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51-551: The Kialegee Tribal Town is headquartered in Wetumka, Oklahoma . Of the 700 enrolled tribal members, 629 live within the state of Oklahoma. Its tribal jurisdictional area falls in Creek County, Muskogee County, Tulsa County, County, Okmulgee County, Hughes , McIntosh , Okfuskee counties. The tribe's Mekko or Chief is elected for a term of two years. The tribe's citizenship or membership rules requires individuals to be

102-415: A base there in 1567 called Fort San Juan . Expedition documentation and archaeological evidence of the fort and Native American culture both exist. The soldiers were at the fort about 18 months (1567–1568) before the natives killed them and destroyed the fort. (They killed soldiers stationed at five other forts as well; only one man of 120 survived.) Sixteenth-century Spanish artifacts have been recovered from

153-491: A daycare, gas station, and smoke shop. Kialegee Tribal Town also operates its own housing division. In 2008, its annual tribal economic impact was $ 1,017,684. In 2011 Kialegee Tribal Town was preparing land for development of a Red Clay Casino in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma . The National Indian Gaming Commission was reviewing the project closely, as local residents and businesses strongly opposed it. The Red Clay Casino plan

204-569: A full-blood Native American: half to full-blood Muscogee Creek and up to one-half Indian of any other tribe. Documentation for enrollment follows matrilineal descent, as this was their traditional kinship system. Children were considered born to the mother's family and clan, and property or hereditary roles passed through her people. Today, any descendant of a female Kialegee tribal member is automatically eligible for tribal membership. Spouses of Kialegee tribal members may petition for membership. In special circumstances, any full-blood Indian may petition

255-574: A household in the city was $ 17,000.00, and the median income for a family was $ 21,645. Males had a median income of $ 18,194 versus $ 14,091 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 9,455. About 31.3% of families and 39.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 48.4% of those under age 18 and 29.8% of those age 65 or over. It is in the Wetumka Public Schools school district. The first school in Wetumka

306-499: A park, a lake, and a junior college. Railey Manufacturing Company provided employment to workers who crafted wood flooring and doors. Municipal plants provided water and electricity, Oklahoma Natural Gas supplied gas, and Southwestern State Telephone furnished phone service. But in the 1930s, cotton production began a major decline. During World War II, the Army operated a prisoner-of-war camp for German prisoners. This closed in 1945 after

357-482: A regional ceramic style in the southeast involving surface decorations applied with a carved wooden paddle. By the late 1960s, archaeological investigations had shown the similarity of the culture that produced the pottery and the midwestern Mississippian pattern defined in 1937 by the Midwestern Taxonomic System. In 1967, James B. Griffin coined South Appalachian Mississippian to describe

408-585: A tool or ally in long-standing native feuds. In one example, de Soto negotiated a truce between the Pacaha and the Casqui . De Soto's later encounters left about half of the Spaniards and perhaps many hundreds of Native Americans dead. The chronicles of de Soto are among the first documents written about Mississippian peoples and are an invaluable source of information on their cultural practices. The chronicles of

459-410: A total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km ), of which 1.9 square miles (4.9 km ) is land and 20% is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,451 people, 591 households, and 346 families residing in the city. The population density was 760.8 inhabitants per square mile (293.7/km ). There were 700 housing units at an average density of 367.0 per square mile (141.7/km ). The racial makeup of

510-457: A variety of functions. Villages with single platform mounds were more typical of the river valley settlements throughout the mountainous area of southwest North and South Carolina and southeastern Tennessee that were known as the historic Cherokee homelands. In Western North Carolina for example, some 50 such mound sites in the eleven westernmost counties have been identified since the late 20th century, following increased research in this area of

561-455: Is a city in northern Hughes County , Oklahoma , United States. The population was 1,135 as of the 2020 Census . The Muscogee Creek who first settled it after removal in the 1830s named it for their ancestral town of Wetumpka in Alabama . Wetumka is a Muskogee language word meaning "rumbling waters." In the 21st century, it is the headquarters for two federally recognized tribes,

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612-487: Is believed that the peoples of this area adopted Mississippian traits from their northwestern neighbors. Typical settlements were located on riverine floodplains and included villages with defensive palisades enclosing platform mounds and residential areas. Etowah and Ocmulgee in Georgia are both prominent examples of major South Appalachian Mississippian settlements. Both include multiple large earthwork mounds serving

663-598: Is now Alabama . Kialegee in return produced two daughter towns, Hutchechuppa and Achinahutchee. Before removal , the Muscogee Confederacy included about 50 towns. As with the remainder of the Creek people, the Kialegee had a matrilineal kinship system, with descent figured through the mother's line. Children are considered to be born into the mother's clan and receive their status from her and her people. It

714-486: Is now the Midwestern , Eastern , and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earthen platform mounds , and often other shaped mounds as well. It was composed of a series of urban settlements and satellite villages linked together by loose trading networks. The largest city was Cahokia , believed to be a major religious center, located in what

765-555: Is present-day southern Illinois . The Mississippian way of life began to develop in the Mississippi River Valley (for which it is named). Cultures in the tributary Tennessee River Valley may have also begun to develop Mississippian characteristics at this point. Almost all dated Mississippian sites predate 1539–1540 (when Hernando de Soto explored the area), with notable exceptions being Natchez communities. These maintained Mississippian cultural practices into

816-710: Is the chronological stage, while Mississippian culture refers to the cultural similarities that characterize this society. The term Middle Mississippian is also used to describe the core of the classic Mississippian culture area. This area covers the central Mississippi River Valley, the lower Ohio River Valley, and most of the Mid-South area, including western and central Kentucky, western Tennessee, and northern Alabama and Mississippi. Sites in this area often contain large ceremonial platform mounds, residential complexes and are often encircled by earthen ditches and ramparts or palisades . Middle Mississippian cultures, especially

867-443: Is to the southeast. The town is at the intersection of U.S. Route 75 and Oklahoma State Highway 9 . Wetumka is home to Petes Airpark (FAA Identifier: 8OL1), a privately-owned facility. At least six other airports, including Okmulgee Regional and McAlester Regional , are within a 35-mile radius. Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture were collections of Native American societies that flourished in what

918-400: Is usually divided into three or more chronological periods. Each period is an arbitrary historical distinction varying regionally. At a particular site, each period may be considered to begin earlier or later, depending on the speed of adoption or development of given Mississippian traits. The "Mississippian period" should not be confused with the "Mississippian culture". The Mississippian period

969-683: The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town and the Kialegee Tribal Town . The town holds Sucker Day annually, on the last Saturday in September. The St. Louis, Oklahoma and Southern Railway built a line from Sapulpa, Oklahoma through Wetumka to the Red River in 1900-1901. Wetumka prospered as a major shipping point for cotton, corn, pecans, and livestock produced by farmers in the surrounding area. An election

1020-790: The Hasinai , Kadohadacho , and Natchitoches , which were all linked by their similar languages. The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana . Good examples of this culture are the Medora site (the type site for the culture and period) in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana , and the Anna , Emerald Mound , Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located in Mississippi. Plaquemine culture

1071-640: The Indian Removal Act . The tribe settled south of what would become Henryetta, Oklahoma . They maintained a ceremonial ground and played stick ball against Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town . By 1912, their ground had been put to sleep, as ethnologist John R. Swanton noted when he visited the town. He recorded that Kialegee was a Red Town, or community of warriors. After the passage of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act in 1936, which provided for revival of self-government among

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1122-753: The Narváez expedition were written before the de Soto expedition; the Narváez expedition informed the Court of de Soto about the New World. After the destruction and flight of the de Soto expedition, the Mississippian peoples continued their way of life with little direct European influence. Indirectly, however, European introductions dramatically changed these native societies. Because the natives lacked immunity to infectious diseases unknowingly carried by

1173-664: The 18th century. A number of cultural traits are recognized as being characteristic of the Mississippians. Although not all Mississippian peoples practiced all of the following activities, they were distinct from their ancestors in the adoption of some or all of these traits. The Mississippians had no writing system or stone architecture. They worked naturally occurring metal deposits, such as hammering and annealing copper for ritual objects such as Mississippian copper plates and other decorations, but did not smelt iron or practice bronze metallurgy . The Mississippian stage

1224-561: The Cahokia polity located near East St. Louis, Illinois , were very influential on neighboring societies. High-status artifacts, including stone statuary and elite pottery associated with Cahokia, have been found far outside of the Middle Mississippian area. These items, especially the pottery, were also copied by local artists. The term South Appalachian Province was originally used by W. H. Holmes in 1903 to describe

1275-598: The Cherokee homeland. The Caddoan Mississippian area, a regional variant of the Mississippian culture, covered a large territory, including what is now eastern Oklahoma , western Arkansas , northeastern Texas , and northwestern Louisiana . Archaeological evidence has led to a scholarly consensus that the cultural continuity is unbroken from prehistory to the present, and that the Caddo and related Caddo language speakers in prehistoric times and at first European contact are

1326-540: The Europeans, such as measles and smallpox , epidemics caused so many fatalities that they undermined the social order of many chiefdoms. Some groups adopted European horses and changed to nomadism . Political structures collapsed in many places. At Joara , near Morganton, North Carolina , Native Americans of the Mississippian culture interacted with Spanish colonizers of the Juan Pardo expedition, who built

1377-627: The First Warrior, Second Warrior, Secretary, and Treasurer. The first tribal headquarters was the home of Martin Givens. The flag of the tribe contains a sky blue circle, featuring a pair of stickball sticks, used in the traditional game still played at ceremonial grounds today. The black cross at the top represents the Christian religion. To the left is a hollowed log and beater, which women used to grind corn meal, central to Muscogee diets. At

1428-537: The Lower Towns, which tended to have members who were more assimilated to European-American culture, as they had far more interaction with them. In 1813, US troops burned Kialegee. In 1814, 1818, 1825, and 1826, Kialegee representatives signed treaties with the United States ceding some of their lands. Finally, 166 families of Kialegee were forced to relocate to Indian Territory in 1835 after Congress passed

1479-670: The Native American tribes, the US federal government offered each of the Muscogee Creek tribal towns the opportunity to enroll as an individual tribe and establish their own government. Of more than 40 towns, only three accepted: Kialegee, Thlopthlocco , and the Alabama-Quassarte . The tribe ratified its constitution and by-laws on June 12, 1941. The tribe is governed by a mekko or town king. Additional officers are

1530-544: The bottom is a ceremonial lodge with a rounded bark roof, built on an earthwork mound. This lodge was the center of the tribal town for religious and civic gatherings and also a shelter for the needy. The earthwork mound refers to the Mississippian culture heritage of modern Muscogee people and the complex mounds that still exist of that culture. The bald eagle at the right is a sacred animal, featured in many tribal stories. The Kialegee Etvlwv Business Committee operates

1581-636: The city hall and the Masonic Lodge. By 1918, four cotton gins, a mill and elevator, a wagonyard, an ice company, and a water and light company had joined the list of businesses open in Wetumka. The 1920 census reported that the population had jumped from 231 in 1910 to 1422 in 1920. Growth would continue through 1950. Since then a long-term decline has lasted through the 2010 census as agriculture has needed fewer workers. The Wetumka oil field opened in 1919. A crowd of oil workers poured into town. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture estimates

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1632-553: The city was 58.37% White , 5.65% African American , 31.63% Native American , 0.07% Pacific Islander , 0.21% from other races , and 4.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.55% of the population. There were 591 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.7% had someone living alone who

1683-557: The direct ancestors of the modern Caddo Nation of Oklahoma . The climate in this area was drier than areas in the eastern woodlands, hindering maize production, and the lower population on the plains to the west may have meant fewer neighboring competing chiefdoms to contend with. Major sites such as Spiro and the Battle Mound Site are in the Arkansas River and Red River Valleys, the largest and most fertile of

1734-534: The end of the war. The city-owned Wetumka General Hospital opened in March 1960. In March 1973 a municipal complex opened to replace city hall, which had been destroyed by fire on November 13, 1971. By the 1970s all cotton gins were defunct. Wetumka is approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Holdenville , the county seat. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has

1785-477: The evolving understanding of the peoples of the Southeast. South Appalachian Mississippian area sites are distributed across a contiguous area including Alabama, Georgia, northern Florida, South Carolina, central and western North Carolina, and Tennessee. Chronologically this area became influenced by Mississippian culture later than the Middle Mississippian area (about 1000 as compared to 800) to its northwest. It

1836-696: The majority of the American Indian nations living in this region when European trade began. The historic and modern day American Indian nations believed to have descended from the overarching Mississippian culture include: the Alabama , Apalachee , Arikara , Caddo , Chickasaw , Catawba , Choctaw , Muscogee Creek , Guale , Hitchiti , Ho-Chunk , Houma , Iowa , Kansa , Koroas , Missouria , Mobilian , Natchez , Omaha , Osage (possibly), Otoe , Pawnee , Ponca , Quapaw (possibly), Seminole (broad origins), Taensas , Tunicas , Yamasee , Yazoos , and Yuchi . Scholars have studied

1887-512: The many Caddoan languages . These languages once had a broad geographic distribution, but many are now extinct. The modern languages in the Caddoan family include Caddo and Pawnee . Hernando de Soto led an expedition into the area in the early 1540s, he encountered several native groups now thought to have been Caddoan. Composed of many tribes, the Caddo were organized into three confederacies,

1938-464: The most significant sign of growth was that the citizens petitioned Governor Jack C. Walton to designate Wetumka as a city of the "first class". Walton signed the proclamation on May 21, 1923, and the city held an election on June 26, 1925 for a mayor, a city marshal, and council members. By 1930, oil and agriculture were the dominant employers in Wetumka's economy, with five cotton gins and twelve oil companies operating. The city had added nine churches,

1989-508: The number of temporary workers brought the total city population to about four thousand. However, the 1920 census does not support this number. There was sufficient activity to cause the railroad to build a large freight warehouse in April 1925. A three-story hotel opened in June of that year. With the booming economy, the city paved the streets and added three rooms to the school building. Perhaps

2040-509: The records of Hernando de Soto 's expedition of 1539–1543 to learn of his contacts with Mississippians, as he traveled through their villages of the Southeast. He visited many villages, in some cases staying for a month or longer. The list of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition chronicles those villages. Some encounters were violent, while others were relatively peaceful. In some cases, de Soto seems to have been used as

2091-477: The site, marking the first European colonization in the interior of what became the United States. By the time more documentary accounts were being written, the Mississippian way of life had changed irrevocably. Some groups maintained an oral tradition link to their mound-building past, such as the late 19th-century Cherokee . Other Native American groups, having migrated many hundreds of miles and lost their elders to diseases, did not know their ancestors had built

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2142-409: The site, saying the tribe did not control that land and so lacked authority for gaming there. An attorney for the Kialegee said Muscogee Nation interference with the project would be resisted. On August 16, 2017, the site was raided by Muscogee Lighthorse police prior to the facility's opening, and they seized gambling equipment, which they alleged was illegal. Wetumka, Oklahoma Wetumka

2193-412: The town laughs about it each year through a celebration called Sucker Day. The event has arts and crafts, music, and a parade of antique cars, tractors, and horses. There is also a ” poker run ” for motorcyclists and other participants. Wetumka Lake, a/k/a Lake Wetumka, offering boat ramps/docks, a fishing dock, picnic areas, a playground, and primitive camping sites, is to the north. Brooks Lake

2244-535: The tribe for enrollment as an "Adopted Member." The Kialegee Tribal Town operates its own tribal courts. It has an environmental educational program for youth, the Kialegee Tribal Town's Environmental "Kub" Program. Town members and visitors celebrate the annual Kialegee Nettv (Day), a gathering that celebrates the town's history and culture. Kialegee emerged as an independent town from a larger Creek town, Tuckabatche , located along rivers in what

2295-525: The waterways in the Caddoan region, where maize agriculture would have been the most productive. The sites generally lacked wooden palisade fortifications often found in the major Middle Mississippian towns. Living on the western edge of the Mississippian world, the Caddoans may have faced fewer military threats from their neighbors. Their societies may also have had a somewhat lower level of social stratification . The Caddoan people were speakers of one of

2346-449: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males. The median income for

2397-560: Was an agrarian community. Women and children grew and processed a variety of crops, in addition to gathering roots, berries and nuts, while men hunted for game or harvested fish. On June 29, 1796 leaders from Kialegee signed a peace treaty with the new United States. But, within a decade the townspeople joined the Red Stick Upper Creeks in the Creek Civil War , in which traditionalists (Red Sticks) fought against

2448-557: Was contemporaneous with the Middle Mississippian culture at the Cahokia site near St. Louis , Missouri. It is considered ancestral to the Natchez and Taensa Peoples. Although the Mississippian culture was heavily disrupted before a complete understanding of the political landscape was written down, many Mississippian political bodies were documented and others have been discovered by research. Mississippian peoples were ancestral to

2499-436: Was halted by a legal injunction in 2012, and despite subsequent progress by the Kialegee in court, was not continued. In 2017 controversy arose regarding proposed Kialegee development of a different tract of land in Broken Arrow , owned by Steve Bruner (Creek), for an Embers Grille restaurant and possible Red Creek Casino. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Attorney General warned Bruner about legal consequences for illegal gaming at

2550-687: Was held in 1908 to determine the permanent county seat, and Wetumka made it to a runoff election for that title, although Holdenville prevailed. By 1909, the community had three banks, two cotton gins, three blacksmith shops, two liveries, and a tin shop. Early newspapers included the Wetumka News-Herald , the Wetumka News , the Wetumka Herald , and the Wetumka Gazette . A two-story building constructed in 1912 housed

2601-743: Was the Levering Manual Labor Mission School, which opened on September 1, 1881. It was operated by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, partly funded by the Creek Nation and educated Creek children. The town had a public school system by 1902 The Wes Watkins Technology Center is located in Wetumka. Opened in 1992, it offers vocational training. Wetumka was conned by a man named F. Bam Morrison in 1950, and

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