Santa Rosa County Creek Indian Tribe
The Santa Rosa County Creek Indian Tribe plans to open a Native American cultural center later this year in Milton.
Groundbreaking on the 4,000-square-foot building is scheduled for Aug. 1. But more important than the shovels in the ground is the center's mission to preserve Native American knowledge, artifacts and culture.
Much of Native American history has been lost, and Dan Helms, an officer with the Santa Rosa County Creek Indian Tribe, doesn't want one more artifact to be forgotten.
Helms' grandmother was a Creek Indian, though she didn't talk about her heritage or acknowledge it because of a fear of retribution she learned from her own relatives.
"So much of what was done throughout history was wiped out, the race and culture," said Helms, the tribe's vice chief. "Our goal is to keep that from happening. The memories, the knowledge, the culture of Native Americans, to keep them from disappearing all together."
Helms added, "We do what we do in the overall hope that it will help all people have tolerance and compassion for people of other cultures."
Helms said one of the artifacts ready to go into the museum is a peace pipe used by Crow Nation leader Plenty Coups after he reached an agreement with an official from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Helms' said the persecution and upheaval of Native American culture has roots dating back to 1830 when President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act.
Treaties under the law allowed the government to take Native American land east of the Mississippi River in exchange for land to the west of the river. The tribes that went along with the act became citizens of their home state. Many tribes resisted relocation.
In tribes' efforts to stay ahead of the law and avoid the forced relocation, many moved around, and they moved quickly. In the process, elements of Native American life was lost or abandoned.
The cultural center will aim to highlight some of these lost elements through more than 3,000 artifacts in a museum, a genealogy resource center and space for hosting educational presentations.
Helms said another goal of the cultural center is to be "a destination for field trips."
The cultural center is being built with a second IMPACT 100 grant. The organization that provides grants to nonprofit groups awarded the Creek Indian Tribe an initial grant for the construction of infrastructure work, such as roads, underground utilities, a septic system and restroom facilities.
The building, which will be located at 4750 Willard Norris Road, was funded with another grant of about $108,000.
Helms said he hopes the cultural center will be open by the end of November, in time for the Santa Rosa County Creek Indian Tribe's 27th annual powwow celebration the week before Thanksgiving. This year's powwow will be dedicated to former Creek Indian Tribe Vice Chief Lloyd Hinote, who died in mid-November.
"He was instrumental in getting this," said Helms of Hinote. "It's on his shoulders that we're standing."
Last year, an estimated 10,000 people came to Santa Rosa County for a Native American celebration that recalled the old ways, with native songs and dances, elders telling folk stories and fry bread and roasted corn.
The 28th annual Santa Rosa County Creek Indian Tribe Powwow, which this year takes place Saturday and Sunday on the 93-acre Creek Indian Tribal Grounds in Milton, promises even more.
Soon after the powwow ends, work will be completed on the Native American Cultural Center at the tribal grounds. The Cultural Center will house the Native American Artifacts Museum, the Genealogy Resource Center and a multi-purpose room. The Cultural Center is largely funded through the two $100,000 grants the tribe has received from the IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area women's philanthropic organization.
"We wouldn't have been able to do it without them, said tribe Vice Chief Dan "Sky Horse" Helms. "We are indebted to them. I'm their biggest fan."
Construction of the Native American Cultural Center began in 2017.
"We couldn't get it completed before the powwow, Helms said. "But the week after, we'll be painting the ceiling and staining the floors. Then, we'll start putting in the museum items and we'll be ready to rock and roll."
The tribe has about 3,000 Native American artifacts that will be displayed, Helms said.
He expects the Cultural Center to open in February.
But he doesn't know when, or if, the tribe will receive federal recognition, which would give it federal protection and make it eligible for government grants and funding. The tribe has been striving to gain federal recognition for years, and in February, the efforts were buoyed by Santa Rosa County Commissioners voting to support a resolution to give the tribe federally recognized status.
"It's a slow, arduous process, Helms said. "But we are actively pursuing it."
Helms said there are three ways a tribe can gain federal recognition: Through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through congressional approval or through the judicial system.
But he said the average time for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve a tribe for federal recognition is decades.
"There are 567 federally recognized tribes, Helms said. "And only 17 tribes gained federal recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. So I can't really give you a time frame on yes or no."
Helms urged tribal members and supporters to contact their legislators and government officials for support in gaining federal recognition.
The mission of the tribe is to promote and protect the language, heritage and culture of the tribe.
"Less than 1 percent can speak the native language anymore, Helms said. "And when a language dies, a culture dies."
Tribal council member Tracy "Drucilla Sparrow" Gibbs agreed with Helms, and said education is the key to preserving native culture.
"We really need to educate the public on our heritage, said Gibbs, whose native name comes from her fourth-generation grandmother, who was forced from her home in Atmore, Alabama, and sent to Oklahoma on the infamous Trail of Tears under President Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, which forced Native Americans east of the Mississippi River to relocate to Oklahoma. "We have to honor our ancestors so future generations do not forget their past and where they come from."
Troy Moon can be reached at tmoon@pnj.com and 850-435-8541.
Want to go?
What: 28th annual Santa Rosa County Creek Indian Tribe Powwow
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: Creek Indian Tribal Grounds, 4750 Willard Norris Road in Milton.
Cost: The event is free and open to the public and will feature dancing and music, traditional food, as well as hot dogs and hamburgers, and educational presentations.
Details: Go to santarosacreektribe.org.
https://mvskokemedia.com/non-profit-organization-seeks-tribal-recognition/