Oce Vpofv:
The Rightful Stewards of Hickory Ground
Hickory Ground is not a relic. It is a living Tribal Town — documented continuously for over 260 years and continuing its customary tradition of ceremonies such as Posketv the green corn ceremony every year as well as still maintaining its council “lawmakers.”
A Living Tribal Town.
Not a Historical Claim.
Who We Are
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians portrays this dispute as a contest between two tribes with equal ancestral claims to a long-gone site. That framing misrepresents what Oce Vpofv is.
Oce Vpofv — Hickory Ground — is a living, active Tribal Town of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It holds its council. It practices Posketv — the Green Corn ceremony — every year. Its Mekko, George Thompson Jr., has held his lifetime appointment for over 50 years, the third traditional Chief since the forced removal from Alabama. The community that was removed from Hickory Ground in Alabama in 1836 never stopped being Hickory Ground. It reconstituted in Indian Territory and it practices today in Henryetta, Oklahoma.
The current members of Hickory Ground Tribal Town in Oklahoma are the lineal descendants of every person buried at the historic Hickory Ground in Wetumpka, Alabama. That is not an assertion. That is the law of Mvskoke matrilineal kinship — unchanged since before the United States existed.
YEARS DOCUMENTED
First map: 1770 Purcell
260+
TREATY SIGNATORIES
1796 · 1814 · 1825 · 1832
4
DAWES ROLL MEMBERS
All enrolled full blood
325
CENSUS RECORDS
1760 through 1907
7
YEARS AS MEKKO
Lifetime appointment
16
ACTIVE TRIBAL TOWNS
Of 44 — Hickory Ground is one
50+
The Historical Record
260 Years in the Documents
From the first European maps to federal court proceedings, Oce Vpofv appears in the historical record without interruption. This is not a claim. This is a record.
1770
FIRST CARTOGRAPHIC APPEARANCE
The 1770 Purcell Map marks Oce Vpofv in present-day Elmore County, Alabama. By 1800 it appears on at least 18 separate maps by American and European cartographers — among the most-documented sites in the entire Creek Nation.
1777
LANGUAGE DOCUMENTED BY WILLIAM BARTRAM
Explorer William Bartram records that Hickory Ground speaks the Muscogulge — the Creek mother tongue. That linguistic continuity runs unbroken from this observation to the present day: 246 years.
1796-1832
FOUR TREATIES — HICKORY GROUND CHIEFS AS SIGNATORIES
Hickory Ground chiefs sign four treaties with the United States between 1796 and 1832 — Colerain, Fort Jackson, Indian Springs, and Cussetah — establishing Oce Vpofv as a recognized political body within the Creek Nation with the authority to bind its members to international agreements.
1832
PARSONS & ABBOTT CENSUS — 225 PEOPLE AT HICKORY GROUND
The 1832 pre-removal census records 68 heads of family and 225 people at Hickory Ground. This is the most complete snapshot of the Alabama community before removal. Cross-referencing this roll against every named Poarch ancestor yields zero matches.
1836
FORCED REMOVAL — NENE ESTERKV
Hickory Ground is forcibly removed to Indian Territory. The Tribal Town reconstitutes in eastern Oklahoma, maintaining its governance structure, language, and ceremonies. The Etvlwv did not end. It moved.
1882-1907
CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT IN INDIAN TERRITORY
Hickory Ground is documented in the 1882 Creek Nation Census, the 1890 Tribal Town Roll (certified by Hickory Ground Chiefs), the 1895–97 Tribal Town Census, and finally the 1898–1907 Dawes Roll — the definitive enrollment of all Muscogee citizens, on which all 325 Hickory Ground members are listed as full blood Creek Indian.
1901
HICKORY GROUND AS CAPITAL OF TRADITIONALIST RESISTANCE
Chitto Harjo and the traditional Muscogee resistance against forced allotment establishes a counter-government with Hickory Ground as its capital. U.S. Army photographs of the encampment are labeled: "Hickory Ground, Crazy Snake's Camp." Even in armed resistance, the people gathered under their Tribal Town's name.
Today
THE FIRE BURNS IN HENRYETTA, OKLAHOMA
Oce Vpofv Ceremonial Ground holds Posketv — the Green Corn ceremony — every year. Its Mekko has served for over 50 years. It has an active Tvstvnvke Rakko and Heneha Mekko. It speaks Mvskoke. It is Hickory Ground.
The Ancestry Question
Why Broad Creek Ancestry Is Not a Hickory Ground Claim
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians claims its Sehoy-McGillivray lineage ties it "directly" to Hickory Ground. The documentary record does not support this claim.
0
NAMED POARCH ANCESTORS ON ANY HICKORY GROUND CENSUS RECORD
MCN's Tribal Historic Preservation Officer cross-referenced every named Poarch ancestor from their BIA acknowledgment petition against all seven Hickory Ground enrollment records spanning 1760 to 1907. Across 147 years and two states, not one Poarch ancestor appears at Hickory Ground Town.
Three Responses to the Poarch Claim
RESPONSE 1 — THE CENSUS RECORD
Poarch's own BIA acknowledgment petition names its core ancestors. Cross-referencing those names against the Hickory Ground rolls produces zero matches. Their documented ancestors — Sam McNac (Tuskegee), George Stiggins (Autauga), Sam Smith (Tuckabatcha) — are enrolled at entirely different Tribal Towns, 126 miles from Hickory Ground. The Muscogee Nation had 44 distinct Tribal Towns. Membership in one is not membership in another.
RESPONSE 2 — POARCH'S OWN RECOGNITION LANGUAGE
The BIA's 1983 federal acknowledgment report for Poarch states their community "developed in the latter part of the 18th century in the Alabama-Tensaw River area" and describes it as distinct "from the Upper Creek towns." Hickory Ground is an Upper Creek town. Poarch's own federal recognition establishes their separation from the category of towns that includes Hickory Ground — not their connection to one.
RESPONSE 3 — THE LEGAL STANDARD
NAGPRA requires a demonstrated cultural affiliation with the specific community — not the broader ethnic or linguistic group. Having Creek bloodlines is not the same as Hickory Ground Tribal Town membership. Tribal Town affiliation is matrilineal and community-specific: you are Hickory Ground because your mother was Hickory Ground, because her mother was Hickory Ground, tracing back continuously to the Alabama site. MCN has that chain. It is documented in the historical, genealogical, and oral record of the community itself.
MUSCOGEE (CREEK) NATION — HICKORY GROUND TRIBAL TOWN
GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN
Hickory Ground, Elmore County, Alabama — the exact site
CENSUS PRESENCE AT 1EE89X1
Continuous 1760–1832; 40 to 225 people documented
POST-REMOVAL RECORDS
1857, 1867, 1882, 1890, 1895–97, Dawes Roll 1898–1907
TREATY SIGNATORIES
4 treaties signed by Hickory Ground Chiefs (1796–1832)
LANGUAGE CONTINUITY
Mvskoke spoken continuously, documented 1777 to present
ACTIVE CEREMONIES
Posketv held annually; active Ceremonial Ground today
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS — ATMORE, ALABAMA
GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN
Tensaw–Alabama River area, SW Alabama — 126 miles from Hickory Ground
CENSUS PRESENCE AT 1EE89X1
None. Zero named Poarch ancestors on any Hickory Ground census record.
POST-REMOVAL RECORDS
Did not undergo removal. ICC (1952) found their predecessors had "abandoned all tribal organization and became United States citizens."
TREATY SIGNATORIES
No Poarch ancestor signed as representative of Hickory Ground Town
LANGUAGE CONTINUITY
Ancestors spoke English; BIA 1983 report describes community as distinct "from the Upper Creek towns"
ACTIVE CEREMONIES
No documented continuous Muscogee ceremonial tradition connected to Hickory Ground Town
Before my uncle passed, he told me my grandfather is buried at the original Hickory Ground Tribal Town in what is today Alabama. We know our relatives are buried there. Our Mvskoke culture and traditions teach us to never disturb graves and sacred sites. We put our loved ones there with the understanding they would never be disturbed.
MEKKO GEORGE THOMPSON JR.
LETTER TO AUBURN UNIVERSITY, JULY 3, 2024