The January Meeting Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 3:00 p. m. At THE NEWSLE TTER FOR The Poarch Creek Indian Cultural Museum in Atmore THE ESCAMBIATHE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER AND JOURNAL FOR AND JOURNAL NEWSLETTER ECHOES Escambia Escambia The Poarch Creek Indian Cultural THE Museum and Welcome Center The Program: A guided tour of the Poarch Creek Indian Cultural THE ESCAMBIA COUNTYHISTORICAL SOCIETY Museum and Welcome Center by Museum Archivist Dr. Deidre Dees and Tribal Historical Preservation Officer Robert Thrower Car Pool from Brewton: Meet at the Thomas E. McMillan Museum at 2:00 p.m. Traveling on Your Own: The Museum is located on County Road 1 (Jack Springs Road) in Atmore. When coming from north to south on Interstate 65, exit on County Road 1 (Exit 54) and turn right. When coming from south to north on the Interstate, exit on County Road 1 (Exit 54) and turn left. Dinner after the Meeting: For those interested, Dr. Dees has arranged for a private room at the Wind Creek Casino for dinner. The dinner will be a buffet and will be "Dutch Treat." The Buffet is $15.95 per person, plus the cost of drinks. Contents The February ECHS Meeting Poarch Band of Creek Indians Open February 26, 2013 2 Cultural Center 3:00 p. m. Poarch Museum Exhibits 2 The Thomas E McMillan Museum Historic Check Donated to Museum 4 ECHS Loses Member & 6 The Program: Mr. John Shiver of Atmore, a WWII News and Announcements 7 vet who has just published the memoir Digging for History 7 Symbol of the Poarch of his experiences as a flight engineer/ Creek Indians Snapshots of ECHS Christmas Party 8 gunner, will be our speaker. Volume 40, Number 1 Our Business Members 11 A Reminder: The Story of Sam Thlucco 12 January 2013 January is the time to pay dues. Poarch Band of Creek Indians Open Cultural Center From the Atmore News for bition developer. “We then November 8, 2012 took the results of our in- <Atmore News.com> terviews and Charles Lee, the design manager, “This was something my headed a team that put mother dreamed of,” said everything together.” Poarch Creek Indian Tribal Robbie McGhee, head of Historic Preservation Offi- Poarch Creek Enterprises cer Robert Thrower of the and PCI government rela- new museum, or “Building tions advisor, spoke to the of Learning,” that opened assembled crowd. Saturday, October 27. “We once were share- The building, dedicated croppers and laborers. It to preserving and sharing seems appropriate that this the culture and history of Cutting the Ribbon museum sits on what once the Poarch Band of Creek was a sharecropper’s Indians, hosted a ribbon From left, front, Kennedy McGhee, Mallory field. We’ve worked hard cutting ceremony and tours Gibson, Megan Young, Breiah Adams, Am- to become good neighbors to commemorate the com- ber Alvarez, Dr. Suwanee (Deidre) Dees, and good friends.” pletion of the facility. Speaker for the ECHS Tour of the Museum Thrower summed up the Split Rock Studios of St. for the January Meeting; back, Eddie Tullis, emotions of the day. “I Paul, Minnesota designed Garvis Sells, Catherine Sells, Kaci Martin, never knew I would see the displays. Gwen Manning, Robbie McGhee, Raymond this. It is a good thing to “We interviewed histori- Rolin and David Gehman. see a dream become a re- cal commission members, ality.” seniors, youth, PCI staff and council members be- fore beginning the design,” said Sarah Bartlett, exhi- Poarch Museum Exhibits From Split Rock Studios Village Life VOLUME 39, JANUARY 2013 Page 2 Poarch Museum Exhibits From Split Rock Studios (continued) The Muskoke World Video Miniature Model The Road to Removal Restoration The Exhibits Tell a Story From Split Rock Studios, Designers of the Exhibits Through centuries of change and adaptation, community strength remains the thread weaving the Poarch Band of Creek Indians together. This exhibition tells the story of an active and living culture and people—the only federally-recognized tribe in Alabama. In close collaboration with tribal members, Split Rock Studios designed and built an exhibition that speaks to both local families and outside visitors. The displays invite everyone to share the history and ongoing culture and traditions of the Poarch Creek. In audiovisual programs, oral histories, and hands-on interactives, the spirit and voices of the tribe shine <http://www.splitrockstudios.com/226/>. Detail from the Poarch Museum’s Village Life Scene shown on the previous page.. VOLUME 39, JANUARY 2013 Page 3 Historic Check Donated to the Poarch Creek Indian Museum The Check, one of the many sent to Creek Indians in 1972. Article and photos by: awarded. So it is only fitting that an original check Deidra Suwanne Dees, Ed. D. which was never cashed has been preserved and will Originally published in the Poarch Creek News be a part of the archives of the museum in his for November 2009 <http://pci-nsn.gov/wmlib/ honor.” pdf/newsletters/2009_12_december.pdf>. The day that Smith received this check, he wrote a That “Indian money” that had been long sought note on the back of the envelope in which the check after and fought for by our leaders such as Chief was mailed. “Received December 20, 1972, after 22 Calvin McGhee and Ms. Roberta McGhee-Sells ulti- years of trying to get the government to settle a mately came to pass. In 1972, Creek Indians East of claim that was valid.” Now many people that truly the Mississippi were finally paid for land that had deserved the money are dead and gone such as my been illegally taken by the United States government mother Nunnie McGhee who could neither read or under the Treaty of Fort Jackson of 1814 one- write, though of her offspring there were 28 children hundred and fifty years earlier. and grandchildren who received the payment of As a Tribe, we now hold in our hands one of those $112.13.” checks, a check that has never been cashed! James Smith reflected on the event saying some people William (Billy) Smith donated his personal check to had been led to believe the checks would be enor- the new Poarch Creek Indians museum for all the mous. There were rumors flying around that Creeks world to see. would receive checks for thousands and thousands On October 9, 2009, Smith gave the check to Plan- of dollars. But in reality, the per capita check was ning Department Director Mr. Kenny Shivers who not large. “The value of the check was minute,” is administering a grant from the Institute of Smith said. “But because of segregation, it was a Museum and Library Services which was written by dream come true that the government recognized us grant writer Denise McGhee Young. The grant sup- as Indians.” ports the museum’s archival collections for the new He went on to say that, “We have been Indians museum. “The amount of the check is not much since the beginning of time.” But the value to him monetarily,” Shivers said. “But what it represents is personally was the actual acknowledgement of our huge! It helped lead to our federal recognition.” community’s Creek identity by the government that This check is part of Chief Calvin McGhee’s leg- repeatedly failed to honor its treaties with our na- acy and it embodies all that work he did,” Shivers tion. said. “It is especially meaningful because Chief Smith said he wanted to donate this check to the Calvin passed away before the checks were (Continued on page 5) VOLUME 39, JANUARY 2013 Page 4 Historic Check Donated to the Poarch Creek Indian Museum (continued) (Continued from page 4) family to each receive a check, but it was also a somber event. museum because he knows Not daddy, not me—no one in the check is a one-of-a-kind. my family thought about pre- He wants the younger chil- serving the check as Smith has dren in our community to see done. the check and understand We thought only about cash- what the “Indian money” was ing the check and the grave all about. “Showing it in a circumstances it represented— public place will benefit repayment for stolen land, sto- more people than it will sit- len language, stolen culture. ting in my house,” he said. My family, struggling to have Smith and his wife Faye enough food to eat, knew that Ledkins-Smith have been the $112.13-check could not active in tribal affairs for replace all that was stolen, but more than forty years. In Kenny Shivers presents the check cashing it would help our fam- 1978, he said, they drove a to Tribal Historical Preservation Of- ily to have a little more than group of young dancers to ficer Robert Thrower for it to be what we had. I remember pow wows in Oklahoma and placed in the Museum. thinking, “This can’t make visited a stomp dance on Robert Thrower has presented pro- everything right, but I never ceremonial grounds where he grams to ECHS in the past and was thought I would see the U. S. first met Muscogee leader the host for a tour of the developing government acknowledge their Sam Proctor. He invited Cultural Museum for ECHS mem- wrong with money.” Proctor and the stomp danc- bers on a field trip a few years ago. Shivers gave the check to ers to visit our community We were given a great tour of the Cultural Director Mr. Robert and they have been attending entire Poarch Indian Reservation Thrower. Thrower appeared our annual pow wows ever and its facilities.