As the creek heritage passes from generation to generation a degree of blood is also passed down. To be considered a member of the Creek Nation you must have a certain degree of blood. This is proven with a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood Card (CDIB Card). From my observations I would say that you could tell a creek citizen by their dark complexion, dark hair, and brown eyes, but these characteristics could also be true for any other American Indian. Cheri Lollman a member of the Creek Nation says you can tell that someone is Native American by their "high cheek bones". She also says that their "skin looks very rough leatherlike, from the stress of their hard life" (Lollman). To me the clothing of this community does not individualize them either, like it may have years ago. You might see some wearing native jewelry but they dress no differently than any other average citizen of the United States in blue jeans and a tee shirt.
A way that Creek's have kept their culture alive is by teaching and using the creek language. This is also a good way to tell that someone is a Creek citizen is by the use of the creek language. The language is not very prevalent among its members, but some do still speak it fluently. It seemed as though mainly the older members of the community knew it and the younger members recognized words but did not comprehend or speak the language.