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Eufaula in Barbour County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
 

Chief Eufaula (Yoholo Micco)

In Life and Legend

— Creek Heritage Trail —

 
 
Chief Eufaula (Yoholo Micco) Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
1. Chief Eufaula (Yoholo Micco) Marker
Inscription. "Chief Eufaula," the man often referred to in the historical record as "Yoholo Micco," was a Creek chieftain from the Upper Creek town of Eufaula. Born in the late 1700s, he fought alongside allied Creeks with United States forces against his Red Stick Creek brethren in the Creek War of 1813-14. Following the war, Chief Eufaula rose to assume a variety of leadership positions including helping negotiate treaties between the creeks and the U.S. He died in Arkansas in 1838, shortly after being forcibly removed from his homeland.

The ceremonial title Yoholo Micco is closely associated with an important Creek ritual. During meetings in their town square grounds, Creek chiefs, or miccos, commonly drank a tea made from yaupon holly leaves known as "acee" (or "asi"). The drink was believed to be both a stimulant and purifier. As it was consumed, a "yaholo", or "shouter," frequently sang ceremonial chants. Hence, a leader who sang these traditional songs might be referred to as the "Yahola (or Yaholo) Micco."

Yoholo Micco is believed to have been the "Chief of Eufaula" who presented an emotional address to the Alabama legislature at the state capitol in Tuscaloosa in 1836. Reputedly, the speech was given while the chief was on his way west to Indian Territory after forced removal. While his exact words are lost
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to history, accounts of the words he delivered have become a part of our memory of the process of Creek Removal. This may be in no small part due to the fact that they sound as if he accepted removal with resignation. Although Chief Eufaula was known as an advocate of accommodation with Americans so as to avoid war, his true thoughts on the course his people were forced to take will likely never be known.

[Left Insert]
What's in a Name?
The names "Eufaula" and "Yoholo Micco" are the subject of much confusion. The place name "Eufaula" for which the legendary chieftain was known appears often in Creek history, and multiple towns carried that name. While there was a Lower Creek town known as Eufaula, the name is actually most closely identified with the Upper Creeks of the Tallapoosa and Coosa valleys, where there were two towns known as Eufaula. Multiple Creek leaders from these towns were sometimes referred to as "of Eufaula," further adding to the confusion. The name has proved to be an enduring one as there is a town of Eufaula in Oklahoma within the modern Muscogee Creek Nation named in honor of these historic communities.

[Right Insert]
"I come here brothers, to see the great house of Alabama, and the men who make the law, and to say farewell in brotherly kindness before I go to the far West, where my people are now
Chief Eufaula Marker (farthest north) along Yoholo Micco Trail. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
2. Chief Eufaula Marker (farthest north) along Yoholo Micco Trail.
going...In these lands of Alabama, which have belonged to my forefathers and where their bones lie buried, I see that the Indian fires are going out. Soon they will be cold. New fires are lighting in the West for us, and we will go there. I do not believe our Great Father means to harm his red children, but that he wishes us well...We leave behind our good will to the people of Alabama who will build the great houses and to the men who make the laws."


[Photo Captions]
Bottom left map: 1818 map by Eleazer Early showing Upper Creek town of Eufaula
Courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection

Middle top portrait: Yoholo Micco
Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History

Middle photo: The Alabama capitol in Tuscaloosa
Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Top right print: Southeastern Indians consuming acee
Courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

 
Erected 2015 by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Friends of the Yoholo Micco Heritage Trail.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native AmericansSettlements & SettlersWars, US Indian. A significant historical year for this entry is 1838.
 
Location. 31° 53.687′ N, 85° 8.367′ 
The view south, along the trail, back to Broad Street. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
3. The view south, along the trail, back to Broad Street.
W. Marker is in Eufaula, Alabama, in Barbour County. Marker is on East Broad Street east of North Livingston Avenue. Interpretive marker is located on the Yoholo Micco Trail, about 500 feet north of Broad Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: East Broad Street, Eufaula AL 36027, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Cotton and Creek Country (here, next to this marker); The Second Creek War in the Eufaula Area (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); The City of Eufaula (about 600 feet away); The Town of Irwinton (about 600 feet away); The Creek Town of Eufaula (about 600 feet away); William Thomas "Tom" Mann / Eufaula, Alabama (about 600 feet away); Central Railroad of Georgia Freight Depot (about 600 feet away); Eufaula (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Eufaula.
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Marker in Tuscaloosa about Chief Eufaula's speech to the Alabama Legislature.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 17, 2017. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,721 times since then and 137 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on February 17, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

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Mar. 29, 2024