Long before Atlanta, Georgia, became a city—before its roads, railways, and skyline emerged—this land was home to the Muscogee people, who thrived along its waterways. The creek before you was more than just a water source; it was a lifeline, a sacred space that provided nourishment, shelter, and spiritual grounding. The Muscogee, also known as the Creek Nation, practiced deep ecological knowledge, maintaining the land through controlled burns, seasonal planting, and a respect for the natural cycles that sustained their communities. Their presence was evident through the earthen mounds they built for ceremonial and social purposes, structures that once dotted the Southeast, including areas near present-day Atlanta.
However, as European settlers expanded into the Southeast in the late 1700s and early 1800s, Indigenous land was increasingly threatened. The land that had been stewarded for generations was seen as a commodity rather than a home, leading to a series of treaties, broken promises, and violent removals. The Muscogee were forcibly displaced under policies like the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which culminated in the Trail of Tears—a brutal journey that saw thousands of Muscogee people pushed westward to what is now Oklahoma. Though their physical presence in Atlanta was erased, their legacy remains imprinted in the land, in the river systems they once navigated, and in the enduring struggle for Indigenous recognition and environmental justice. The creek, still flowing, serves as a reminder that this land carries memory, resistance, and the stories of those who came before.