By David Pendered

July 28 – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the Okefenokee Swamp included “incomparably beautiful women” and “fierce men,” according to an account of the swamp published in 1791 by William Bartram, a Quaker natural scientist.

Some 235 years after the book’s publication, UNESCO on July 25 added the swamp to the World Heritage List. The designation doesn’t provide any protections, but does emphasize that the swamp’s been deemed special by the 194 member-states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, an agency of the UN.

Several media accounts of the listing of the swamp mention the presence of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and provide quotes from a recent statement issued by the chief.

This story provides a link to a story that provides details of Bartram’s account of the Muscogee (Creek) in the swamp. This story appeared in CommonFutureATL.com on July 24, 2022, at the height of a great battle over a proposal to mine minerals from near the swamp that some said could cause harm to the swamp.

The story in 2022 notes that Bartram identifies the swamp by its name of the era, Ouaquaphenogaw, a name that also appears on a map produced in 1795 by a London cartographer, H. D. Symonds.

Bartram reports the Muscogee (Creeks) portrayed the area as a “terrestrial paradise,” an “enchanting spot” with the “most valuable hunting grounds.” The women are “incomparably beautiful” and describe their husbands as “fierce men, and cruel to strangers.” The flowery language is typical of its era and rests in a book with the grand title,

• Travels through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, The Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogees, or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the Chactaws; Containing An Account of the Soil and Natural Productions of Those Regions, Together with Observations on the Manners of the Indians.

Of note, the full UNESCO designation states:

• “The property, located in southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida, protects the Okefenokee Swamp, the largest lowland freshwater peatland in the subtropical zone worldwide and one of the largest and most intact ecosystems within the North American Coastal Plain global biodiversity hotspot.
• “The property comprises a diverse mosaic of wetlands, savannas, and forests shaped by the ongoing interaction of water, fire, vegetation, and wildlife, with alternating fire and rainfall processes driving peat formation, vegetation structure, and biodiversity.
• “The site also contains significant areas of endangered Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) savanna, of which less than 3% remains, supporting high concentrations of plant species endemic to the region. Its extensive peat deposits provide an important archive of palaeo-environmental history and critical carbon storage.
• “The property supports exceptional biodiversity, including at least 856 plant species, 48 mammal species, 238 bird species, 39 fish species, and 90 reptile and amphibian species, and provides important habitat for migratory birds, threatened species, and a significant population of American alligators.

Creek Muscogee okefenokee unesco

CommonFutureATL