Creek Indians of Georgia's Islands: White Man Invades in 1540

St. Simons is only one of many islands, called barrier islands, that borders the present-day state of Georgia, extending seaward off Glynn County. The island's climate presents short winters with temperatures ranging between the 40s to the low 70s. Long autumns and summers, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s, combined with an abundant wealth of food from the ocean and the land made St. Simons an ideal dwelling place for eons reaching back into pre-historic times.

Long before the white man invaded some 5,800 years ago, these coastal islands that border Georgia as well as North and South Carolina and Florida were occupied by native people. These island dwellers left their ancient calling card in the form of a shell ring on Sapelo Island. This shell ring is constructed of oyster shells. It stands from ten to twelve feet tall. It covers a ground area approximately the size of one half of a football field. One or more situations of three things are in evident here: The island's occupants loved oysters, oysters were vastly abundant, or the island's people lived there a very long time.

Exactly who these oyster-loving folks were is uncertain but in 1540, the Spanish came calling. It is recorded by these visitors from the Old World that the islands, and some of the coastal mainland, were occupied by Creek Indians. These Indians were said to be tall persons who were well shaped but appeared to be peaceful.

The Spanish moved into this area in the New World and got right to work attempting to convert these Indians to Christianity. The Spanish also made every attempt to take over control of the Creek's lands and their towns. Like oil and water trying to mix, or not trying, the two lifestyles and religious beliefs were totally incompatible. The whole situation ended in a lot of misunderstanding, hurt feelings and hurt heads, as well as some martyrdom for five Franciscan missionaries in 1597.

Schoettle, H. E. Taylor. A Naturalist's Guide to St. Simons Island. Watermarks Printing Company, St. Simons Island, GA, 1993.

Jun 5, 2008 9:16 PM

Guest :

Another fine example of how white man conquered and ruined another area of beauty tended to by the First People. What was done in the ancient past by the ever-greedy white man cannot be undone, but we could open our eyes and learn from past mistakes, couldn't we? All the political correctness of our times, all the insistence of not placing blame....please, let's get over it! We desperately need to honestly admit where the Earth stands, forget about who's to blame and all that rot. We are the keepers of this planet, we can turn it around and heal it if enough people - millions and millions of people - all realize that they/we have the power to heal. Of course it won't be easy, or cheap, but isn't your life, your child's life, your grandchild's life on and on, worth the effort and expense? I think it is,and I am willing to change my lifestyle in whichever ways I can in order to preserve our planet. I hope there are enough of you out there who feel as I do, enough people who are willing to search their brains for types of ideas, suggestions, anything with ways to help rebuild our world. I'm tired of waiting for "the big guys" to come up with solutions, I think it is way past time for us all to work on this ourselves to cure the problem......What say you?