Kawita Creeks struggle for recognition

Creek Indian tribe fights to preserve history

BY JERRY F. RUTLEDGE - jrutledge@ledger-enquirer.com --

A three-year effort to gain recognition for the Kawita Creeks of Russell County appears to be dead in the Alabama Legislature, with its primary supporter saying it may be time to end it.

The Kawitas are a small group of local Native Americans who, through Steve Franklin and his attorney Tommy Worthy, have had bills introduced in both houses of the legislature recently, hoping for recognition by the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission.

Multiple dead ends

A bill introduced by state Rep. Lesley Vance died in the House during one recent session and it appears a bill introduced by Sen. Ted Little will reap similar results with the current session near its end.

"We've been working on this since about 2005, but I don't believe I'm going to fool with it anymore," Franklin said. "We've been to the Indian Affairs Commission, I know three or four times. Everybody is friendly. There's nobody mad with anybody, no hostilities. Everyone sits down and talks like civilized people."

But when it comes to adding the Kawitas to the seven tribes recognized by the commission, there has been opposition from within the American Indian community. Little's bill has been stalled in a Senate committee, a victim of intense lobbying.

"The bill that I have in the legislature is the same bill that Rep. Vance proposed several years ago," Little said. "The Indian Affairs Commission asked for a public hearing on the bill and we had the public hearing. The bill, in my opinion, will not be passed this session."

Tribes recognized by the Indian Affairs Commission are primarily Cherokee and Creek. There are other smaller groups like the Kawitas, who, Franklin said, are primarily interested in preserving artifacts and the history of their local culture.

Local historian Fred Fussell, who has studied the history of local Native American tribes, is not familiar with the Kawita tribe, which is the Indian version of the more commonly known "Coweta."

"The only ones (American Indians) that I know of in our region are headquartered around the Dothan area," he said. "There are a lot of people across Alabama who claim to have some sort of Indian ancestry and some of them do, I'm sure. I just don't know about the Kawitas."

Franklin said the lineage of the local tribe has been traced to the Muskogee Creeks in Oklahoma, who were originally from Alabama and Georgia before the Trail of Tears.

While there are no state or federally recognized American Indian tribes in Russell County, the area is rich in Indian history. Muskogee Creeks and Yuchi Indians lived along the Chattahoochee River long before European settlers began to move into the area.

The only federally recognized Native American tribe in the state is the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore, Ala., which sponsors bingo parlors at three sites -- Montgomery, Wetumpka and Atmore.

The gambling aspect of American Indian life in Alabama has been the subject of controversy for decades. Alabama Attorney Gen. Troy King filed federal lawsuit in Mobile earlier this month seeking to block the U.S. Department of Interior from allowing the Poarch Band to sponsor Class III gambling. Class III gambling includes the common casino types of games like roulette and blackjack. The Poarch Creeks have entered the lawsuit as a co-defendant with the federal government.

Gaming suspicions have hung over the Kawita efforts, though Franklin said there is no plan for his group to be involved in gambling, especially given Phenix City's experiences 50 years ago.

"We want to preserve our history and save Indian relics that we're losing every day," Franklin said. "We don't even have gambling anywhere in our bylaws."

The next opportunity for the group to pursue legislative approval would be in a special session, if Gov. Bob Riley calls for one. Otherwise, there will be no possibility until the 2009 regular session begins next February.