INSIDE NMAI
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TROPHY OF A BROKEN TREATY
BY CLAU DI A L IMA T
he Battle of Horseshoe Bend, one of many battles dur- ing the Muscogee Civil War (1813–1814), was fought on March 27, 1814 between the U.S. Army and more than 1,000 Muscogee warriors. Taking place on the Tallapoosa River in Alabama, the battle ended the
Muscogee Civil War and left an estimated 800 men dead. The civil war broke out between Muscogees seeking peace and those supporting resistance against the United States. The battle was also part of the War of 1812, a major conflict
between the United States and the United Kingdom, and a turn- ing point for Native history. It all happened only few years after President George Washington and the Muscogee (called Creeks by the British) signed the Muscogee Treaty of 1790. The treaty, also signed by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of War Henry Knox, guaranteed territory to the Native Nation. At the time, Muscogee territory covered most of Georgia and Ala- bama. However, the treaty brought no peace to the Native Nation. By 1830, the Muscogee had lost all of their land. This bandolier bag is said to have been captured at the Battle
of Horseshoe Bend. A bandolier bag is a shoulder beaded bag with a wide strap traditionally worn by men to represent honor. Mostly made from pieced leather or fabric, bandolier bags can generally be identified by their tribal and regional differences. The bandolier bag is often mistaken for a “medicine bag,” but
the bandolier bag can be worn two ways, across the shoulder to the side or in front like an apron, while the medicine bag is always worn across the shoulder. The Muscogee bandolier bag is now on view as part of the
Muscogee Treaty of 1790 section at the National Museum of the American Indian’s exhibition Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations. The exhibition runs through Fall 2018. X Claudia Lima is an intern in the Museum’s Office of Public Affairs.
Muscogee bandolier bag, possibly a trophy of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the battle that ended the Muscogee Civil War, will be featured in Nation To Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Wool fabric and tassels, silk fabric, dye, glass beads, cotton thread. Alabama, ca. 1814 NMAI 24/4150
52 AMERICAN INDIAN WINTER 2014
PHOTO BY ERNEST AMOROSO
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