Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Indians
Alicia Stephens
AIU
Abstract
In this paper I will discuss the history of the Cherokee Indians in the United States. First by describing the tribes pre-Columbian history to include the settlement dates and known cultural details. Then a brief description of the cultural and religious beliefs of the tribe will be given, as well as the tribe’s history after contact with settlers. Finally discussing John Ross, who he was and how he affected the Cherokee Indians.
Cherokee Indians The word Cherokee is believed to have evolved from a Choctaw word meaning “Cave People”. It was picked up and used by Europeans and eventually accepted the adopted by Cherokees in the form of Tsalagi or Jalagi. Traditionally, the people now known as Cherokee refer to themselves as aniyun-wiya, a name usually translated as “the Real People” sometimes “the Original People.” Cherokees’ have had a democratic government (Conley, Robert J. 2000). The Cherokees’ first experience with the invading white man was almost certainly a brief encounter with the deadly expeditionary force of Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto in 1540. English colonial traders began to appear among the Cherokees around 1673. Such interactions produced some mixed marriages, usually between a white trader and a Cherokee woman. There were three main events during the 18th and 19th centuries: war with the colonist in 1711; epidemics of European disease (primarily smallpox); and the continual cession of land in 1775. The Cherokees were forced to sign one treaty after another with the new United States government, each one giving away more land to the new nation. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson planned to move all eastern Indians to a location west of the Mississippi River, and signed an agreement with the state of Georgia promising to accomplish that deed as soon as possible. Andrew Jackson actually set the so-called “Removal Process” in motion. Meantime the government had been doing
Alicia Stephens
AIU
Abstract
In this paper I will discuss the history of the Cherokee Indians in the United States. First by describing the tribes pre-Columbian history to include the settlement dates and known cultural details. Then a brief description of the cultural and religious beliefs of the tribe will be given, as well as the tribe’s history after contact with settlers. Finally discussing John Ross, who he was and how he affected the Cherokee Indians.
Cherokee Indians The word Cherokee is believed to have evolved from a Choctaw word meaning “Cave People”. It was picked up and used by Europeans and eventually accepted the adopted by Cherokees in the form of Tsalagi or Jalagi. Traditionally, the people now known as Cherokee refer to themselves as aniyun-wiya, a name usually translated as “the Real People” sometimes “the Original People.” Cherokees’ have had a democratic government (Conley, Robert J. 2000). The Cherokees’ first experience with the invading white man was almost certainly a brief encounter with the deadly expeditionary force of Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto in 1540. English colonial traders began to appear among the Cherokees around 1673. Such interactions produced some mixed marriages, usually between a white trader and a Cherokee woman. There were three main events during the 18th and 19th centuries: war with the colonist in 1711; epidemics of European disease (primarily smallpox); and the continual cession of land in 1775. The Cherokees were forced to sign one treaty after another with the new United States government, each one giving away more land to the new nation. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson planned to move all eastern Indians to a location west of the Mississippi River, and signed an agreement with the state of Georgia promising to accomplish that deed as soon as possible. Andrew Jackson actually set the so-called “Removal Process” in motion. Meantime the government had been doing
References: Bullard, F.B., M.A., (1989), Sage Spirit.com, Civilization and Southern Identity of Cherokee Indians of the old south. Conley, Robert J., (2000), “Cherokees”, Gale enclyopedia of multicultural America. Indians.org, (2011), Retrieved Sept 19, 2012. Moulton, Gary E., (2004), New Ga Encylopedia.com, Retrieved Sept 19, 2012.