Muscogee Nation announces new brand in the wake of affirmed reservation status.
May 4, 2021
Media Contact: Jason Salsman
O: (539) 286-4559
OKMULGEE, Okla. — The Muscogee Nation has announced the launch of a new brand identity that coincides with the affirmed status as a reservation.
“The identity of the Nation and how we’re viewed in the public has been discussed several times over the years,” Principal Chief David Hill said. “With this announcement coinciding with our new era as an affirmed reservation, we thought the timing was right for an update on our brand.”
This campaign is not an official name change or a removal of the tribe’s seal, both of which are protected by the Constitution. The seal is intended for legal documents and anything representing the government, such as legislation, proclamations and executive orders. In many places, the seal and logo will appear together. The name in all official business will still be the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. This initiative is solely focused on the marketing and branding of the Nation to the public.
“We’re changing the general public’s perception of who we are and what we do,” Muscogee Nation Creative Manager Brian OnTheHill said. “The British coined the misnomer ‘Creek.’ When this alias appears in parentheses alongside the proper name of the Nation it creates confusion among the general public. In order to solidify the Nation’s identification and keep the connection to the tribal seal, we focused the brand on Muscogee.”
OnTheHill, a Muscogee citizen, created the new logo and took inspiration from Mississippian design on pottery and shell carvings, to connect the Nation’s current status to its history.
Each of the logo’s four components has a longer limb and each of them reach toward the other, just as many Mississippian motifs intertwine, to form a whole. This is in reference to the union of the Muscogee-speaking tribal towns to create the Creek Confederacy and our maintained connectedness as a people. The four pieces of the logo refer to the sacred number within traditional Muscogee doctrine. Four represents balance, as in the symmetrical shape of the logo.
“We are not denying our history,” OnTheHill said. “We are declaring our own identity.”
The URL of the tribe’s website has also changed (www.muscogeenation.com) to reflect consistency with the branding update, and a new website design is in process. The Nation celebrated the reveal with new television spots, branded masks for all employees and other marketing initiatives to be announced.
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