Opothle Yahola - Anadarko, OK - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

The bronze bust of Opothle Yahola sits atop a wood podium inside the museum building at the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians. Sculptor Betty Butts has shown him in a collarless tunic with a leather strap across his chest. He is wearing a cravat at his neck. He is wearing a cloth head covering with four feathers, held in place by a headband. The plaques reads:

OPOTHLE YAHOLA
Speaker – Prophet – Medicine Man
MVSKOKEE (CREEK)
1800 – 1863
Opothle Yahola, the Gifted Tuckabatchee was
Very Influential Within the Upper Towns. He
Led During the Removal of his People from
The Southeast to Indian Territory During the
Civil War. To Remain Neutral he and his
Followers Sought Refuge in Kansas. In Route
They Encountered Confederate Skirmishes
In Kansas. He Died and is Buried.

Though the leader of the Southern Creek Towns in Georgia was in agreement with removal of the people to Indian Territory, Opothle Yahola, leader of the Northern Towns refused to sign a treaty. He later led a delegation to Washington and eventually signed a treaty ceding all Creek lands east of the Mississippi to the U.S. Government. The tribal members were free to move to Indian Territory, or remain in Georgia. As happened so many times, the treaty was later broken by the government and the Indian people were forcibly moved.

In 1861, during the Civil War, Yahola led 5000 men, women and children on foot to Kansas to seek refuge behind Union Army lines. They were overtaken by Confederate soldiers and lost the battles. A few survivors did move on into Kansas and remained until 1865. Yahola died in 1863 and is buried near Belmont, Kansas.

[Biographical information from the Museum’s Self-Guiding Tour pamphlet.]

URL of the statue: Not listed

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