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City of Talladega Blog

City of Talladega Blog

PRIDE • DETERMINATION • COMMITMENT

Delegation from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation visits Talladega

Delegation from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation visits Talladega

(Talladega, AL) A delegation from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, recently came to Talladega during a trip that included stops at numerous historical sites in their ancestral homeland of East Central Alabama. The delegation included Second Chief of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation Del Beaver;   Tribal Liaison Anne Townsend-Edwards; and other leaders. 

They met with City Manager Seddrick Hill Sr., State Representative Steve Hurst, Hall of Heroes Museum Curator Jimmy Williams, Talladega Main Street Chair April Clark and other local leaders at Stampede Steakhouse; visited Big Springs Monument; and toured the Dr. William R. Harvey Museum of Art and the BCH Student Center at Talladega College. The visit was arranged by Mary Patchunka-Smith of the City of Oxford.

“As I listened to the stories they shared, I was impressed by their resilience. Though their ancestors were forced to leave during the Trail of Tears, the delegation came here because they want their children to know their history,” said City Manager Seddrick Hill Sr.  “Thanks to our partnership with the City of Oxford, we were able to meet with the delegation and show them a few sites in Talladega. Stay tuned for future visits and upcoming beneficial partnerships.”

“It has been important for us to return to our homelands to see for ourselves that the stories that have been passed down from our grandparents and relatives were not just stories, but very real places,” said Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tribal Liaison Anne Townsend-Edwards. “We have overcome a lot of historical trauma from being forced to move from our homelands, and coming back to see helps us to connect the pieces of our past in hopes of building a stronger future.”

“We want our history to be told from the Muscogee people’s viewpoint and we want people to remember that, at one point in time, this land that we call America today was 100% indigenous. Treaties were made based on our sovereignty as a Nation. We would like for people to remember the history of the Trail of Tears, and our fight to stay in our homelands but, mostly, we want them to know the Mvskoke people as a flourishing nation today. We still have much to preserve and protect and we continue to work hard to do so.”

The delegation visited sites in Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, and Talladega counties.

PHOTO CAPTION 

Pictured left to right are Bradley Hicks, Jeremiah Hicks, Mary Patchunka-Smith, Gano Perez, Anne Townsend-Edwards, David Sparks, Josh Castleman, Ed Mouss, Glen Kernell,  City Manager Seddrick Hill Sr., Rhonda Beaver,  Addie Beaver, Paul Harjochee, Olivia Beaver and Second Chief of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation Del Beaver.