= Cherokee = '''Cherokee''' was a [[UnitedStates/NativeAmericanNations|Native American nation]]. <> ---- == History == The Cherokee nation settled along the Keowee. While there was not necessarily a centralized leadership in the Cherokee nation, most tribes maintained close relations with the [[WorldHistory/BritishEmpire|British]]. * Joined with the colony of South Carolina in the [[UnitedStates/Seminole|Yammassee War]] * '''Attakullakulla''' travelled to [[UnitedKingdon/London|London]] to sign the '''Treaty of Whitehall''', formally ceding suzerainty to Britain * Joined with the British in the [[WorldHistory/SevenYearsWar|French and Indian War]] Maintaining relations with the [[UnitedStates|U.S.]] thereafter was challenging, however. '''Tsiyu Gansini''' (alt. ''Dragging Canoe'') led the Cherokee through the [[UnitedStates/Democratization|American Revolutionary War]] (joined with the British), the '''Cherokee War''' in 1786, the '''Cherokee-Franklin War''' in 1788, and the '''Battle of the Wabash''' in 1791. These notable outbreaks of warfare, as well as the decades of quiet violence between them, are sometimes known as the '''Cherokee-American Wars'''. With that said, the Cherokee did join with the [[UnitedStates/JamesMadison|U.S.]] in the [[UnitedStates/RedEagle|Red Stick War]]. A faction of the Cherokee took from this experience that [[UnitedStates/AndrewJackson|Jackson]] was dead-set on committing genocide, and voluntarily removed into lands purchased from the [[UnitedStates/Osage|Osage]]. Within the U.S., removal policy was formulated around the Cherokee nation. At the federal level, removal was controversial and the '''Indian Removal Act''' of 1830 barely passed. Prominent opponents included senators [[UnitedStates/TheodoreFrelinghuysen|Frelinghuysen]] and [[UnitedStates/HenryClay|Clay]], and congressman [[UnitedStates/DavidCrockett|Crockett]]. States then took the lead with implementation, particularly George where gold had been discovered. State laws carved out exclusions to the rights to contract, property, and testify in court. Lands could then be seized and sold to white settlers, funding the militant process. The [[UnitedStates/SupremeCourt|Supreme Court]] pushed back on this regime in '''Worcester v. Georgia''', finding that Georgia could not preempt the federal government on international treaties, but the ruling was effectively disregarded. The nation fragmented over voluntary removal. '''John Ross''' (alt. ''Cooweescoowee'', ''White Bird'') was consistently elected chief, but he opposed removal. The '''Treaty Party''' (sometimes called the Ridge Party) was organized around '''John Ridge''' (alt. ''Ka nun da cla geh''). Members of the Ridge, Boudinot, and Watie families signed the '''Schermerhorn Treaty''' and sold all Cherokee territory to the U.S. When this treaty went to the [[UnitedStates/Senate|Senate]] for ratification, prominent members including Clay and [[UnitedStates/DanielWebster|Webster]] opposed it. Nonetheless it passed. Those that remained attempted to establish a constitutional republic, mirroring the design of the United States itself. Under [[UnitedStates/WilsonLumpkin|Lumpkin]], Georgia established laws excluding Native Americans from rights to contract, own property, and testify in court. Despite a series of legal rulings in their favor ('''Cherokee Nation v. Georgia''', '''Worcester v. Georgia''', etc.), Jackson allowed the Georgian state government to continue. [[UnitedStates/MartinVanBuren|Van Buren]] charged [[UnitedStates/WinfieldScott|Scott]] with the forced removal of the Cherokee in the '''Trail of Tears'''. Those who were removed migrated into territories purchased from the [[UnitedStates/Osage|Osage nation]] established the '''Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma'''. ---- == Composition == There are currently three federally recognized tribes which are counted as being part of the Cherokee nation: * Cherokee Nation * Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians * United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians ---- CategoryRicottone CategoryState