The Muscogee (Creek)   The Creek Indians lived in well fortified villages. Each village was surrounded by a high wall of spiked logs. Each village had a tall pole in front of the entrance through the barricade. The pole was painted either red or white. This let everyone know if the village was a "red" village or a "white" village. Red Villages: The red villages were the War Zones. War leaders lived in the red villages. In these towns, blood could be shed. Warriors came here to learn. Others came to live. Still others came for short periods to work out their differences.  White Villages: The white villages were the Peace Zones. No one could be attacked in a white village. Everyone who lived in a white village had to promote peaceful solutions to all problems. If people could not solve their problems peacefully, they had to move to the red village while they worked things out.  Homes: Homes in both villages were long buildings of one or two rooms. Most had long porches that ran the length of the house. Roofs were thatched with long grasses. Mats were hung on the walls for color and warmth. Two Houses: Just as they had two types of villages, these people had two types of homes, but these were seasonal homes, for cold and hot weather. These homes were located in the same village. People simply moved a few feet or so to reach their seasonal home. The summer homes were airy and open. The winter homes were warm and solid.  The double house method not only made them comfortable, but it was a form of trickery. The Creek tricked other tribes into thinking they had more people in each village than there really were. All the houses, summer and winter, were built around a huge central plaza. Central Plaza: The Central Plaza was used for many purposes. Kids played there. The village council met there. They held the Green Corn Ceremony there. All anger in all villages had to be put aside as part of the Green Corn Ceremony. That carried over to the plaza. All anger had to put aside when entering or crossing the plaza. Free Presentations in PowerPoint format  Free Clip Art Return to the Southeast Indians Index or the Native American Index  All Rights Reserved    Clip Art Credit: Phillip Martin Have a great year!