Creek Indian Tribe breaks ground on Native American Cultural Center

MILTON — The Santa Rosa Creek Indian Tribe broke ground on their Native American Cultural Center Aug. 1 at their tribal grounds, 95 acres located on Willard Norris Road.

The cultural center will include an artifact museum with more than 3,000 Native American artifacts, including a peace pipe used in the signing of a treaty between the head of the Crow Nation and the head of U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, and ashes and embers descended from a fire that burned in the Cherokee town of Tahlequah more than 1,000 years ago.

The facility will include a multi-purpose room that will provide space for seminars and performances, as well as musical demonstrations and educational presentations, according to the tribe's vice chief, Dan Helms.

The center will house a genealogy resource area, which will contain books, documents and other information the tribe has gained over the years, assisting the public in researching and documenting their Native American ancestry.

The tribe currently has more than 1,300 members and donates thousands of hours a year teaching and making presentations in the community.