Chief Opothleyahola: A Muscogee Creek Leader’s Journey Through Tumultuous Times
Alright, let’s dive into the story of a pretty interesting figure from American history: Chief Opothleyahola. He was a big deal among the Muscogee Creek Indians, known for his smarts, his way with words, and his dedication to the traditions of his people.
Who Was This Guy?
Opothleyahola, born around 1780 in Tuckabatchee (now part of Alabama), was a leader from the Upper Creek towns. His dad was a mixed-blood Creek named Davy Cornell, and his mom was a full-blood Creek from Tuckabatchee. His name? It’s got a cool meaning, something like "good shouting child" or "good speaker." Pretty fitting, right?
Now, even though he had some European blood, he was raised as Creek. The Creek culture was all about the mother’s side. Your mom’s family and clan? That’s what mattered. Her brothers had a bigger role in raising the kids than the biological dad did.
Upper Creek vs. Lower Creek: A Family Feud
So, the Creek Nation was basically split into two groups: the Upper Creeks and the Lower Creeks. The Upper Creeks were the bigger group, and they were all about sticking to the old ways.
But the Lower Creeks? They had been hanging out with European Americans for longer. They’d been trading and dealing with settlers since way back in the colonial days. They were losing their hunting lands, so they started farming to survive. And they were getting cozy with Benjamin Hawkins, the U.S. Indian agent in the Southeast.
This caused some major tension, and things blew up in 1812. It started as a civil war between the Upper and Lower Creeks. The "Red Sticks" from the Upper Creek wanted to bring back the traditional ways and resist all the assimilation and land grabs. Word has it that Opothleyahola might have even sided with the British against the U.S. in the War of 1812.
Even though he was known as a diplomat and traditionalist, he was part of the Red Sticks in the Creek War of 1813-1814. But it didn’t end well. General Andrew Jackson, with a bunch of allied forces (including Lower Creek), crushed them at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. After that, Opothleyahola swore loyalty to the U.S. government.
From Warrior to Diplomat
Around 1820, Opothleyahola became the main speaker for the Upper Creek council. These were the folks who were really into preserving their culture. Eventually, he became a "diplomatic chief," trying to navigate the tricky waters of dealing with the U.S. government.
But the Lower Creeks? They were embracing the white settlers’ lifestyles. And some of them were even thinking about trading their land in the East for land west of the Mississippi River.
The Land Grab and the Treaty of Indian Springs
In 1825, things got even messier. William McIntosh and some other Lower Creek chiefs signed the Treaty of Indian Springs, giving up most of the remaining Creek lands in Georgia for money and a move to the West. These guys thought it was inevitable, with all the settlers pouring in, so they wanted to get the best deal they could for the Creek Nation.
But the Creek National Council was NOT happy. They passed a law saying that any more land cessions would be a capital offense. They weren’t giving up that easy. Opothleyahola supported a death sentence for McIntosh and the other treaty signers. Chief Menawa led a group of warriors to McIntosh’s plantation, killed him and another chief, and burned down McIntosh’s house. Talk about sending a message!
The Creek elders knew they needed some skilled negotiators to plead their case to the U.S. government. Opothleyahola was a great speaker, but he wasn’t fluent in English. So, they turned to the Cherokee for help. Major Ridge, a Cherokee leader, suggested they hire his son, John Ridge, and David Vann to work with Opothleyahola and help him prepare his arguments.
Opothleyahola and the Creek National Council went to Washington, D.C., to protest the treaty, saying it wasn’t legit because it didn’t have the council’s approval. President John Quincy Adams was on their side, and they made a new treaty in 1826 with better terms for the Creek.
The Inevitable: Removal
But things kept getting worse. The Alabama legislature tried to get rid of tribal governments and put the Creek people under state laws. Opothleyahola appealed to President Andrew Jackson, but Jackson was all about the Indian Removal Act of 1830. He wanted the Creek and other tribes to move west and give up their land in the East.
With no other options, the Upper Creek signed the Treaty of Cusseta in 1832. This divided Creek lands into individual pieces. People could sell their land and get money to move to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), or they could stay in Alabama as U.S. citizens and follow state laws. This led to most of the tribe moving to Indian Territory.
In 1834, Opothleyahola even tried to buy communal land in Texas for his people. He paid landowners $20,000, but pressure from the Mexican and American governments forced him to give up on that idea.
Fighting for the Union
In 1836, Opothleyahola was commissioned as a colonel by the U.S. government. He led 1,500 warriors against the remaining rebellious Lower Creek, who had teamed up with the Seminole in Florida to fight against European-American settlers.
The U.S. Army rounded up the rest of the Creek and other Southeast Indian tribes and forced them to move to Indian Territory on the infamous "Trail of Tears."
After that, Opothleyahola led 8,000 people from Alabama to lands north of the Canadian River in Indian Territory. They started raising livestock and growing grain because the land wasn’t great for farming.
Opothleyahola became a rich trader and owned a 2,000-acre cotton plantation near North Fork Town. Like other Creek and members of the Five Civilized Tribes, he bought and held enslaved African Americans to work on his plantation. He also joined the Freemasons and became a Baptist, adapting to European-American culture in some ways.
North Fork Town became a booming trade center. During the California Gold Rush of 1849, it was a popular spot for travelers heading west. They bought supplies, horses, and mules from the local merchants.
The Civil War and a Difficult Choice
When the Civil War started, Albert Pike, a lawyer and politician from Arkansas, was named Confederate Commissioner to Indian Territory. He started recruiting American Indian regiments for the Confederacy and made alliance treaties with the Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw at North Fork Town in July 1861. The Lower Creek and some of the other Southeastern tribes, who were big on cotton production, owned a lot of slaves and had more contact with white settlers. They supported the Confederacy, which promised them an Indian-controlled state if they won the war. North Fork Town became a Confederate supply base.
But Opothleyahola and his band of Creek Indians stayed loyal to the U.S. government. They felt like the Southern populations in Georgia and Alabama had forced their removal. The Creek with African ancestry didn’t like the proposed "black codes" and sided with the Union.
The Trail of Blood on Ice
African American refugees, free people of color, Chickasaw, and Seminole Indians started gathering at Opothleyahola’s plantation. They wanted to stay neutral in the war. On August 15, 1861, Opothleyahola and Chief Micco Hutko contacted President Abraham Lincoln to ask for help. On September 10, they got a positive response, saying the U.S. government would help them. Lincoln told Opothleyahola to move his people to Fort Row in Kansas, where they would get asylum and aid.
Trusting the U.S. government’s promises, Opothleyahola led his band, including Seminole under Halleck Tustenuggee, toward Kansas.
On November 15, Confederate Colonel Douglas H. Cooper led 1,400 men, including pro-Confederate Indians, to either convince Opothleyahola to support the Confederacy or drive him and his followers out of the country.
This led to the Battle of Round Mountain on November 19, where the Creek pushed back the Confederates to Fort Gibson. On December 9, the Creek lost at the Battle of Chusto-Talasah. On December 26, Opothleyahola and his band were crushed. Most of the Creek only had the clothes on their backs and didn’t have proper shoes or shelter. They had left in a hurry. Opothleyahola lost about 2,000 of his 9,000 followers from the battles, disease, and the harsh winter weather during their journey to Fort Row.
When they got to the fort, the soldiers didn’t have enough supplies or medical support for the refugees. The Creek had to move to Fort Belmont, but conditions were still terrible. Many Creek died that winter, including Opothleyahola’s daughter.
Conditions in Kansas were awful. Opothleyahola died in the Creek refugee camp near the Sac and Fox Agency in Kansas on March 22, 1863. He was buried next to his daughter near Fort Belmont.
Their journey became known as the "Trail of Blood on Ice." A sad end to a life of leadership and resilience.