George Washington Grayson facts for kids

George Washington Grayson, also known by his Muscogee name Tulwa Tustunugge (meaning Wolf Warrior), was an important leader of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. He was born on May 12, 1843, and passed away on December 2, 1920.

Grayson was a successful businessman, a rancher, and a writer. He also published the Indian Journal newspaper. He played a key role in the Creek Nation during a time of big changes. This was when Indian Territory was being prepared to become the state of Oklahoma. Even though he had some European ancestors, he strongly identified as Creek. He worked hard to support his nation. He even helped try to create a Native American state called State of Sequoyah, but it wasn't approved by the U.S. Congress. Later, in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Grayson as the chief of the Creek Nation. He served as chief until his death. Before this, he had represented the Creek Nation in Congress.

Early Life and Family

George Washington Grayson was born in 1843 in what was then called Indian Territory. He was named after the first U.S. president. His Muscogee name, Tulwa Tustunugge, meant Wolf Warrior.

His mother, Jane "Jennie" (Wynne), was a mixed-race Creek woman. Her father was of Welsh descent, and her mother was also mixed-race Creek from the Coweta town. George's father, James Grayson, was also of mixed heritage. James's father was named Tulwa Tustunugge, and he was a descendant of a Scottish trader named Robert Grierson. This trader had married Sin-o-gee of the Hillabee Town in the Creek Nation in the late 1700s.

George Grayson's family was very successful. By 1813, his grandfather owned a large farm called a plantation. Through his mother, George Grayson was part of the Tiger Clan and the Coweta Town. The Creek people followed a matrilineal system. This means children were considered part of their mother's clan. They inherited property and important positions through her family line. George was one of several children. He later went into business with his brothers, Samuel and Pilot.

Grayson's ancestors had relatives in both the Upper Creek and Lower Creek towns in the American Southeast. These groups had been divided during the Creek War. His family had moved from the Southeast years before the official Indian Removal of the 1830s. They lived in Arkansas and then in Indian Territory. George attended an English-language Creek school called Asbury Manual Labor School. He also went to Arkansas College from 1858 to 1860. This helped him develop a lifelong love for history and literature. He spoke both Muscogee and English very well.

Military Service and Career

During the American Civil War, George Washington Grayson served as a captain for the Confederacy. He led a company of the 2nd Creek Mounted Volunteers. It was during this time that he received his war name, Tulwa Tustunugge (Wolf Warrior). Many mixed-race Creek people, especially those from the Lower Creek towns, supported the Confederacy. However, nearly half of the tribe, mostly from the Upper Creek towns, sided with the Union. These divisions continued even after the war ended.

In the early 1870s, Grayson helped found the city of Eufaula, Oklahoma. This happened when the railroad was built to serve the area.

A Bridge Between Worlds

Grayson's family had connections to both sides of the Creek Nation: his father's family was from the Upper Creek, and his mother's from the Lower Creek. From a young age, Grayson used his education and his ability to interpret languages to become a very influential person. He helped connect the Creek Nation with white settlers and the U.S. government. His many contacts also helped him form business partnerships. He worked with other Creek people, entrepreneurs from other Native American groups, and non-Native Americans.

He and his brother Sam started a company called Grayson Brothers. This company grew to own a retail store, rental properties, a cotton gin, and cattle ranches. They also had other farming businesses. After 1880, they took control of the Indian Journal, which was the newspaper of the Creek Nation. By 1891, they were raising 4,000 cattle on their lands. Grayson also had other business partnerships, including with his father-in-law, G. W. Stidham, and Joseph M. Perryman.

Grayson helped manage the distribution of goods, money, land, and political influence. This was similar to the traditional role of a headman in the tribe. However, the U.S. government passed the Curtis Act, which weakened tribal governments. By the time Grayson was appointed chief by the federal government in 1917, the Creek National Council had lost much of its power.

Working for the Creek Nation

Grayson strongly supported Creek nationalism. He served as the Creek Nation's delegate to Congress. He was also part of the Sequoyah Constitutional Convention. This group wrote a constitution to try and create a Native American state. Their goal was to prevent Indian Territory from being included in the proposed state of Oklahoma. However, this effort did not get approval from Congress. Actions continued to take away Native American land rights and dissolve tribal governments. Oklahoma was finally admitted as a state in 1907.

Grayson did not win the election for principal chief of the Creek Nation in 1903. In 1908, he began writing his autobiography. Three years later, he met John W. Stanton, a researcher from the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of Ethnography. Grayson became Stanton's main source of information for a major study of the Creek people. Grayson knew a lot about Creek customs and traditions that younger people had not learned. Stanton highlighted Grayson's important help in his study. In 1913, Grayson also met with the Rodman Wanamaker expedition, led by Dr. Joseph K. Dixon. This expedition aimed to preserve and honor Native American cultures. Grayson shared a full history of the Creek people, noting the many times European Americans had betrayed them.

After the tribal government was dissolved by the Curtis Act, Grayson was later appointed as chief by President Woodrow Wilson in 1917. He served until his death in 1920. He oversaw the sale of the Creek Capitol building to the county government after Oklahoma became a state. Perhaps feeling that tribal life had changed greatly with the end of its government, Grayson ended his autobiography with a history of the land allotment process. This process, where tribal lands were divided into individual plots, happened 20 years before he died.

Marriage and Family Life

George Washington Grayson married Georgeanna Annie Stidham in 1869. She was the daughter of G.W. Stidham and was also part of the mixed-heritage Creek community. They had nine children together and were said to have a very happy marriage. Grayson even dedicated his autobiography to her.

Their children were Orlena, Mabel, Walter, Eloise, Wash (Washington), Tsianina, Anna, Annette, and Daisy. Four of the Grayson children lived to adulthood: Lena (though she passed away at 22, leaving two children), Walter, Eloise, and Tsianina. They lived near their parents with their own families.