Indigenous Peoples of Georgia and the Southeast: Home

It is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people spread across 70 countries worldwide. Practicing unique traditions, they retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Spread across the world from the Arctic to the South Pacific, they are the descendants - according to a common definition - of those who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived.

• Source: United Nations, https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/5session_factsheet1.pdf

Here are links to a few sources which describe Indigenous Peoples of the Southeastern US and Georgia, notably the Cherokee and Creek (or Muscogee) Nations. 

Indigenous Peoples of Georgia (Familysearch.org)

Southeast Native American groups 

• https://guides.libraries.emory.edu/main/creek
• https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/muscogee-and-cherokee-tribes-georgia 
• https://cnu.libguides.com/psnativeamericans/trailoftears

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

You may encounter references to the term "Five Civilized Tribes" (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations), which stems from the Colonial period in the mid-to-late 19th Century. The term was also used to distinguish these five nations from other so-called "wild" Indians who continued to rely on hunting for survival. (https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FI011 )

• here are a few examples for reference:

  • https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/276.html (“President Jackson authorizes Native peoples’ removal from Georgia“)

  • https://www.nps.gov/ocmu/learn/historyculture/upload/Accessible-Five-Civilized-Tribes.pdf 

• https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/the-five-civilized-tribes.htm 

The terms used to describe Indigenous Peoples in North America have evolved over time.  Thus, you may see terms like: American Indian, Indigenous American, Aboriginal, Native, or First Nations in your reading. 

Presently, there are 574 federally recognized Indian Nations (variously called tribes, nations, bands, pueblos, communities and native villages) in the United States (https://www.ncai.org › about-tribes).

FURTHER READING:

In the Digital Library of Georgia, you can begin by exploring resources such as the Southeastern Native American Documents Collection and the New Georgia Encyclopedia (visit the Library Resources tab in this guide for more info).