The Poarch Creek Indian Reservation is a

Creek 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: * Creek people, a former name of Muscogee, Native Americans * C ...

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

in the state of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. It is the home of the

Poarch Band of Creek Indians The Poarch Band of Creek Indians ( ;) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans with reservation lands in lower Alabama. As Mvskoke people, they speak the Muscogee language. They were formerly known as the Creek Nation East of the Mi ...

, the only federally recognized

Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical Tribe (Native American)#Other uses, tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in ...

in the state. The reservation is located entirely within Escambia County, northwest of Atmore. Of the Poarch Band's 2,340 members, about 1,000 lived on or near the reservation as of 2006. The Poarch Band also holds other trust lands in Alabama and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

History

Despite the forced removal of Creek Indians from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

in 1836, some Creeks in the Tensaw district of Alabama maintained a distinct community around the small town of Poarch, with segregated schools established by 1908. The federal government held a tract of land at Poarch in trust for the Indians until 1924. In the 1940s the community began to organize politically in its own interest, and from 1950 to 1970 tribal leader Calvin McGhee spearheaded a campaign for recognition of Creek land claims in the southeastern states. The Poarch Band raised funds largely through an annual Thanksgiving Day Pow Wow. Established as a federal reservation in 1984, the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation is governed by a nine-member tribal council and provides police, fire, judicial, and social services. A "

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

hall" has been wholly owned by the tribal government since 1990, along with some small industrial plants and a restaurant and motel.U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration,
Alabama: Poarch Creek Reservation
, accessed 7 May 2007

External links

Poarch Band of Creek IndiansUS Census Bureau's tract maps for Reservation 2865 (Poarch Creek)

References

{{authority control Poarch Band of Creek Indians Populated places in Escambia County, Alabama Geography of Escambia County, Florida Populated places established in 1984 Geography of Elmore County, Alabama Landmarks in Alabama American Indian reservations in Alabama Geography of Montgomery County, Alabama Geography of Monroe County, Alabama 1984 establishments in Alabama