PRESS RELEASE- For Release 11/17/2025
Media Contact: Natalie Oslund
natalie.oslund@archives.alabama.gov
(334) 353-1881
FOOD FOR THOUGHT LUNCHTIME LECTURE AT THE ARCHIVES
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 AT 12:00PM
MUSCOGEE CREEK HISTORY AND THE AMERICAN SOUTH, 1750-1815
PRESENTED BY DR. STEVEN PEACH
Montgomery, AL (11/17/2025) – The Alabama Department of Archives & History (ADAH) will continue its 2025 Food for Thought lunchtime lecture series on Thursday, November 20, at 12:00pm CT. Dr. Steven Peach will present Muscogee Creek History and the American South, 1750-1815. The program will be held in the ADAH’s Joseph M. Farley Alabama Power Auditorium in Montgomery. It will also be livestreamed on the ADAH’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Admission is FREE.
Dr. Steven Peach is an associate professor of U.S. history at Tarleton State University, part of the Texas A&M University System. He earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and M.A. and B.A. degrees from Northern Illinois University. His teaching focuses on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Native North America. His first book, Rivers of Power: Creek Political Culture in the Native South, 1750–1815, was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2024. He is currently working on a second book that examines Indigenous education in Indian Territory and early Oklahoma. Dr. Peach resides in Fort Worth with his wife, Aisha.
Dr. Peach’s presentation will use Rivers of Power to explore the story of the Muscogee Creeks of present-day central Alabama and western Georgia. Tracing the political alternatives to nationhood in Creek country, he will show how Creek men and women understood rivers as vital sources of political power, community cohesion, and regional influence. His talk will also highlight the alliances the Creeks forged with neighboring Native nations, including the Choctaws and Chickasaws, which played a central role in shaping the Native South.
For additional information, contact Alex Colvin at alex.colvin@archives.alabama.gov or (334) 353-4689. A complete schedule of our 2025 lunchtime lecture series is available at archives.alabama.gov. Food for Thought 2025 is sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Friends of the Alabama Archives.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state’s government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. The Museum of Alabama is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. The EBSCO Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. To learn more, visit www.archives.alabama.gov or call (334) 242-4364.
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