Your US history class just assigned the Creek Nation, the Red Stick War, or Indian Removal — and the textbook gives it two pages. This guide covers the whole story in one focused read.

**The Muscogee (Creek): From the Creek Confederacy Through the Red Stick War to Removal** is a concise primer tracing one of the most important Native American nations in American history. It starts with who the Muscogee people actually were — their towns, clans, language, and confederacy government — then moves through Spanish and British contact, the deerskin trade, and the rising internal tensions that split the Creek world in two. The Red Stick War of 1813–1814, a Creek civil war that pulled Andrew Jackson onto the national stage and ended at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, gets its own chapter with clear narrative and key dates. So does the forced removal of the 1830s, including the treaties, land fraud, and brutal march that killed thousands. The final section brings the story into the present, covering the modern Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the landmark 2020 Supreme Court case *McGirt v. Oklahoma*.

Written for high school and early college students, this Creek Nation history study guide skips the filler and gets straight to what matters. Whether you're prepping for an AP US History exam, writing a paper on Native American removal, or helping a student make sense of a confusing chapter, this is the shortest path to real understanding.

Pick it up and know the story.

• Identify who the Muscogee (Creek) people are and the geography of their historic homelands in the Southeast
• Explain how the Creek Confederacy was organized politically, socially, and economically before sustained European contact
• Trace the impact of European and U.S. contact, including trade, missions, and the rise of factional divisions
• Describe the causes, key battles, and consequences of the Red Stick War (Creek War of 1813–1814)
• Explain the Treaty of Indian Springs, the Treaty of Washington, and the forced removal of the Muscogee to Indian Territory
• Recognize the continuity of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation today and the legal significance of McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020)

1. 1. Who Are the Muscogee (Creek)?
   Introduces the Muscogee people, their homelands, language, and the origin of the English name 'Creek.'
2. 2. The Creek Confederacy: Towns, Clans, and Government
   Explains how the Creek Confederacy was structured through autonomous towns, matrilineal clans, the Upper/Lower Creek division, and the Green Corn Ceremony.
3. 3. Contact, Trade, and Growing Divisions (1540–1811)
   Covers Spanish, British, and American contact, the deerskin trade, intermarriage with traders, and rising tensions between accommodation and resistance.
4. 4. The Red Stick War (1813–1814)
   Narrates the Creek civil war that became part of the War of 1812, including Fort Mims, Horseshoe Bend, and Andrew Jackson's role.
5. 5. Removal: The Trail of Tears for the Muscogee
   Details the treaties, land cessions, and forced migration that pushed the Muscogee from Alabama and Georgia to Indian Territory in the 1830s.
6. 6. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Today
   Surveys life after removal, allotment, the modern Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma decision.