The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe is a state-recognized Creek Nation tribe located in Southwest Georgia. It is part of the Creek Nation located east of the Mississippi. The Principal Chief (Mico) is Vonnie McCormick and the tribe maintains the Tama Tribal Town on a small reservation in Whigham, Georgia. The tribal leadership offers regular educational classes to members and the public to learn more about Muskogee culture and language.
On January 27, 1825 the Indian Removal Act was signed, calling for the removal of all Native American Tribes in Georgia. In the following years, most of the Muskogee people were forcibly relocated to Oklahoma. Those who stayed hid in swampy, less desirable areas; fled to Florida and joined the Seminole tribe; or moved frequently to avoid capture. Laws limiting the rights of the Muskogee people were not officially removed until 1980.[1]
Georgia adopted a "Resolution Recognizing the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe" on March 16, 1973. It read, in part:
"...NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that this body hereby recognizes the Muskogee-Creek Indian Tribe East of the Mississippi River in the State of Georgia as a tribe of people...
Proclamations recognizing the Creeks as a tribe have been made by recent Georgia Governors, including Jimmy Carter, Joe Frank Harris and Zell Miller.[2]
The Georgia Commission of Indian Affairs was formed by Executive Order on May 9, 1977. The Order provided for the appointment of the members of the Commission, and recognized the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe-East of the Mississippi, Inc. as a legal entity.