Red Shoes (Muskogean chief) facts for kids

Red Shoes was an important leader of the Tuskegee people, who were part of the larger Muscogee (Creek) group. He was born around 1720 and lived during the 1700s. Red Shoes mainly lived in what is now Alabama, near the city of Tuskegee, where the Alabama River splits. His influence, however, reached far into what is now Mississippi.

Family and Heritage

Red Shoes' father was also a leader named Red Shoes, from the Koasati people. His mother was named Sehoy. In the Muscogee culture, family lines are traced through the mother's side. This means Red Shoes belonged to the Wind Clan, just like his mother.

Red Shoes also had a full sister. He had a half-sister named Sehoy Marchand, who was the daughter of Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand. Sehoy Marchand had two children, Sehoy McPherson and Malcolm McPherson, with her first husband. Later, she married Lachlan McGillivray and had three more children: Alexander, Sophia, and Jeanette McGillivray. Alexander McGillivray later became a very famous Muscogee leader.

When Red Shoes' mother died around 1730, his father remarried. His father had another son with his new wife, and he also named this son Red Shoes. Alexander McGillivray, Red Shoes' nephew, explained that this second son named Red Shoes was not from the same mother or clan as the first Red Shoes.

How Red Shoes Died

Red Shoes died around 1783. His nephew, Alexander McGillivray, wrote a letter on January 3, 1784, explaining what happened. Alexander said that his uncle, Red Shoes, was killed while he was trying to get back some horses that had been stolen.