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Graphic Enterprises - Home of the Pioneer Times - A Web Site for Living History
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Dec. 1st 1805 - Only the US government could get by with this. On Dec 1, 1805 Creek Indian Chiefs - 6 in all- were summoned to meet with Secretary of War Henry Dearborn in Washington to renegotiate the Flint River Treaty of November 3, 1804.
The government told the Creeks they had a better deal for them. So the Creek Indians went to renegotiate with Father Whitehair.
The Creeks wanted to please the US and trusted in this new deal. (Now remember this treaty had been signed only a year earlier.)
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So the good hearted white eyes offered them $206,000 for their 2 million acres, instead of the $200,000 they had previously been offered only one year and one month ago.
Well the Creek Chiefs put their heads together and said “This is a good deal, the white men must feel bad about killing the tribes of North America, killing the buffalo and stealing the native lands and of the complete genocide of the American Indians and culture.”
“They must want to make it up to us and show us the respect we deserve, so let’s do it.”
Well little did they know what they were in store for. They were not given legal representation nor did they know about the “trustworthy politicians” nor about “legal loopholes.”
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Well the Creeks went back to the land they now called home and waited for their additional $6,000. Of course they had not received any of the money yet.
Remember they now needed the money to care for their lands - their “reservation.” There was no more buffalo to hunt. Skins for their homes and clothing and food for their families had to be “purchased” from the whites.
They had to buy corn, and grain for they had left their rich farmlands behind. The further west they moved - the more barren was the land.
So the Creeks were waiting for their money. Like all of us they were planning for a better life. More horses and wagons and more clothes, medical supplies and food.
When the check came the Creek Chiefs gathered together with their people to open it. They couldn’t wait for that piece of paper with all the zeros. They would be able to show their people what great treaty makers they were.
But can you imagine when the letter was opened up.
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They looked at each other. They looked again and again at the piece of paper. They turned it over and over. The great document that they had waited and waited for definitely had some zeroes missing. The Creeks found out that it would take them some ten years to receive all of what had been promised to them. No interest or late fees were forthcoming either. And to add salt to this open wound they also found that they did not own the land outright because they had agreed to a road that would pass through it
The Creeks had trusted the US government and taken them at their word. Not much has changed. Countries around the world still hate the US Government. We do give billions of dollars in aid to countries all over the world yet we are still not always well liked or trusted and stories such as the true story above about the Creek Indians show why.
But as our young men and women in the armed forces are stationed around the world right now we need to present a united front. Criticize what you don’t like about the government at home but show the world that we support our troops. Send cards and gifts to loved ones over seas.
I myself have a nephew that just returned from Iraq and one still in Korea. To them we say, stay alert, keep your head down and watch your buddy’s back. The United States is not perfect but we appreciate everything you do for us. Come home safe. It is the greatest country in the world.
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Chief Logan
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I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, Logan is the friend of the white men. I have even thought to live with you but for the injuries of one man. Col. Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This has called on me for revenge. I have sought it: I have killed many: I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbour a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life.
Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one.............Chief Logan
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Tecumseh
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Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about his religion.
Respect others in their views, and demand that they respect yours.
Seek to make your life long, and of service to your people.
Prepare a noble death song, for the day when you go
over the Great Divide.
Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting,
or passing a friend,
or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.
Show respect for all people, but grovel to no one.
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light,
for your life, for your strength.
Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living.
If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in
............Yourself
The Panther Passing Across (Tecumseh)
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Chiksika’s Lament 1779
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When a white man kills an Indian in a fair fight it is called honorable, but when an Indian kills a white man in a fair fight it is called murder. When a white army battles Indians and wins it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre and bigger armies are raised. If the Indian flees before the advance of such armies, when he tries to return he finds that white men are living where he lived. If he tries to fight off such armies he is killed and the land is taken anyway. When an Indian is killed it is a great loss which leaves a gap in our people and an arrow in our heart; when a white man is killed, three or four others step up to take his place and there is no end to it. The white man seeks to conquer nature, to bend it to his will and to use it wastefully until it is all gone and then he simply moves on, leaving the waste behind him and looking for new places to take. The whole white race ia a monster who is always hungry and what he eats is land.
Chiksika, elder brother of Tecumseh,
to Tecumseh, March 19, 1779.
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