These found poems are drawn from interviews with elderly citizens of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation recorded in 1937-38 as part of the Indian-Pioneer History Project sponsored by the federal Works Progress Administration and archived at the Oklahoma Historical Society and the University of Oklahoma.
Older and Very Sour
1
the creek indians had
many different delicious dishes
made from corn one of which is
osafke
it is not intoxicating
as some white people believe
very few know how to make osafke
the old indian women are
especially learned in making it
it must be made right
or it will not taste good
vce cvlvtwe is the indian name
of the corn from which
osafke or safke is made
the corn is used when it
has dried after it has ripened
it is shelled by hand
the corn is put in the
mortar keco while wet
then the
pounder kecvpe is taken up
by hand about the middle and
the pounding begins
2
the corn is then placed in a woven
birch skin basket with small spaced holes
which separates the flakes and dust
from the corn
the corn grits are then emptied into
a kettle of hot water
when the water reaches the boiling point
one half cup of a lye solution is added
to taste and soften the safke it is then
boiled from three to four hours
safke is placed in an earthen jar and
kept about four or five days until it sours
safke is used as a drink and as a food
the indians raised white corn
which they called safke corn
when the corn matures it is
about twelve to fourteen inches long
3
safke corn is a flint corn hard
and smooth
the proportions are
three buckets of water in washpot
one gallon of grits
and one cup of lye
most people dont like it when
it gets sour i think its better
when its two or three days old
4
i liked safke when it was
first made and sweet
and i liked it when it was
older and very sour
nobody will like the
sour safke when he first
tastes it you have to
get used to it
5
i have heard a story about an old woman and how she
made the first safke a drink which is a great
favorite of the indians
there was once a young man who lived with his old
grandmother the young man would often go off into
the woods on hunting trips and be gone all day
every time he left he came home to find that the
grandmother had prepared the safke the young man
began to ponder over this because there was no corn
around the place
he finally decided to stay near the place and find
out what the old grandmother did
•
the old grandmother said since you have found out
the secret now you take me to the old corn crib and
lock me up in it close all the openings and
cracks after four days you look in and look at
what there is
that is why some people say that the corn is an old
woman and it was best not to provoke it
all old ladies are easily provoked and are cranky
if you do not care for the corn you will lose it
Jefferson Berryhill, b. 1909
Sarah Fife, b. 1861
Martha Scott Tiger, b. 1890
William Baker, b. 1868
Robert Thompson, b. 1888
The Power of Medicine
the indians have always had faith
and been the strongest believers in
the power of medicine men and their
powers when using the medicine for
personal or tribal protection in
illness
it was the older leaders and
medicine men who were noted and
gifted for their power of preparing
the strong and effective medicine
that would enable any of the indians
to escape any harm
any group of indians out hunting or
on travels were never without their
tribal medicine man it was the
medicine man who knew of the best
ways of saving his people and he was
much respected by his people
the white meal hompetv hvtkē was the source and
basis of the secret power
the white meal consisted of special foods taken by
the prophets
medicine men
and other leaders
it was made up of mostly corn the pounded corn
meal made into bread pounded corn prepared as a drink
of which the indians are very fond and one or two
articles of food
all this had no seasoning
the greatest enemy to the indians was in the use of
salt
fat
flour
sugar
or anything else sweet
although the indians had never used these things
they began to realize how very necessary they
were to them and how the added flavor made
many of their meals very delicious
the power of medicine
was not so effective
from that time on
Wilburn Hill, b. ca. 1909
Lives of the Fish
first of all
the fish killing is a bit out of the picture
for the indians of today due to the fact that
the occasion has been outlawed by the white men
during the days of fish killing
the streams were full of
various kinds and sizes of fishes
and the indian killed only
that which he needed
the thing that figures mostly in
the indian fish killing is a weed
called the devils shoestring
the root of this weed is
very bitter
it is this nature of the weed
that causes the fish to rise
to the surface of the water
digging the strings is about the
hardest part of the whole affair
it takes brain and muscle
to be able to get your quota
if it is a flowing stream then
the medicine is scattered into
the water in one place
if the kill should be in
water that is stationary then
the medicine must be scattered or
applied all over
before any of the participants
or anyone in the group
looked into the chosen water
a ceremonial was in order
the one with the power of
medicine paints a color on
the cheeks of everybody
it was a splendid reputation
to be called a good shot with
the bow and arrows
it was an honor to kill the
biggest fish during the occasion
it took skill to be able to
look for and find an arrow that
has been lost in the water
one must know how to shoot
the fish
thus ends the story of fish killing
the longing in the hearts of the old indians
who watch the modern day oil wells and salt water
become a menace to the lives of the fish
continue to ache
and they wish to know just why
an honest mans hunt for the fish for his use
to strengthen his body that he may live longer
is more detrimental than to kill a fish without
thinking at all
indian killed that which he needed
oil men kill because they must have heaven
on earth with the money that he accumulates
Jefferson Berryhill, b. 1909
The Deep Fork Bottoms
it might have been back along in
eighteen eighty and up around in
the eighteen nineties
that there was a great demand for
walnut and pecan wood
i think it was some foreign
country germany it was that
was buying great quantities of
this wood to manufacture it into
gun stocks
many walnut and pecan trees were
cut down in the deep fork bottoms
as there were more of that kind of
trees there than anywhere else
the trees were sawed down and
cut up first and the stump was
later uprooted and trimmed off
because it was said that the stump
part made the best kind of gun
stock
then it was loaded and hauled
to eufaula where it shipped off on
the katy railroad
i think that the timber that was
shipped to the foreign country
was received back in bullets
during the world war
Toney Carolina, b. 1875
Read an interview with James Treat here.
