Local Native American Heritage Featured in Film

By Michael Butler

A documentary on the ties of the Upper Creek territory Tukabahchi in Tallassee to the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town in Oklahoma will be shown this weekend at the Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center.

“Searching for Thlopthlocco” features a couple of Tallasseeans, Errol Shaw and Trey Taylor.

“It’s been a life-long study for me,” Shaw said. “Since I was a child, I’ve been interested in the local history.”

Shaw and Taylor have been guides to some of the council members from Oklahoma during the making of the film.

“I love this relationship,” said Taylor, whose family has farmed the land where Tukabahchi once was. “My family has always been here. We respect the land.”

Still frame from the film, “Searching for Thlopthlocco”

Bill Goss wrote in the book, “Images of America – Tallassee,” that approximately 2,700 Creeks were forced out of Tukabahchi in what is known as the Trail of Tears. Many of them relocated to Oklahoma.

“A lot of the people in the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town are direct descendants,” said Thlopthlocco Tribal Town Historic Preservation Officer David Frank. “The filmmaker Kyle Bell is actually a direct descendent of Big Warrior, who was the chief at one time here.”

Bell is an Emmy award-winning editor and cinematographer from Tulsa. He has worked with renowned director Spike Lee.

From left: Errol Shaw, David Frank and Trey Taylor during an interview on WTLS

In the book, “The History of Tallassee,” Virginia Golden noted, “No story of Tallassee could be told without giving its Indian history. The accepted translation of Talisi from the Creek is “old town.” Undoubtedly it is from the Indian name that the modern spelling of Tallassee was derived.

“Tulsa, Oklahoma, developed when the Creek Nation was moved to that section following the Removal Treaty of 1832, is thought to have been named for Talisi.”

“It’s really exciting for historians like Errol and Trey,” Frank added. “It really shows with the enthusiasm. It’s almost like it was meant to be to give closure to the people of Thlopthlocco to understand their roots.”

Frank said that this film is just the first in a series of more documentaries to follow. Show times will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 12 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 13. For more information or tickets, visit the Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center on Facebook.