Oketeyeconne / Chattahoochee Theater
Oketeyeconne
Oketeyeconne, or Okitiyakani, was a Hitchiti-speaking Lower Creek town located near here on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River south of Sandy Creek during the late frontier period. Described in 1799 by Benjamin Hawkins, “. . . the little village, Oketeyeconne, is situated on good land . . . From this village they have settlements down as low as the forks of the river . . . They raise plenty of corn and rice and have cattle, horses, and hogs.”
As the southernmost of the main towns on the Chattahoochee, the people shared affiliations with -- to the north -- the predominantly Muskogee-speaking Creek Confederation and a Hitchiti ´mother town’ and -- to the south -- Hitchiti-speaking towns of the Sawokli, Tamathli, Apalachicola, Yamasee Mikasuki, and other Seminoles.
Though peaceful and considered friendly by the Americans, many of the Lower Creeks and Seminoles had strong ties to the British from Revolutionary War service and trade. Distressed by continual encroachments of white settlers, the American war against the Red Sticks faction of the Upper Creeks, and a severe shortage of food, Lower Creeks and Seminoles led by William and Thomas Perryman appealed to the British and Spanish for arms and supplies in September 1813.
Chattahoochee Theater
William and Thomas Perryman became leaders of the war faction of the Lower Creeks and Seminoles. Their settlement, known as Perryman, on the Chattahoochee above the Flint, became headquarters for the ‘Hostiles’. Their relative, James Perryman, was chief of Oketeyeconne.
The Creek Indians’ request for aid suggested to the British high command a strategy of using privilegeless groups such as Indians, slaves, and pirates in the Gulf region to divert American forces from Canada. The Creeks indicated that contact could be maintained with the Four Nations -- Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees -- from Apalachicola Bay. Thus the Chattahoochee became central to British invasion plans. Upon arrival with munitions at Apalachicola in May 1814, the British found many starving Red Stick refugees who had come there following their defeat by Jackson at Horseshoe Bend in March.
People from Oketeyeconne were prominent among those being armed. Hawkins reported: “They gave four kegs of cartridges of 100 lbs each to Oketeyeconne and Tuttallossee and some arms, short rifles and others.” Receiving such reports, Jackson demanded a huge land cession, mostly from his Lower Creek allies, with the line strategically located just south of Oketeyeconne to suppress the insurgency.
Marker is on Eufaula Street (Georgia Route 39) 0.6 miles north of Coleman Road (Georgia Route 266), on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
