Changing Lands
Before European contact around 1500, the Cherokee controlled 140,000 square miles (90 million acres) of vast wilderness throughout 8 present-day states including North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Virginia and Mississippi. They had a robust population that, many experts feel, numbered close to 1 million. They had an agricultural based economy with active trading routes throughout the southeast and into the Ohio river valley. Rich hunting grounds provided food and skins for the natives. Sadly, the coming of Europeans signaled an end to their peaceful, harmonious way of life and an end to the freedoms they had enjoyed for thousands of years.
Today, as you can see in the map below, the Cherokee claim just a minute fraction of that original land (left). The Eastern Cherokee reside in the Qualla Boundary which encompasses a mere 82.6 square miles (52,000 acres).
Today, as you can see in the map below, the Cherokee claim just a minute fraction of that original land (left). The Eastern Cherokee reside in the Qualla Boundary which encompasses a mere 82.6 square miles (52,000 acres).
The Rutherford Expedition
By 1776, American colonists were encroaching more and more into Cherokee territory. Discovery of the vast and beautiful land, coupled with whispers of gold, brought the white man dangerously close to natives. Natives who were desperately holding on to what they had always known and willing to die to protect it. Westward expansion had begun and nothing would stop it. Even land that had been legally designated as Cherokee territory (through treaties and agreements) was taken and used by American settlers. The Cherokee, determined to make one last stand against this injustice, signed treaties with the British to fight against the colonists. These treaties afforded the natives benefits such as armaments, supplies, horses and other munitions to help them battle the colonists. But even with these more modern weapons, the Cherokee were no match for the large forces that the colonists amassed. In September of 1776 Griffith Rutherford led an expedition of 2500 men against the Cherokee to obliterate every remnant of the natives that they could find. This "scorched earth" policy effectively decimated the Cherokee. Those that survived had to hide out in the forests over the winter eating only wild game and plants. By the next year, in utter desperation, they signed peace treaties with the colonists ceding their land. Their population had gone from 36,000 in the 1750s to a mere 7,000 by 1777.
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was no friend of the Native Americans. From fighting them on the battlefield to fighting them in the Nation's courts and legislature, Jackson saw the Native Americans as one obstacle in the way of westward expansion. Jackson's attitude toward Native Americans was paternalistic and patronizing -- he described them as children in need of guidance. Just one year after taking presidential office he pushed through the legislation that would effectively remove all Natives from their rightful lands. This piece of legislation, "The Indian Removal Act", gave the president power to negotiate removal treaties with Native tribes living east of the Mississippi. Under these treaties, the Indians were to give up their lands east of the Mississippi in exchange for lands to the west. The "removal" was supposed to be voluntary and peaceful - and it was that way for the tribes that agreed to the conditions. Many tribes in the southeast, including the Cherokee, resisted these treaties and refused to leave. The Cherokee were essentially tricked into the Treaty of New Echota when Jackson had illegitimate Cherokee leaders sign for the entire Cherokee nation. The rightful Cherokee leaders were astonished and immediately notified the government of the mistake. 15,000 legitimate Cherokee natives signed a letter of protest to the Supreme Court requesting that ratification of the treaty be blocked. The Supreme Court ignored their pleas and the treaty was ratified in 1836. The Cherokee were given two years to migrate voluntarily to new lands in Oklahoma, but by 1838, only 2,000 had emigrated. 16,000 remained on their rightful homelands and refused to leave. In what many believe was one of the lowest points in United States history, the government sent in 7,000 troops, who forced the Cherokees into stockades at bayonet point. Without even time to gather their belongings, the Cherokee were herded from their homeland as their homes were being looted by whites.
The Trail of Tears
There is nothing much that needs to be added to this reading, by Johnny Cash, of a first-person account of the Trail of Tears. It was written by John G. Burnett on his birthday, December 11, 1890 at the age of 80 years old. He recorded this account of his experiences with the Cherokee so that his children and grandchildren would always know the truth about what happened to the Cherokee during this horrific and cruel part of United States history. Many things could be written about the events surrounding the forced removal of the Cherokee, but listening to this 2-part account draws one closer to the emotions and truth of this atrocity than all the facts and figures that could fill this void.
Cherokee Leaders Speak on the Injustices
Dragging Canoe
In 1775 Richard Henderson, in negotiating the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, took control from the Cherokee of lands in the area of present-day Kentucky. Dragging Canoe, Cherokee warrior, shortly thereafter addressed the fate of his people:
"We had hoped that the white men would not be willing to travel beyond the mountains. Now that hope is gone. They have passed the mountains, and have settled upon Cherokee land. They wish to have that usurpation sanctioned by treaty. When that is gained, the same encroaching spirit will lead them upon other land of the Cherokees. New cessions will be asked. Finally the whole country, which the Cherokees and their fathers have so long occupied, will be demanded, and the remnant of Ani-Yunwiya, the Real People, once so great and formidable, will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness. There they will be permitted to stay only a short while, until they again behold the advancing banners of the same greedy host. Not being able to point out any further retreat for the miserable Cherokees, the extinction of the whole race will be proclaimed. Should we not therefore run all risks, and incur all consequences, rather than submit to further loss of our country? Such treaties may be alright for men who are too old to hunt or fight. As for me, I have my young warriors about me. We will have our lands. I have spoken."
Corntassel
At the signing of the Treaty of Long Island of Holston in 1777, Cherokee chiefs ceded areas east of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina as well as additional lands in Tennessee and Virginia. Corn Tassel, a venerable chief from the Overhill Towns, addressed Virginia commissioners and responded to demands that even more land be ceded:
"Thus, you marched into our towns; they were left to your mercy; you killed a few scattered and defenseless individuals, spread fire and desolation wherever you pleased, and returned again to your own habitations.…
Again, were we to inquire by what law or authority you set up a claim, I answer none! Your laws extend not into our country, nor ever did. You talk of the law of nature and the law of nations, and they are both against you. Indeed, much has been advanced on the want of what you term civilization among the Indians; and many proposals have been made to us to adopt your laws, your religion, your manners and your customs.…
You say: Why do not the Indians till the ground and live as we do? May we not, with equal propriety, ask, Why the white people do not hunt and live as we do?… This is not a mere affected injury; it is a grievance which we equitably complain of and it demands a permanent redress. The great God of Nature has placed us in different situations. It is true that he has endowed you with many superior advantages; but he has not created us to be your slaves. We are a separate people!"
In 1775 Richard Henderson, in negotiating the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, took control from the Cherokee of lands in the area of present-day Kentucky. Dragging Canoe, Cherokee warrior, shortly thereafter addressed the fate of his people:
"We had hoped that the white men would not be willing to travel beyond the mountains. Now that hope is gone. They have passed the mountains, and have settled upon Cherokee land. They wish to have that usurpation sanctioned by treaty. When that is gained, the same encroaching spirit will lead them upon other land of the Cherokees. New cessions will be asked. Finally the whole country, which the Cherokees and their fathers have so long occupied, will be demanded, and the remnant of Ani-Yunwiya, the Real People, once so great and formidable, will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness. There they will be permitted to stay only a short while, until they again behold the advancing banners of the same greedy host. Not being able to point out any further retreat for the miserable Cherokees, the extinction of the whole race will be proclaimed. Should we not therefore run all risks, and incur all consequences, rather than submit to further loss of our country? Such treaties may be alright for men who are too old to hunt or fight. As for me, I have my young warriors about me. We will have our lands. I have spoken."
Corntassel
At the signing of the Treaty of Long Island of Holston in 1777, Cherokee chiefs ceded areas east of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina as well as additional lands in Tennessee and Virginia. Corn Tassel, a venerable chief from the Overhill Towns, addressed Virginia commissioners and responded to demands that even more land be ceded:
"Thus, you marched into our towns; they were left to your mercy; you killed a few scattered and defenseless individuals, spread fire and desolation wherever you pleased, and returned again to your own habitations.…
Again, were we to inquire by what law or authority you set up a claim, I answer none! Your laws extend not into our country, nor ever did. You talk of the law of nature and the law of nations, and they are both against you. Indeed, much has been advanced on the want of what you term civilization among the Indians; and many proposals have been made to us to adopt your laws, your religion, your manners and your customs.…
You say: Why do not the Indians till the ground and live as we do? May we not, with equal propriety, ask, Why the white people do not hunt and live as we do?… This is not a mere affected injury; it is a grievance which we equitably complain of and it demands a permanent redress. The great God of Nature has placed us in different situations. It is true that he has endowed you with many superior advantages; but he has not created us to be your slaves. We are a separate people!"
Changing Populations
cherokee_population_chart.docx | |
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Survivors and rebirth
Tsali
Amazingly, a few hundred Cherokee avoided the troops that cold November day, by hiding deep in the mountains that they knew so well. They joined together and eventually, a deal was struck between the Army and the remaining, brave survivors. Tsali, a leading Cherokee brave, agreed to surrender himself to General Winfield Scott to be executed in exchange for permission for his people to legally stay in North Carolina. These brave Cherokee survivors began the long, slow process of creating a new, vibrant society that resides today inside the Qualla Boundary in the western-most part of our state. For images of the beautiful territory that the Eastern Cherokee Nation now calls home, click here.