Second Chief Alfred Berryhill from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma will speak at the Friends of Moccasin Bend Lecture Series on Nov. 3.
The Friends of Moccasin Bend Lecture Series will present Second Chief Alfred Berryhill from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma on Monday, Nov. 3. The lecture is open to the public and free of charge. It begins at 7 p.m. in the Tennessee Aquarium Auditorium (members entrance).
Most people are aware of the local Cherokee history and presence, but the Muscogee people lived in the area for an even longer time. There were Creek people who were removed forcibly in the 1830's, just as the Cherokee people were.
Beginning in East Tennessee about 900 A.D. and continuing until the mid-17th century, the Mississippian period indentifies the time that indigenous cultures reached their zenith with multi-mound towns, intensive maize horticulture, and a stratified socio-political structure based on kinship. Archaeologically, it is represented by shell tempered ceramics, rectangular buildings and triangular projectile points/arrowheads. Copper ornaments, effigy pipes and marine shell ornaments suggest a widespread trade network among adjacent Mississippian regions. Palisaded villages became the dominant settlement type and substantial mound construction declined.
At the time of contact (1540-1541) by the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto, Moccasin Bend was the site of this region's principal population and political center at the site now known as Hampton Place. These people were the ancestors of today's Muscogee (Creek) and Yuchi people.
Second Chief, Muscogee (Creek) Nation As Second Chief, Alfred Berryhill serves as chairman of the Tribal Trade and Commerce Board, and the Muscogee Nation Business Enterprise Board. He also serves on the Claremore Indian Hospital Board, Okmulgee Creek Council House Board, Five Civilized Tribes Museum Board, and the Festival Committee Board.
The Second Chief speaks, reads, writes, and sings in Mvskoke and is a deacon/ exhorter, at the Tallahassee Indian Methodist Church, the church his father once pastored. He belongs to the alligator clan and his tribal town is Arbeka. His father was of the deer clan.
Mr. Berryhill has served as the administrative inter (Economic Development) Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington D.C.; member of the Board of Trustees, Tallahassee Church, assistant treasurer, Tallahassee Church; member of Diabetes Advisory Board; secretary and co-founder of Bearers of the Cross, Inc.; and the former administrative assistant, Okmulgee Indian Health Center. He is a graduate of Sequoyah High School and Haskell Institute. He also attended Oklahoma State University, majoring in business administration. Mr. Berryhill resides in Okmulgee County, Ok. and has a son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons.