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Menawa, first called ''Hothlepoya'' (c. 1765 – c. 1836-40), was a
Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandsmixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
, with a Creek mother and a
fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
father of mostly Scots ancestry. As the Creek had a
matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...
system of descent and leadership, his status came from his mother's
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
. He grew up among the Upper Creek in present-day Alabama and, as an adult, became part of the "
Red Sticks Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs), the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creeks—refers to an early 19th-century traditionalist faction of these people in the American Southeast. Made u ...
", a group that opposed assimilation and worked to revive traditional practices. During the
Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...
(1813–1814), he led Red Sticks warriors and survived the
Battle of Horseshoe Bend The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as ''Tohopeka'', ''Cholocco Litabixbee'', or ''The Horseshoe''), was fought during the War of 1812 in the Mississippi Territory, now central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian a ...
. To carry out punishment for the crime of an unauthorized land cession, in 1825 Menawa led about 150 lawmenders in an attack on chief
William McIntosh William McIntosh (1775 – April 30, 1825),Hoxie, Frederick (1996)pp. 367-369/ref> was also commonly known as ''Tustunnuggee Hutke'' (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Creek Nation between the turn of the nineteenth cen ...
, who had signed the Treaty of Indian Springs that year without the consent of the
Creek National Council A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...
. They killed him, burned his mansion, and confiscated his property, including livestock and 100
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
.


Early life and education

He was born at the village of Oakfuskee, located on the
Tallapoosa River The Tallapoosa River runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, United States, southward and wes ...
in present-day
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. The site is now covered by the lower part of
Lake Martin Lake Martin is located in Tallapoosa, Elmore and Coosa counties in Alabama. It is a 39,000-acre (178 km²) reservoir with over 750 miles (1,200 km) of wooded shoreline. Lake Martin is a reservoir, enlarged by the construction of Mar ...
, created by a dam. His mother was a high-status Creek woman and his father a mostly Scots
fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
; such strategic alliances were common, as both cultures believed they benefited. As the Creek were
matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...
, Menawa was reared within the Creek tribe and gained his status from his mother's
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
. Her eldest brother would have acted as his mentor, teaching him men's ways and introducing him to the men's societies.Griffith, Jr., Benjamin W. ''McIntosh and Weatherford, Creek Indian Leaders,'' Birmingham: University of Alabama Press, 1998, pp. 10-11. Hawkins wrote to President Thomas Jefferson that Creek women were matriarchs and had control of children "when connected with a white man.
online edition
/ref>


Career

When Hothlepoya became the second chief of Oakfuskee, he was given the name ''Menawa''. During the early 1800s, he was one of the principal leaders of the "
Red Sticks Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs), the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creeks—refers to an early 19th-century traditionalist faction of these people in the American Southeast. Made u ...
" or Upper Creeks, who worked to revive traditional practices and resisted assimilation to European-American ways. He emerged to lead warriors in the
Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...
(1813–1814), which began as a civil war among the Creek people, where strong divisions had arisen with the Lower Creek, who comprised the majority of the population. During this period, the British were already at war against the United States during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. They supported the Red Sticks' resistance to United States settlers' incursions into their territory. Menawa was second in command of the Red Sticks at the
Battle of Horseshoe Bend The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as ''Tohopeka'', ''Cholocco Litabixbee'', or ''The Horseshoe''), was fought during the War of 1812 in the Mississippi Territory, now central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian a ...
in 1814, when they were defeated by General Andrew Jackson commanding militias of Tennessee, Georgia and the Mississippi Territory, as well as allied Cherokee. Menawa was wounded seven times during the battle, but he escaped and survived his wounds. After the war, Menawa continued to oppose the European-American encroachment on Creek lands. Lower Creek chiefs had ceded town lands in 1790, 1802 and 1804. In 1825, Chief
William McIntosh William McIntosh (1775 – April 30, 1825),Hoxie, Frederick (1996)pp. 367-369/ref> was also commonly known as ''Tustunnuggee Hutke'' (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Creek Nation between the turn of the nineteenth cen ...
, a Lower Creek, was one of several chiefs who signed the Treaty of Indian Springs with the US, ceding most of the remaining Creek land east of the Mississippi River. The tribe had been under severe pressure from Georgia, but the Upper Creek, the majority, continued to oppose such cessions. The Creek National Council had passed a law declaring land cessions a capital crime, and declared the signers of the 1825 treaty to be traitors. It ordered their execution. On April 30, 1825, Menawa led a party of 120-150 lawmenders from towns of the ceded land; they executed chief
William McIntosh William McIntosh (1775 – April 30, 1825),Hoxie, Frederick (1996)pp. 367-369/ref> was also commonly known as ''Tustunnuggee Hutke'' (White Warrior), was one of the most prominent chiefs of the Creek Nation between the turn of the nineteenth cen ...
, and Etommee Tustunnuggee, who had alienated communal Creek land without the consent of the National Council. They burned down McIntosh's mansion at Indian Springs, and confiscated his 100 slaves, livestock and produce. Later that day they caught Samuel and Benjamin Hawkins, his sons-in-law and also signatories to the treaty. They hanged Samuel and shot Benjamin, but he escaped.Michael D. Green, ''The Politics of Indian Removal: Creek Government and Society in Crisis,'' University of Nebraska Press, 1985, pp. 96-97, accessed 14 September 2011
/ref> In 1826, Menawa was a member of the Creek National Council, led by
Opothleyahola Opothleyahola, also spelled Opothle Yohola, Opothleyoholo, Hu-pui-hilth Yahola, Hopoeitheyohola, and Hopere Yahvlv (c. 1778 – March 22, 1863) was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted as a brilliant orator. He was a Speaker of the Upper Cre ...
, that went to Washington D.C., to protest the Treaty of Indian Springs. The Creek leaders signed the
Treaty of Washington (1826) The 1826 Treaty of Washington was a treaty between the United States and the Creek Confederacy, led by Opothleyahola. The Creek National Council ceded much of their territory bordering Georgia to the United States. The Creek Confederacy was a co ...
with the US government, which nullified the Treaty of Indian Springs. In this new treaty, the Creek still ceded land to
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
—in compensation, they received an immediate payment of $217,660 and a perpetual annuity of $20,000. The state of Georgia ignored the new treaty and worked to evict the Creek from their lands. Menawa is said to have been among the hundreds who died during the general removal of the Creek to Indian Territory in the 1830s. According to the memoirs of Lt Edward Deas, who lead the third detachment of 2,420 Creeks from Alabama to Oklahoma, Menawa is said to have been alive on December 21, 1836 in Little Rock, Arkansas. According to Deas, "The land party eventually arrived near Little Rock but Tuscoona Harjo, Menawa, and four hundred of their people, refused to travel much farther beyond that that. Menawa was too intoxicated to travel while Harho 'evinced a stubborn obstinate disposition.' " Menawa is not listed on the muster rolls after the group reached Fort Gibson in Indian Territory on January 23, 1837.Letters written by Lt. Edward Deas to C.A. Harris, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, last dated January 23, 1837. Menawa, therefore, possibly died between those two places and his burial place was along the way and is unknown. However, none of Lt Deas' dispatches to his commander or to Washington, D.C. makes mention of Menawa dying along the "Creek Trail of Tears". His death would have been important, and thus would have been mentioned by Deas. So, a conclusion can be inferred that he made it to Arkansas Territory, now the State of Oklahoma, and was buried there quietly when he died after 1837.


References


External links


detailed biography


Digital Library, Oklahoma State University
Historical Marker Database - Menawa, War Chief
{{Muscogee Native American leaders Muscogee people People of the Creek War American people of Scottish descent Year of birth uncertain 1760s births 1830s deaths American Métis people 18th-century Native Americans 19th-century Native Americans People from Alabama Native American people from Alabama