The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe (East of the Mississippi), also known as the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe, is a
state-recognized tribe
State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established unde ...
in
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 ...
. The organization was denied
federal recognition
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
in 1981.
They claim to descend from
Muscogee Creek
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 WoodlandsIndian Removal in the 1830s and remained in Georgia. Their mission is "To maintain and educate Tribe members and general public regarding tribal history and traditions."
Nonprofit status
The group organized as a
501(c)(3) nonprofit
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
organization in Georgia in 1973. They are based in
Whigham, Georgia
Whigham is a city in Grady County, Georgia, United States. The population was 471 at the 2010 census, down from 631 in 2000.
History
The community was named after Robert Whigham, a local merchant.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Whig ...
, and Nealie McCormick is their agent. Their officers are:
* Marian S. McCormick, CEO, chief
* Ashley Adams, CFO
* C. Peggy Venable, secretary
* Nealie McCormick, agent
They also organized as a nonprofit in the state of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
in 1989; however, they are listed as being inactive.
Petition for federal recognition
In 1978, the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe–East of the Mississippi petitioned for
federal recognition
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
. The Office of Federal Acknowledgment denied their petition in 1981. The office noted that the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe's membership criteria "contained no specific requirements for establishing Creek Indian ancestry" and observed that "The LMC is not a tribal community which has functioned as an autonomous entity throughout history until the present, but is rather a group of individuals who believe themselves to be of Indian ancestry, most of whom did not conclusively establish this fact."
The office's findings showed a "total lack of documentation for any period before the 1950's of the covert or overt existence of any time of community for even part of the group which could be identified as Indian" and "coupled with the finding that the majority did not establish Creek Indian ancestry and that many had no previous identity as Indian or even knowledge of Indian ancestry, indicates that the LMC is not derived from a stable tribal community."
State-recognition
The Georgia General Assembly founded the Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns and "is the only state entity specifically authorized to address the concerns of Georgia's American Indians." The council recognizes three state-recognized tribes, including the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe, who were recognized through state law GA Code Section 44-12-300.
Activities
The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe holds the annual Tama Intertribal Powwow in Whigham.