The Creek Nation was a loose confederacy of independent towns that ranked among the most sophisticated and powerful Native political organizations in North American history. Largely speakers of the Muskogee dialect, the Creeks coalesced from remnants of prehistoric societies and thrived for centuries. At its height, the nation consisted of about 22,000 people living in over seventy towns scattered throughout Alabama and Georgia. The Creek Nation was roughly organized into Upper and Lower districts, and many of the most important Lower Creek towns lay along the Chattahoochee. Fort Mitchell was a major assembly area for Creeks prior to their removal to the west, and the Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center was created there to honor the legacy of the Creek Indians and all Native Americans of the lower Chattahoochee Valley, featuring a large sculpture symbolic of the Sacred Fire that sat at the heart of every Creek town.