Poarch Band of Creek Indians

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans with lands in lower Alabama. They are part of the Mvskoke people and speak the Muscogee language.

Today, most members live in Escambia County and parts of Florida. Since the late 1900s, they have run three gaming casinos and a hotel. This helps them earn money to support their community and families. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is a sovereign nation with strong ties to their home in the Southeast United States.

History

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians comes from the Muscogee Creek people. Their ancestors mixed with Scottish and Irish traders. In the early 1800s, some joined a group called the Red Sticks who fought to protect their way of life.

Many stayed in Alabama even when most Creek people had to move west. They kept traditions like busk and stompdance and stayed close together.

In the 1930s, they asked for help but didn’t get much. After World War II, leaders like Calvin McGhee worked to get their rights recognized. In 1984, they were officially recognized as a tribe by the U.S. government and got their own reservation.

Tribal membership requirements

To join the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, a person must come from families listed in special records from the 1870s and 1900s in Escambia County, Alabama and Monroe County, Alabama. They also need to have at least a quarter of their family from the Mvskoke Creek people. Each tribe can decide its own rules for who belongs.

Current status

The Poarch Creek Indian Reservation is in southern Alabama, near the city of Atmore. Stephanie Bryan is the tribal chairwoman.

Gaming and racing

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians owns several casinos through their company, Wind Creek Hospitality. Three of these casinos are in Alabama: Wind Creek Atmore, Wind Creek Montgomery, and Wind Creek Wetumpka. They also have casinos in other places like Mobile, Pensacola, Gretna, the Caribbean, Gardnerville, Nevada, and D'Iberville, Mississippi. In 2019, they changed the name of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania to Wind Creek Bethlehem.

In 2017, they opened an amusement park called the Park at OWA in Foley, Alabama. This large park includes many fun rides and activities. In 2022, the first part of an indoor water park named Tropic Falls opened there. The park covers 520 acres (2.1 km²).