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Cherokee Indians
can trace their history back more than one thousand years. Their society
was based on hunting, trading, and agriculture, living in towns until
they encountered the first Europeans in 1540, when Spanish explorer
Hernando de Sota led an exploration through Cherokee territory. By the
time European explorers and traders arrived, Cherokee lands covered a
large part of what is now the southeastern United States.
Cherokee
Indians lived in small communities, usually located in fertile river
bottoms. Homes were wooden, circular frames covered with woven vines and
saplings plastered with mud. Each village consisted of up to 50 log and
mud huts grouped around the town square, called the Council House, where
ceremonial and public meetings were held. The council house was
seven-sided to represent the seven clans of the Cherokee: Bird, Paint,
Deer, Wolf, Blue, Long Hair, and Wild Potato. Each tribe elected two
chiefs -- a Peace Chief who counseled during peaceful times and a War
Chief who made decisions during times of war. However, the Chiefs did not
rule absolutely. Decision making was a more democratic process, with
tribal members having the opportunity to voice concerns.
Cherokee
Indians society was a matriarchy. The children took the clan of the
mother, and kinship was traced through the mother's family. Women had an
equal voice in the affairs of the tribe. Marriage was only allowed between
members of different clans. Property was passed on according to clan
alliance.
In the
late 18th century, the European settlers arrived in significant numbers.
The Cherokee Indians battled Carolina settlers in the 1760's, but
eventually withdrew to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Eventually, the TN
Cherokee Indians readily adopted the tools, weapons and customs introduced
by the Europeans. Desire for these items changed the Cherokee Indians life
as they began to hunt animals, not just for food, but also for skins to
trade as well. As the white population expanded conflicts arose. War and
disease decimated the tribe. The Cherokee Indians were eventually forced
to sign over much of their land, first to the British and then to the
United States.
GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT:
Europeans
first settled Cades Cove in 1818. Before their arrival, Cades
Cove as part of Cherokee Nation, who called the Cove, Tsiyaha or
"place of the river otter." Cherokee Indians never lived in the
Cove, but used the land as its summer hunting ground for river otters, elk
and bison.
In the
early 1800's, Cherokee Indians began a period of change. The Cherokee
Nation was established with a democratic government composed of a Chief,
Vice-Chief, and 32 Council Members who were elected by the members of the
tribe. A constitution and code of law were implemented for the nation. In
1808, Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith, invented a system for writing the
Cherokee Indians language and within two years, almost all of the
Cherokee's could read and write. The Cherokee Council passed a resolution
to establish a newspaper for their nation. A printing press was ordered,
the type cast for the Cherokee syllabary, and the Cherokee Phoenix was in
business.
REMOVAL:
Unfortunately,
the Cherokee Indians did not enjoy prosperous times for long. With the
discovery of gold on Cherokee lands in 1828 and Andrew Jackson's 1830
Removal Act, calling for the relocation of all native peoples east of the
Mississippi River to Oklahoma, the U. S. government forced the Cherokees
from their homes in 1838. Almost 14,000 Cherokees began the trek westward
in October of 1838. More than 4,000 died from cold, hunger, and disease
during the six-month journey that came to be known as the "Trail of
Tears." Altogether, about 100,000 natives, including Cherokee,
Chickasaw, Seminole and Choctaw survived the journey.
A few
Cherokees refused to move and hid among the wilderness of the Great Smoky
Mountains, avoiding the army and authorities. These Cherokees, now called
the Eastern Band, were allowed to claim some of their lands in western
North Carolina in the 1870's. In 1889, this 56,000 acre sect of land was
chartered and is now called the Qualla Indian Reservation, home to almost
11,000 descendents.
EASTERN
AND WESTERN BANDS:
Prior
to the "Trail of Tears," a small group of Cherokees in western
North Carolina had already received permission to be excluded from the
move west. Those individuals, often called the Oconaluftee Indians, did
not live on Cherokee Nation land and considered themselves separate from
the Cherokee Nation. Permission for the Oconaluftee Cherokee Indians to
remain in North Carolina had been obtained in part through the efforts of
William H. Thomas, a successful business man, who had grown up among the
Cherokee Indians. For more than 30 years he served as their attorney and
adviser.
To
avoid jeopardizing their special status, the Oconaluftee Cherokees
reluctantly assisted in the search for Cherokee Nation Indians who had
fled to the mountains to avoid capture. Among those in hiding was Tsali
who had become a hero to many Cherokees for his resistance to forced
removal. Tsali was being sought because of his role in the deaths of
several soldiers. To prevent further hardships for the Cherokees still in
hiding, Tsali eventually agreed to surrender and face execution. Due in
part to Tsali's sacrifice, many of those in hiding were eventually allowed
to settle among the Cherokee Indians of western North
Carolina. This was to be the beginning of the Eastern Band of Cherokees.
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