Muscogee (Creek) Papers
Collection Overview
Collection summary derived from "Guidebook to Manuscripts", 1969: These are miscellaneous, mostly important, papers relating to Creek tribal affairs. In 1782 Governor Martin held a conference at Savannah with the Tallahassee King and the Headmen and Warriors of the Upper and Lower Creek Nations. In addition to three documents concerning this conference, there are "talks" by John Crutchfield, who could not attend the original "talk," sent to the governor by George Walton, saying that the "Indians are illy used by a number of disorderly persons." In 1798 there is an order to bring James Ford, an Army Captain, to trial for trading with the Indians without a permit. Some of the papers deal with murder and horse stealing, and there are requests for troops and orders concerning them. One item dated 1837 is a request for guards to be sent to New Orleans because of an epidemic there. Interesting items: A very handsome document is the appointment of David B. Mitchell in 1817 as commissioner to make a treaty with the Creeks, signed by James Monroe, President of the United States. In 1893 Dr. Marion Elisha Tarvin sketches the history of the Creeks from 1519 to 1893, giving much information about the McGillivray family. There are three manuscript copies of Creek Laws dated in 1849, 1865 and 1873. A note on the first page of the 1849 manuscript reads: "The Laws of the Creek Nation Translated into its native tongue by Daniel B. Aspberry but not yet revised . . ."
Access Restrictions
Available by appointment only at the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR) with the exception of materials with donor restrictions. Contact Library staff in advance to inquire if materials exist pertaining to your research interests.
Use Restrictions
Please contact the Rights and Reproduction Department for information on publishing or reproducing materials included in these records. Permission will be granted by the Gilcrease Museum as the owner of the physical materials, and does not imply permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all necessary permissions from the copyright holder.
Provenance
The Gilcrease Foundation acquired these materials before 1964 and is housed in the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR). The library currently receives most materials through community donation, board members, artists and the acquisition of manuscript collections.
Staff, interns, and volunteers of the Thomas Gilcrease Library and Archive have contributed to the organization and maintenance of the files since the collection passed to the City of Tulsa in the 1950s.