The name "Creek" came from the shortening of Ocheese Creek Indians a
name given by the English to the native people living along the Ocheese
Creek. In time, the name was given to all groups of the Native American
Confederacy. All tribes living in Georgia were known to be good hunters
and farmers so food was usually not a problem within the tribes. Foods
ranging from coastal varieties to fruits and berries. Farmers were noted to
be very good at their job. Corn, rice, and potatoes were few of the favorites,
because they had large fields in their villages. Before the middle of the 16th
century the Creek's controlled almost all of Georgia. At that time the
Cherokee began to pressure them to move more inland. A tremendous
battle occurred at, Slaughter Gap in Lumpkin County in the late 1600's.
After this battle the Creek traveled to line just south of the Etowah River. A
later battle in Cherokee County made the Creek south to the Chattahoochee
and Flint Rivers, and west to the Coosa (mostly in Alabama), hence the
terms Upper Creek and Lower Creek became common references to the now
separate tribes. Different sections of the tribe fought on either the British or
American sides. In November 1783, two minor chiefs (Tallassee and
Cusseta) ceded Creek land between the Tugaloo and Apalachee Rivers.
After the cession, relations between the state of Georgia and the Creek
Nation worsened and on April 2, 1786, the Creek Nation declared war.
Attacks against settlers on Creek land were carried out. In spite of two tries
at the treaty (Shoulderbone, 1786; New York, 1790) there was no peace on
the Georgia frontier until after the War of 1812. Although most of the
incidents were mainly minor, settlers on the boundary between the Creek
Nation and the state of Georgia were always afraid of a raid. Before the
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