Many different Native American groups lived in North America. Different groups living in the same region shared the same culture because the land they lived on shaped their way of life. Click on an area of the map to learn about life in that region.
Indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock. The Cheyenne abandoned their settlements in Minnesota in the 17th cent., leaving the region to the hostile Sioux and Ojibwa. Gradually migrating W along the Cheyenne River and then south, they established earth-lodge villages and raised crops. After the introduction of the horse (c.1760) they eventually became nomadic buffalo hunters. The tribe split (c.1830) when a large group decided to settle on the upper Arkansas River and take advantage of the trade facilities offered by Bent's Fort. This group became known as the Southern Cheyenne. The Northern Cheyenne continued to live about the headwaters of the Platte River. For the next few years the Southern Cheyenne, allied with the Arapaho, were engaged in constant warfare against the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache. Peace was made c.1840, and the five tribes became allies. The Cheyenne were generally friendly toward white settlers, until the discovery of gold in Colorado (1858) brought a swarm of gold seekers into their lands. By a treaty signed in 1861 the Cheyenne agreed to live on a reservation in SE Coorado, but the U.S. government did not fulfill its obligations, and the Native Americans were reduced to near starvation. Cheyenne raids resulted in punitive expeditions by the U.S. army. The indiscriminate massacre (1864) of warriors, women, and children at Sand Creek, Colo., was an unprovoked assault on a friendly group. The incident aroused the Native Americans to fury, and a bitter war followed. Gen. George Custer destroyed (1868) Black Kettle's camp on the Washita River, and fighting between the whites and the Southern Cheyenne ended, except for an outbreak in 1874-75. The Northern Cheyenne joined with the Sioux in massacring Custer and his 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. They finally surrendered in 1877 and were moved south and confined with the Southern Cheyenne in what is now Oklahoma. Plagued by disease and malnutrition, they made two desperate attempts to escape and return to the north. A separate reservation was eventually established for them in Montana. See G. B. Grinnell, The Fighting Cheyennes (1915, repr. 1956) and The Cheyenne Indians (2 vol., 1923, repr. 1972); E. A. Hoebel, The Cheyennes (1960); D. J. Berthrong, The Southern Cheyennes (1963); Joseph Millard, The Cheyenne Wars (1964); John Stands in Timber and Margot Liberty, Cheyenne Memories (1967); P. J. Powell, Sweet Medicine (2 vol., 1969); John H. Moore, The Cheyenne Nation (1987).
Chief Black Kettle
Few biographical details are known about the Southern Cheyenne chief Black Kettle, but his repeated efforts to secure a peace with honor for his people, despite broken promises and attacks on his own life, speak of him as a great leader with an almost unique vision of the possiibility for coexistence between white society and the culture of the plains.
Black Kettle lived on the vast territory in western Kansas and eastern Colorado that had been guaranteed to the Cheyenne under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. Within less than a decade, however, the 1859 Pikes Peak gold rush sparked an enormous population boom in Colorado, and this led to extensive white encroachments on Cheyenne land. Even the U.S. Indian Commissioner admitted that "We have substantially taken possession of the country and deprived the Indians of their accustomed means of support."
Rather than evict white settlers, the government sought to resolve the situation by demanding that the Southern Cheyenne sign a new treaty ceding all their lands save the small Sand Creek reservation in southeastern Colorado. Black Kettle, fearing that overwhelming U.S. military power might result in an even less favorable settlement, agreed to the treaty in 1861 and did what he could to see that the Cheyenne obeyed its provisions.
As it turned out, however, the Sand Creek reservation could not sustain the Indians forced to live there. All but unfit for agriculture, the barren tract of land was little more than a breeding ground for epidemic diseases which soon swept through the Cheyenne encampments. By 1862 the nearest herd of buffalo was over two hundred miles away. Many Cheyenne, especially young men, began to leave the reservation to prey upon the livestock and goods of nearby settlers and passing wagon trains. One such raid in the spring of 1864 so angered white Coloradans that they dispatched their militia, which opened fire on the first band of Cheyenne they happened to meet. None of the Indians in this band had participated in the raid, however, and their leader was actually approaching the militia for a parlay when the shooting began.
This incident touched off an uncoordinated Indian uprising across the Great Plains, as Indian peoples from the Comanche in the South to the Lakota in the North took advantage of the army's involvement in the Civil War by striking back at those who had encroached upon their lands. Black Kettle, however, understood white military supremacy too well to support the cause of war. He spoke with the local military commander at Fort Weld in Colorado and believed he had secured a promise of safety in exchange for leading his band back to the Sand Creek reservation.
But Colonel John Chivington, leader of the Third Colorado Volunteers, had no intention of honoring such a promise. His troops had been unsuccessful in finding a Cheyenne band to fight, so when he learned that Black Kettle had returned to Sand Creek, he attacked the unsuspecting encampment at dawn on November 29, 1864. Some two hundred Cheyenne died in the ensuing massacre, many of them women and children, and after the slaughter, Chivington's men sexually mutilated and scalped many of the dead, later exhibiting their trophies to cheering crowds in Denver.
Black Kettle miraculously escaped harm at the Sand Creek Massacre, even when he returned to rescue his seriously injured wife. And perhaps more miraculously, he continued to counsel peace when the Cheyenne attempted to strike back with isolated raids on wagon trains and nearby ranches. By October 1865, he and other Indian leaders had arranged an uneasy truce on the plains, signing a new treaty that exchanged the Sand Creek reservation for reservations in southwestern Kansas but deprived the Cheyenne of access to most of their coveted Kansas hunting grounds.
Only a part of the Southern Cheyenne nation followed Black Kettle and the others to these new reservations. Some instead headed north to join the Northern Cheyenne in Lakota territory. Many simply ignored the treaty and continued to range over their ancestral lands. This latter group, consisting mainly of young warriors allied with a Cheyenne war chief named Roman Nose, angered the government by their refusal to obey a treaty they had not signed, and General William Tecumseh Sherman launched a campaign to force them onto their assigned lands. Roman Nose and his followers struck back furiously, and the resulting standoff halted all traffic across western Kansas for a time.
At this point, government negotiators sought to move the Cheyenne once again, this time onto two smaller reservations in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) where they would receive annual provisions of food and supplies. Black Kettle was again among the chiefs who signed this treaty, the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867, but after his people had settled on their new reservation, they did not receive the provisions they had been promised, and by year's end, more and more of them were driven to join Roman Nose and his band.
In August 1868, Roman Nose led a series of raids on Kansas farms that provoked another full-scale military response. Under General Philip Sheridan, three columns of troops converged to launch a winter campaign against Cheyenne encampments, with the Seventh Cavalry commanded by George Armstrong Custer selected to take the lead. Setting out in a snowstorm, Custer followed the tracks of a small raiding party to a Cheyenne village on the Washita River, where he ordered an attack at dawn.
It was Black Kettle's village, well within the boundaries of the Cheyenne reservation and with a white flag flying above the chief's own tipi. Nonetheless, on November 27, 1868, nearly four years to the day after Sand Creek, Custer's troops charged, and this time Black Kettle could not escape: "Both the chief and his wife fell at the river bank riddled with bullets," one witness reported, "the soldiers rode right over Black Kettle and his wife and their horse as they lay dead on the ground, and their bodies were all splashed with mud by the charging soldiers." Custer later reported that an Osage guide took Black Kettle's scalp.
On the Washita, the Cheyenne's hopes of sustaining themselves as an independent people died as well; by 1869, they had been driven from the plains and confined to reservations.
Cherokee, North American tribe, of the Iroquoian linguistic family and the Southeast culture area. The Cherokee played an important role in colonial America and in United States history; they remain one of the largest tribes in the United States.
Archaeological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Cherokee migrated in prehistoric times from present-day Texas or northern Mexico to the Great Lakes area. Wars with the Iroquois tribes of the New York area and the Delaware tribes pushed them southeast to the Allegheny and Appalachian mountain regions in modern North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and northern Georgia and Alabama. There the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto encountered them in 1540. In 1715 smallpox reduced their population to about 11,000.
During the British and French struggle for control of colonial North America, the Cherokee generally sided with the British, and during the American Revolution the tribe aided Great Britain. In 1785 they negotiated a peace treaty with the United States, but Cherokee resistance continued for a decade thereafter. In 1791 a new treaty reconfirmed the earlier one; part of Cherokee territory was ceded to the United States, and the permanent rights of the tribe to the remaining territory were established. Between 1790 and 1819, several thousand of the tribe migrated west of the Mississippi, becoming known as the Western Band.
In 1820 the tribe established a governmental system modeled on that of the United States, with an elected principal chief, a senate, and a house of representatives. Because of this system, the Cherokee were included as one of the so-called Five Civilized tribes. In 1827 they drafted a constitution and incorporated as the Cherokee Nation.
Meanwhile, valuable gold deposits were discovered in tribal lands, which by previous cessions had been reduced to about 2,830,000 hectares (about 7 million acres) in northwest Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and southwest North Carolina. In 1819 Georgia appealed to the U.S. government to remove the Cherokee from Georgia lands. When the appeal failed, attempts were made to purchase the territory. In retaliation the Cherokee Nation enacted a law forbidding any such sale on punishment of death. In 1828 the Georgia legislature outlawed the Cherokee government and confiscated tribal lands. Cherokee appeals for federal protection were rejected by President Andrew Jackson. In 1832 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Georgia legislation was unconstitutional; federal authorities, following Jackson's policy of Native American removal, ignored the decision.
About 500 leading Cherokee agreed in 1835 to cede the tribal territory in exchange for $5,700,000 and land in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Their action was repudiated by more than nine-tenths of the tribe, and several members of the group were later assassinated. In 1838 federal troops began forcibly evicting the Cherokee. Approximately one thousand escaped to the North Carolina mountains, purchased land, and incorporated in that state; they were the ancestors of the present-day Eastern Band.
Meanwhile, most of the tribe, including the Western Band, were driven west about 1,285 km (about 800 mi) in a forced march, known as the Trail of Tears. About 4,000 perished through hunger, disease, and exposure while on the journey or in stockades awaiting removal. In Indian Territory the Cherokee reorganized their government under their chief, John Ross.
During the American Civil War, after great internal conflict, the tribe sided with the Confederacy; a postwar treaty with the United States freed the black slaves of tribal members. Under the General Allotment Act of 1887-uncompromisingly resisted by the Cherokee-plots of tribal land were forcibly allotted to individual members. The government of the Cherokee Nation was dissolved, and its people became U.S. citizens when Oklahoma achieved statehood in 1907. Surplus lands were parceled out by the federal government, and in 1891 the tribe's western land extension, the Cherokee Strip or Cherokee Outlet, was sold to the United States; in 1893 it was opened, mostly to white settlers, in a famous land run.
Culture
Cherokee economy, like that of the other southeastern tribes, was based on intensive agriculture, mainly of corn, beans, and squash. Deer, bear, and elk were hunted. The Busk, or Green Corn Ceremony, was a time of thanksgiving, rekindling of sacred fires, and spiritual renewal. The tribe was divided into seven matrilineal clans that were dispersed in war and peace moieties (half-tribes). The people lived in numerous permanent villages, some of which belonged to the war moiety, the rest to the peace moiety.
In the early 19th century, the Cherokee demonstrated unusual adaptability to Western institutions, both in their governmental changes and in their adoption of Western methods of animal husbandry and farming, including the plantation system. Public schools were established and in the 1820s, Sequoya, a tribal member, invented an 85-character syllabary script for the Cherokee language. Widespread literacy followed almost immediately. In 1828 the first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, began publication.
Contemporary Life
In Oklahoma, traditional Cherokee culture was severely weakened. The old ways, including traditional crafts, are most strongly preserved by the Eastern Band, some of whom continue to live on the Qualla Reservation in North Carolina. The quality of North Carolina Cherokee basketry is considered to be equal to or better than that of earlier times. In Oklahoma the Cherokee live both on and off the reservation, scattered in urban centers and in isolated rural regions. Their occupations range from fishing to industrial labor to business management. In North Carolina, farming, forestry, factory work, and tourism (about 5 million tourists annually) are sources of income. The Cherokee language has about 10,000 modern speakers. In 1990 there were 308,132 Cherokee descendants in the United States.
"Cherokee," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Cherokee History on First Nations. Lee Sultzman, First Nations' Historian, has composed an excellent overview of the history of the Cherokee. This page includes the most thorough chronology of treaties and other events that shaped the history of the Cherokee. http://www.dickshovel.com/
Fire in the Mountains: The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the Cherokee Country by Donald Sheppard and Jeremiah Wolfe on http://www.floridahistory.com .
Cherokee History Sequoyah New Echota The Cherokee Phoenix Newspaper Northwest Georgia's Chieftains Trail includes Native American historical sites. North Georgia's Bartram Trail traces the path of botanist John Bartram 1765 and 1766 through the Cherokee Country.
Pictures of Our Nobler Selves: the history of Native American journalism with emphasis on the writings of Elias Boudinot, John Rollin Ridge, and Elias Cornelius Boudinot. It begins with an excellent history of the Cherokee Phoenix newpaper. [from the First Amendment Center website] Cherokee Time-Line Cherokee Language and History Tapes
Sequoyah: author of the Cherokee syllabary. Sequoyah's Talking Leaves: An article about Sequoyah by my friend, Priscilla Omega. Chief Whitepath's Cabin The restored cabin of Chief Whitepath, relocated to Gainesville GA from its original location in Ellijay GA. The Cherokee Indian - A work by Noble High School (Maine) student Scott Hodgdon. Cherokee Archaeology-- North Carolina Archaeological Society North Carolina Archaeological Society Prehistory of the Upper Cumberland River Drainage in the Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee Border Region Cherokee Removal
Cherokee Treaties produced by the Oklahoma State University Library The Treaty of Hopewell 1785 (preceded on this page by The Shawnee Treaty at Great Miami 1786) Report on the Indian Affairs in the Southern Department 1787 Congressional Proclamation on the Treaty of Hopewell 1788 Cherokee Nation v. State of Georgia - 1831 The US Supreme Court's opinion as presented by Chief Justice John Marshall. A Brief History of the Trail of Tears John Burnett's Story: As a young man, John Burnett was a U.S. soldier who participated in the removal of the Cherokee over the Trail of Tears. On his 80th birthday, he recorded the sad story of his experience. J.W. Moore, 1869: This is a letter written by J.W. Moore in 1869 describing his experiences with the Cherokee. It is taken from Emmett Starr's book "Cherokees West 1794-1839". Civilization or Extinction? An essay by Lucy Maddox on Georgetown University's American Studies website.
History of the Texas Cherokee
A Guide to Cherokee Confederate Military Units, 1861 - 1865 by Lars Gjertveit History of the 10th Kansas Volunteer Infantry in the American Civil War.
Sam Starr: A Short and Violent Life By Michael Koch. Sam Starr and Frank West killed each other in a shoot-out in 1886. Both are Cherokee and were second-cousins (common great-grandparents). Sam Starr's wife was the notorious "Queen of the Outlaws", Belle Starr. [btw, Frank West is my great-great-grandfather].
The Titchenal Cherokee Connection This site includes much historical commentary on the Starr's and others in the Briartown OK area. This web site is based on the works of the late Oliver R. Titchenal. The Frontier Indian Police in four parts.
The Text of the Dawes Act -- The Dawes Act or General Allotment Act of 1887 Native American Documents Project California State University, San Marcos
Papers by Patrick Minges: Patrick Minges is a Ph.D. candidate at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. His dissertation is being posted as a work in progress to allow opportunities for input from sources and resources knowledgeable about the issues involved. (Due to their length, you may want to download them and read them offline). Please contact him at with comments and suggestions.
Dissertation Prospectus Chapter 1: Red, White, and Black in the Old South (draft) Chapter 2: Red, White, and Black in the Old South (draft) Chapter 3: Red, White, and Black in the Old South (draft) Chapter 4: Red, White, and Black in the Old South (draft)
"Who are You? I am Keetoowah's Son": Cherokee Nationalism and the Civil War Beneath the Underdog: Race, Religion and the "Trail of Tears"
God and the Land: Natural Theology and Natural History - Gerald Smith, University of the South. Slavery: A description Native American and African American slavery in the Southeastern Tribes Western History Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri-Columbia Sequoyah
c.1766-1843, Native North American leader, creator of the Cherokee syllabary, b. Loudon co., Tenn. Although many historians believe that he was the son of a Cherokee woman and a white trader named Nathaniel Gist, his descendants dispute this claim. To most Americans he was known as George Guess; to the Cherokee he was known as Sogwali. The name Sequoyah was given to him by missionaries. A silversmith and a trader in the Cherokee country in Georgia, he set out to create a system for reducing the Cherokee language to writing, and he compiled a table of 85 characters; he took some letters from an English spelling book and by inversion, modification, and invention adopted the symbols to Cherokee sounds. There is some dispute as to when the syllabary was completed. Many historians date its completion at about 1821; Cherokee tradition holds that it was created much earlier and was actually in use as early as the late 18th cent. In 1822, Sequoyah visited the Cherokee in Arkansas, and soon he taught thousands of the Native Americans to read and write. He moved with them to present-day Oklahoma. Parts of the Bible were soon printed in Cherokee, and in 1828 a weekly newspaper was begun. His remarkable achievement helped to unite the Cherokee and make them leaders among other Native Americans. The giant tree, sequoia, is named for him. See biographies by Grant Foreman (1938, repr. 1970) and C. C. Coblentz (1946, repr. 1962); Traveller Bird, Tell Them They Lie: The Sequoyah Myth (1971).
Few biographical details are known about the Southern
