Native Americans whose ancestors were driven from the southeastern United States nearly 200 years ago in order for white men to settle their land returned Friday for a two-day festival, which bears a name that sums up its purpose: “We’re Back.” .
A busload of citizens of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and others in vans and cars traveled from their homes in Oklahoma and elsewhere for a celebration in the eastern Alabama city of Oxford, situated on what was once part of Arbeka, a Muscogee community established 12,000 years ago.
The people who lived there were forced west in 1836 during the so-called “Trail of Tears,” a brutal journey of about 700 miles (1,125 kilometers) in which many died.
The land that was once a village inhabited by about 3,000 people is now home to an urban park with sports fields and a walking trail, said RaeLynn Butler, head of the Muscogee Nation’s history and preservation department.
Citizens of the tribe came together to kick off a two-day event to tell Muscogee stories, sing hymns, explain the history of the tribe and give area residents a chance to meet their leaders.
“We are trying to reestablish our presence in our homeland,” Butler said.
The name of the event in Muscogee is “Reyicepes”, which means “We are back”. At a time when the United States is weighing how best to interpret a history that includes the enslavement of black people and the mistreatment of other minorities, women and Native Americans, the tribe hopes to tell its own story, the chief said. Principal David Hill.
“If you read the current history books, they don’t really tell you why and how we got kicked out with the Trail of Tears,” he said. “We didn’t want to leave. They forced us to leave.”
The Muscogee used to be one of the largest groups of people in the southeastern United States, and their territory included parts of present-day Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The tribe’s last major fighting force was defeated by American troops at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, about 55 miles (88 kilometers) south of Oxford, in 1814, leading to their expulsion from the region.
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