Chitto Harjo, the Crazy Snakes and the birth of Indian political activism in the twentieth century

Abstract

The Crazy Snake movement of 1900-1909 marked a significant transition in Native American history. In ardent opposition to allotment, a minority of Creek Indians, mostly full-bloods, sought to preserve their culture by demanding that their tribal government and the United States enforce the Treaty of 1832, which was the treaty that removed the Creeks from their homeland into Indian Territory. When circumstances in 1900 left the movement without leadership, Chitto Harjo, a Creek reknown for his oratory skill, assumed leadership and did not relinquish it until his mysterious death in 1909. The Crazy Snake opposition to allotment resulted in the use of federal troops in 1901 and the National Guard in 1909, marking the last time the United States resorted to military force to resolve an Indian conflict. White fear of Snake uprisings in 1901 and 1909 led to the arrest and imprisonment of Harjo and his followers in 1900, and Harjo's death in 1909. Chitto Harjo and the Creek Snakes failed to halt the encroachment of white culture upon their tribe. They also failed to preserve traditional Creek culture. At the time, the Creek Snake movement was an embarrassment to many non-Snake Creeks. The value of the Crazy Snake movement transcends their failure to enforce the earlier Treaty of 1832. The significance of the Crazy Snake movement is the intertribal organization it generated. The Crazy Snake movement represents the genesis of Indian political activism in the twentieth century. Traditional Creek acceptance of other tribes, along with Chitto Harjo's inclusive oratory, disseminated seeds of intertribal cooperation that blossomed into an official political organization called The Four Mothers Nations. Rather than resort to an older strategy of militant aggression against the United States, Native Americans, who opposed domination by whites, instead formed a coalition designed to influence state and federal legislators within acceptable forms of government in the United States. Indian political activism was given a foundation on which to flourish throughout the twentieth century.