Cherokee: “People of Different Speech”
The Cherokee tribe, according to Britannica is, “Indians of Iroquoian lineage who constituted one of the largest politically integrated tribes at the time of European colonization of the Americas.” The tribe is known for their undesired journey, relocating to Oklahoma famously known as the “Trial of Tears”[1] but to understand what that is you have to go back to the beginning. The Cherokee tribe has been spoken into existence for millennia but according to Cherokee history, “It’s recorded that our first European contact came in 1540 with Hernando DeSoto’s exploration of the southeastern portion of our continent.” Then around 1725 Cherokee nation and the British began making treaties that extended out through parts of North Carolina, Georgia, Southern Tennessee, and South Carolina.[2] Part of the South Carolina area included a place I now call home, Furman University.
In another article about the Eastern Band of Cherokee it discusses how, “In the early 1800s, the Cherokee adapted the tribal governing structure to include a written constitution. Cherokee courts and schools were established and, in 1821, a Cherokee scholar named Sequoyah invented a written Cherokee language.
In 1828, just 7 years later, a Cherokee language newspaper began publishing.” Even with the many efforts the Cherokee’s made the European government still saw no reason to keep the peace. Later in 1838 a desire for the Cherokee land came into play and most of the Cherokee people were forced out. Thus, began the “Trail of Tears.”[3]
Image by: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski
Nearly 15,000 indigenous people lost their lives on this journey. It is important to know that the Cherokee tribe but other tribes were also involved in this journey like Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole, nearly 100,000 indigenous were forced to leave their homes due to the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Among those, there were 16,000 Cherokees, and among them “4,000 Cherokees perished, never reaching their new land.”[4]
This is when the Cherokee became separated between Oklahoma and North Carolina which was laid out well in the article I previously mentioned about, The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The article stated, “Some members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians living in modern-day WNC are descendants of Trail of Tears survivors, some of whom made it to Oklahoma and then walked back home. Others are descended from Cherokee who managed to keep land they owned and did not march West. Under the 1819 treaty, some Cherokee had taken land and were allowed to remain. Others hid in the mountains and refused to be relocated.”[5] Because of this split there are now three Cherokee tribes today:
1. United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma
2. Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma
3. Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina.
It is sad to see how much land they have lost over time and to see that there is still not a lot of recognition. Although Furman has made steps towards recognizing that they are one of what was once Cherokee land I still think there is more to be done. There are still so many students that do not know this information and I would like to see some sort of plaque to recognize the history of our campus.
Picture by: Chenocetah's Weblog
The above shows how much land the Cherokees used to own but now it is only a tiny sliver of land in Cherokee, North Carolina, and northeast Oklahoma. This land pictured above is a large amount of space they used to have, and it just lowered over time to the point where they were left only two small amounts of land. I would love to see all of the places marked that were a significant part of the Cherokee tribe here soon in the future, not just Furman. But for now my main goal is to see Furman make a change.
[1] (Adam Augustyn, Aakanksha Gaur, Kathleen Kuiper, Gloria Lotha, Elizabeth Prine Pauls, Emily Rodriguez, Kathleen Sheetz, Shiveta Singh, Amy Tikkanen, Jeff Wallenfeldt, Grace Young Trail of Tears) [2] “History.” Cherokee Nation History, https://www.cherokee.org/about-the-nation/history/. [3] Cherokee, Eastern Band of. “The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.” Cherokee, NC, https://visitcherokeenc.com/eastern-band-of-the-cherokee/. [4] “History.” Cherokee Nation History, https://www.cherokee.org/about-the-nation/history/. [5] Cherokee, Eastern Band of. “The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.” Cherokee, NC, https://visitcherokeenc.com/eastern-band-of-the-cherokee/.
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