Cherokee
Cherokee was a Native American nation.
Contents
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 British.
Joined with the colony of South Carolina in the Yammassee War
Attakullakulla travelled to London to sign the Treaty of Whitehall, formally ceding suzerainty to Britain
Joined with the British in the French and Indian War
Maintaining relations with the U.S. thereafter was challenging, however. Tsiyu Gansini (alt. Dragging Canoe) led the Cherokee through the 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 U.S. in the Red Stick War. A faction of the Cherokee took from this experience that Jackson was dead-set on committing genocide, and voluntarily removed into lands purchased from the 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 Frelinghuysen and Clay, and congressman 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 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 Senate for ratification, prominent members including Clay and Webster opposed it. Nonetheless it passed.
Those that remained attempted to establish a constitutional republic, mirroring the design of the United States itself. Under 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.
Van Buren charged Scott with the forced removal of the Cherokee in the Trail of Tears. Those who were removed migrated into territories purchased from the 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