Creek Land - Ownership?
The Creek fought, as communities, with other tribes over hunting rights to their territory. But the "right" to the land was very different from the legal terms understood by the white settlers relating to individual ownership. The Creek Indians had no concept of "private property," as applied to the land, but were soon to experience this European idea, through the constant encroachment on the tribal territories and Creek land.

Creek Land - Wars and Conflicts
The American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of wars, battles and conflicts between American settlers or the U.S. army, and the Native American Indians before and after the American Revolutionary War. In 1783 the State of Georgia began to expand into Creek territory. In 1790 the Treaty of New York, under the administration of George Washington, the Creek people ceded a significant portion of Creek lands to the United States on the condition that they were allowed remain in the remaining territory. But settlers continued to encroach on their territory over the coming years. The Creek War erupted between 1813-1814 when Creeks from the Upper Towns, known as 'Red Sticks' resisted white immigration and the "civilizing programs" administered by U.S. Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins. In 1813, 'Red Sticks' led by Chief Red Eagle attacked the American outpost of Fort Mims in Alabama, and nearly 250 people were killed which spread panic throughout the American Southwest frontier. The 'Red Sticks' were crushed in 1814.

Creek Land - Moved to the Reservation
The Creek nation was forced to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, ceding 20 million acres of land to the United States. Treaties were broken leading to the Creek War of 1836. The U.S. forcibly removed the Creeks to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

Creek Land - Dawes General Allotment Act
The Dawes General Allotment Act was passed by Congress in 1887 which led to the break up of the large Indian Reservations and the sale of Indian lands, including Creek lands to white settlers.