NOTE:
This is an adapted/updated version of a college class report from 2000. I will be making additional edits as my schedule allows.
For my report’s resources please look for the “Resource, Reference and Reading” page.
— Cathy A. Abernathy
THE TSALAGI (CHEROKEE):
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
A CONQUERED PEOPLE?
[NATIVE AMERICAN SURVIVORS]
Written by: Cathy Ann Abernathy
For: “Multicultural Issues”
Instructor: Dr. Carol Knight
Jacksonville State University
Originally Drafted December 4, 2000
[– Updated “NOTES” shown in Braces “[ ]”. Additional hyper links have also been added to key names, places and subjects…this article may evolve further depending on feedback from readers, and related facts I learn while continuing my personal family tree/genealogy research. Thank you for visiting! — C A Abernathy
THE PAST
When persecuted Europeans first set foot in what is now the United States, they were seeking “freedom of religion” and pursued it into an unfamiliar land. Although these new settlers saw this as an “uncivilized land” which they would mold into their own design; several Indian Nations had thrived many, many generations with very “civilized” means of governing their clan (tribe) members.
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“At the 1990 U.S. census those identifying themselves as Cherokee numbered 308,132. Cherokee on or near the Oklahoma reservation number 95,435 (1991 est.)…Cherokee on or near the North Carolina reservation number 10,114 (1991 est.).”
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In a recent conversation, a close friend and I were discussing how European settlers had come to this region seeking escape from religious persecution and organized government telling them “how and where” to live. Then by the 1800’s, descendants of these settlers, turned around and imposed even more severe punishment, laws and living conditions on Native Americans.
My focus for this paper will be on re-discovering/re-evaluating the successes, set-backs, and mistreatment of the Tsalagi (Cherokee Nation); past, present: and their hopes for a “brighter” future.
What defines a cultural group? Language, a shared history, religious beliefs, myths, arts, common health problems, and mis-perceptions from other ethnic/cultural groups are just a few elements.
“Traditional Native American values do conflict in many ways with those of the mainstream. When cross-cultural differences are not explored or their real meanings and implications understood, there is the danger of inaccurate, overgeneralized, or derogatory stereotypes…The general American society has renewed its interest in the culture of the native people. Whether the interest encourages compatibility with Native American philosophy and ideology or whether the effort continues toward assimilation of Native Americans into a value system that is more oriented toward materialism, ostentatious consumption, and self-interest remains to be seen.”
Each of prior-mention (above) cultural elements can come into play if a Native American seeks counseling; either for chemical abuse, life/coping skills, and/or seeking gainful employment in today’s American high-tech economy.
These facts are reflected in the Multicultural Issues textbook: “Counseling and Development in a Multicultural Society.” In chapter 3, Axelson states, “Living conditions were deplorable [on reservations] by outside standards, and poor health, poverty, alcoholism, and suicide were major social and personal problems, as they continue to be today. In 1934 the Native American population in the country was about 250,000…The Employment assistance Program of the BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs], starting in 1951, was an endeavor to assist Native Americans with movement into urban areas through job training, education, and housing. Approximately 60% of those who participated in the program have remained in the cities, but many continue to be employed in semiskilled or unskilled work, and conflict between city life and land-centered cultural traditions has disrupted the lives and sense of status of many others.”
CLIENT-COUNSELOR ISSUES
Issues of assessment for counselors include: “language differences and reading level, nonverbal communication, client belief and mistrust, evaluator-client similarity, client acculturation, translation of tests, and potential bias in standardized tests.”
How unbiased can a testing instrument be, if it does not consider ALL cultures? Since the majority of Native Americans were forced onto reservation lands, they have lost self-determination of educating their own children.
“The education of Native Americans has always been controversial in the history of North America. The issues basically revolve around the pressures of domination, value conflict, and self-determination… Historically few of the treaties have been upheld. But Native American tribal law has developed that accepts the notion of legal responsibility of the larger society…Since the 1970s, various government and educational programs have increased self-determination. Native American people have had encouraging results.”
RE-EXAMINING THE PAST
Cultural & Historical Background Sketches
As I was growing up in Talladega and Shelby Counties, here in Alabama; there was always the presence of an unknown element from the past. My brother and I would go looking for arrow points each spring when my grandfather’s land was tilled for planting crops.
We have quite collection of points, plus several “agates,” and one called a “Rose Rock” — which was part of a necklace, I believe.
As I grew older I began to learn about a great Native American people/cultures who had once lived on this land — a region that present citizens now call Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.
Each of these states have names that reflect the Native American spirit with names such as: Talladega, Tallasahachee Creek (Alabama) Oothcalooga Creek, Dalonega (Georgia), Alabama (Named for the Alabamas tribe of Indians), and many, many others in the southeastern region(s).
Yet, who were these native people and why were they no longer living in these regions in the numbers that they used to?
Is the plight of a “conquered” people? Or a testimonial about survivors of great persecution? You decide for yourself; personally I think the Native American people have endured much more than the “American” history books would admit.
Now for the basic facts: “The Cherokee were one of the largest tribes in the Southeast and were among the earliest to adapt to European culture. Their name is written Tsalagi in their own language, and they were called Chalakki by the Chotaw, [a neighboring tribe] whose language was the language of trade in the Southeast.”
Some of the earliest memories I have is the tale of how a young Indian woman [assumed to be Cherokee], had saved the life of lady – we knew from a Baptist church — from drowning in a local creek. This tale of compassion, from a Native American woman (obviously one of, or descendant of, an escaped Native American who stayed behind after the Indian Removal); who should have long since gone from this region – left a lasting impression on my mind.
In elementary and high school, school the Indian Removal to the west was studied, but not to the detail that many other historical events in our country’s past. Now as a college graduate I better understand why.
“The Trail of Tears is an example of man’s inhumanity to man. The new settlers of America had escaped the tyranny of Europe and were so fixated on their new found freedoms that they trampled on the rights of the Indians. America is a great country founded on great ideals. We profess to being, the land of the free and the home of the brave.’
However, we must never forget some of the shameful moments in this country’s history….Let us hope we have learned from our past, so that other atrocities like the Trail of Tears are never allowed to take place again.”
Storm goes on to describe the forced march of Native peoples westward, “The Trail of Tears was a time of immense despair and mercy, a struggle for survival. In order to move the tribes swiftly and effective, the Indians were organized into wretched traveling caravans. While on the trail, the Indians endured horrible living conditions. They slept in the mud with no shelter and little food. They were often forced to march in manacles. If the living conditions didn’t kill the Indians, disease did. The Indians were plagued with dysentery, whooping cough, pellagra, tuberculosis and pneumonia….”
“The Trail of Tears not only took a physical toll on the Indians, it also damaged the Indians’ spirit and self respect.”
Today’s society, in the south, where I grew up; many people stand proud and say “my grandmother was Cherokee.” Some go so far as to say, that this ancestor was a “princess,” which is totally fabricated. The Cherokee did not have royalty, they were a federation of peoples; the Five Civilized Tribes included: The Chotaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek and Semimole.
The “Mythological Cherokee Princess” is a legend in Indian country…”One of the first myths to debunk [about Cherokee] is, of course, the Cherokee Princess. Did she exist?…Good news – she really did exist …well sort of. In years past, Cherokee men had an endearing term for their wives. Roughly translated the term means princess. Many, many Cherokee people say they believe this is how princess and Cherokee were joined…The Cherokee princess, not as royalty in the European tradition, but as beloved and cherished wives.”
“In spite of the princess fable, the Cherokee are not a monarchy. They consider themselves a political organization and an American Indian community, one in which relationships appears as important as blood ties. The Cherokee also have a strong sense of identity as a community and respect and honor their heritage and history.
As early as the 1600s and 1700s, the Cherokee recognized anyone who lived on Cherokee land and lived by Cherokee laws as Cherokee, regardless of their ethnic or racial background. Prisoners and slaves eventually were considered members of the tribe, if they lived as the Cherokee did…Between 1899 and 1906, the Final Rolls of the Dawes Commission were compiled and completed, listing those Cherokee considered tribal members by the federal government…Once the Dawes Commission was through, many Cherokees lost their birthright and the right to call themselves members of the Cherokee Nation…Genealogy is key for enrollment with the Cherokee Nation…Complete instructions are available on the nation’s Registration Department Web site, “http://www.cherokee.org.”
“WHO WOULD OWN THE LAND?”
“From the time of first contact, Europeans who came to North America noted vast differences between their cultures and those of the native peoples who already inhabited the New World. In their dealings with Native Americans, the Europeans adopted policies that were shaped by their own world view and experience…At times, the federal government recognized indigenous peoples as independent political communities with separate cultural identities. At other times, it has tried to force them to abandon their cultural identity, to give up their land base, and to assimilate into the American mainstream.”
The Cherokee were farmers, ranchers, and business owners. Their traditional culture included “maize agriculture, settled villages” and well-developed ceremonialism.
Lands of the Tsalagi (Cherokee Nation)
Maps of their territory (“http://www.tngenweb.org/maps/”) are the best source of information, and an excellent place to start searching, should you believe that your family has Cherokee in the family lineage.
Eastern tribes: (“http://www.tngenweb.org/maps/eastribe.jpg”) Can be found on land(s) that fall in the boundaries of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida
Their neighbors before European settlement included: The Choctaw, Chicksaw, Creeks, Natchez, and Seminole. One tribe of all the Native Amercians just listed; fought and were not forced off their land — The Seminole. They took to hiding in the deep swampy areas, where they could live and settlers (soldiers) would disturb them. As with many other tribes, those who were moved’ and those who escaped from the caravans; the eastern tribes had to live in geographical areas that were not desired by white settlers. In North Carolina, escape Cherokee took the highest elevation; founding a community which bares their name — this site has become tourist attractions for millions in recent decades.
Historic events
I think it’s only fair to list a few important facts about the Cherokee, here. History is written by the “conquerors,” thus the re-telling of certain historical events never give a full picture of what actually happened. With the advent of the Internet, and Native American gaming/gambling casinos, stories about their struggle, is finally being told first-hand by Natives who have lived them.
Here’s a quick list of important events, as it relates to Native Americans; their prior homelands, and how the “Indian problem” was resolved by President Andrew Jackson.
* “Between 1778 and 1871, Congress had approved more than 370 treaties with Native American Groups, while hundreds more were negotiated but never approved.”
* “The Cherokee aided the British during the American Revolution and continued their hostilities against the Americans until 1794.”
* In 1827 the Cherokee established a constitutional form of government.
* “By the end of the 1830s, the government had relocated more than 30 eastern tires to the West. Although the government promised that “Indian Territory” would be a permanent home for these peoples, settlers soon demanded land in parts of Indian Territory as well…”
* “In 1871 the federal government enacted a law stating that the United States would no longer treat Native American tribal groups as independent nations. This legislation signaled a fundamental shift in the government’s relationship with Native Americans. Congress would no longer regard tribal groups as nations outside of its jurisdictional control, but rather was wards of the federal government.”
* “In 1887 Congress passed the centerpiece of the assimilation program [toward Native Americans], the General Allotment Act, also known as the Dawes Act.”
* “In December 1890 the US Cavalry killed as many as 350 followers of the Souix leader SITTING BULL because they had practiced the “Ghost Dance”. After this confrontation near WOUNDED KNEE, south Dekota, the Native American wars effectively came to an end.”
* “In 1924 Congress extended American citizenship to all Native Americans,…nearly two-thirds of native peoples were already citizens, including those who served in the United States military during World War I (1914-1918).”
* “At the 1990 U.S. census those identifying themselves as Cherokee numbered 308,132. Cherokee on or near the Oklahoma reservation number 95,435 (1991 est.)…Cherokee on or near the North Carolina reservation number 10,114 (1991 est.).”
* The Cherokee who avoided the 1838 removal escaped into the Great Smoky Mountains and resettled in North Carolina [near present-day Asheville], forming a tribal corporation in 1889.”
Language and Syllabary Map of Linguistic Stocks, broken down into regional areas by the dialect spoken by tribe members, can be located and studied online (“http://www.tngenweb.org/maps/linguist.gif”)
“Sovereignty resides in a people’s language, which is a crucial key to cultural identity. In the past two decades, a growing number of Native peoples have clearly perceived their traditional languages are in real danger of disappearing. Out of 175 Native languages still used in North America, fewer than 20 are commonly spoken within households…[For Native Americans] The loss of language was deliberate in the intense assimilation campaigns of the first half of the 20th century…Many, many [Native Americans] chronicles of the boarding school years detail beatings and scorn for students who were caught speaking their tribal languages.”
Sequoyah/Sequoia
A syllabic alphabet was invented (c. 1820) by Sequoya (Sequoyah, known by the English name George Gist or Guess). “Recognizing the power of the written word, Sequoya developed a Cherokee syllabary of 86 symbols by adapting letters of the English alphabet to represent sounds in the Cherokee tongue.
The generally accepted date for completion is 1821, although Cherokee tradition dates the syllabary earlier. Although there is some question whether Sequoya was its inventor, he certainly popularized the syllabary, which led to the founding of the Cherokee Phoenix, a Cherokee language newspaper [also written in English], on February 21, 1828.”
Cultural Traditions
Values & Beliefs; and Religion
European settlers to the Americas, were seeking refuge from government/religious tyranny; but as their children began seeking there own way in life; and the country was becoming more populated with immigrants — the lands of the Native Americans, plush with greenery, rich with wildlife — became the object of white people’s desire. When GOLD was found on Native American lands in north Georgia; white people flooded in to get “their share.” Not taking into consideration that they were disturbing a delicate ecosystem which had supported native peoples for centuries.
“According to Native American belief, the world is interconnected [many hoops’] , and everything including human beings, lives according to the same process. Each being has its power, function, and place in the universe. Every part of nature has a spirit, which many tribes believe to possess intelligence, emotion, and free will. Praying, in fact, is praying to one’s own power. Because the Great Spirit is everything, in all of nature, there is no need to question the existence of a God. Nature is the essence of God; therefore, nature would stop if God no longer lived…If our relationship with all of creation is symbolic of our relationship with God, we are on good terms with God whenever we are on good terms with nature…If we are living in harmony with nature, then our life is harmonious and we can live free of anxiety, appreciating life.”
Genealogy, Matriarchal Society
Like many people I have known, I have been told that “yes, we have Cherokee ancestors” but I have never found hard evidence’ to back this statement up. The reason it is so hard to prove? Cherokee lineage is traced through the mother’s family, not the father, as in European genealogy. That plus the secretive nature that many native Americans adopted; especially those who were related to the several hundred who escaped the “forced” march westward — makes accurate family trees hard to be made.
Tsalagi Names
Searching for Cherokee ancestors has another disadvantage, many family trees in Cherokee tradition did not have “sir name” until the Civil War.
“There are many other full blood [Cherokee] families whose last names were derived from many different factors. Sometimes it was a translation of the Cherokee name.
Sometimes it was the last name of someone their family respected. You will also find times when a statement is made that and individual was given an anglicized last name by their commanding officer when they were in the Civil War.
The same thing applies to the half-bloods, although their last name was often the name of their white ancestor, but not always. Many, many Cherokees did not have a last name until about the time of the Civil War. If they served during that war their respective army wanted TWO NAMES and either “gave” then an anglicized name or they picked one.”
“We are now about to take our leave and kind farewell to our native land, the country that the Great Spirit gave our Fathers, we are on the eve of leaving that country that gave us birth…it is with sorrow we are forced by the white man to quit the scenes of our childhood…we bid farewell to it and all we hold dear.”
— Charles Hicks, Tsalagi (Cherokee) Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, August 4, 1838
Individual Land “Ownership”
Who would own the Land?
To many Native American peoples, the land was their “mother” and the center of their cultural and spiritual lives. As European ‘values’ migrated westward with the United States land expansion, the concept of “land ownership” was not understood by these native people.
“A series of fraudulent, land-acquiring treaties were imposed on the Cherokee in the 1830s. The Treaty of New Echota (1835), in which a small tribal faction sold 2.83 hectares (7 million acres) of Cherokee land, required their removal westward within 3 years.”
“The allotment process (Dawes Act) was not accepted willing by most native peoples. For many, the land was the spiritual and cultural center of their lives. To treat land as an economic commodity undermined their sense of identity and their values.””Native American Policy”
Indian Removal Act
“In 1830 Congress accommodated the settler’s wishes [for land] by passing the Indian Removal Act. This legislation provided funds to cover the cost of treaty negotiations and the removal of eastern tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River…Some native groups such as the Cherokee even passed laws forbidding their people, on penalty of death, to negotiate treaties ceding their aboriginal homelands.”
The “Trail of Tears”
One of the darkest moments of American history happened against the wishes of the Cherokee; and the ruling the Unites States Supreme Court; which ruled that the Indian Nations were not to be evicted from the lands of their ancestors.
President Andrew Jackson, and a devoted (mostly greedy) group followers wished to solve the “Indian problem” by moving the Native Americans on to distant lands, in what was to become Oklahoma.
The long deadly journey began with soldiers forcibly removing Cherokee planters, ranchers, and farmers from their house at gun and bayonet point. Rounding them up into quickly built forts; then ultimately into ragged caravans that walked in shackles. As for the name, “…the Cherokee’s removal from Georgia [Alabama, and Tennessee] to Indian Territory in 1838 and 1839 became known as the “Trail of Tears” because nearly 4,000 out of more than 18,000 who were forced from their home died in stockades or on the journey westward.”
John G. Burnett’s (very touching) “Story of the Removal of the Cherokees: Birthday Story of Private John G. Burnett, Captain Abraham McClellan’s Company, 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, Cherokee Indian Removal, 1838-39.” (“http://www.powersource.com/cherokee/burnett.html”)
Clothing and lifestyle
Traditional dress for Cherokee was of skins, (later included silks), and turban-like headdresses worn by the tribal men. As the Europeans arrived, The Cherokee quickly adapted to the “white man’s” manners and dress.
“The Cherokee were one of the largest tribes in the Southeast and were among the earliest to adapt to European civilization. Their name is written Tsalagi in their own language, and they were called Chalakki by the Chotaw, whose language was the language of trade in the Southeast…”
Other Facts
Geographic Region: Southeast (Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee)
Linguistic Group: Iroquoian
Principal Dwelling Type: Rectangular thatched house
Principal Subsistence Type: Hunting and maize.”
Civil Rights, American Indian Movement
Before the Indian Removal many people fought to keep the US government from taking the lands from the Cherokee.
“The Cherokee Indians had partly assimilated with the US culture and made use of the justice system. When the Removal Act was passed, the Cherokee took their case to the (U. S.) Supreme Court. They appealed the removal act in the case of Cherokee vs. Georgia and Worcester vs. Georgia. Chief Justice John Marshall found in favor of the Cherokees. Marshall said that the Cherokee nation was a set community that had boundaries and that the citizens of the US had no right to enter their land. He did say that the Cherokee had the right to conform with treaties if they wanted to comply with Congress.
This legal affirmation of the Cherokee’s rights sadly did nothing to stop President Jackson and his assault upon the native population. President Jackson chose to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling and thus the Trail of Tears began.”
Wounded Knee
Two historical events: The “Ghost Dance” of the 1890, and the AIM 70-day seize that began on February 28, 1973; turned the tide of Native American’s self-perception.
MASSACRE
“The Wounded Knee massacre (Dec. 29, 1890), at Wounded Knee Creek in the Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation, South Dakota, was the last major clash between federal troops and American Indians.
Fearing that the Souix’s new Ghost Dance religion might inspire an uprising, the authorities sent troops to arrest tribal leaders. On December 15, Chief Sitting Bull was killed during an attempted arrest. Then on December 28, Chief Big Foot’s followers were apprehended and brought to Wounded Knee. A shot rang out after they were ordered to disarm, and the troops fired, killing Chief Big Foot and many others. Some who survived the initial onslaught were pursued and killed. Among the approximately 200 Sioux killed were women and children. Also killed were a number of [federal] soldiers.”
GHOST DANCE
This was what caused the U. S. to fear an uprising by Native Americans; but what exactly caused the ‘fear’? “The ghost dance refers to a messianic movement that arose (1870-78) among Indians of the Great Basin…It expressed a desperate longing for the restoration of the past — a return to a life free of hunger, epidemic disease, and the bitter warring and divisiveness that accompanied the Indians’ subjugation by whites….”
“Ghost Dance Teachings especially excited the Sioux at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, who were embittered from reduced rations and in despair from diseases and from natural disasters that cut down crops and cattle…During the battle…many wore “ghost shirts” emblazoned with eagle, buffalo, and morning-star decorations. They believed that these symbols of powerful spirits would protect them from the [federal] soldiers’s bullets. The tragedy at Wounded Knee effectively put an end to the ghost dance….”
LAW ENFORCEMENT, CORRUPTION
During the 1970’s corruption, as well as discriminatory practices toward Native Americans, by local and U. S. government law enforcement brought the plight of Oglala Sioux to the forefront of American news.
Native Americans discovered that a small group of tribal members had illegally sold land rich with radioactive ores to corrupt FBI officials. This had poisoned the river, and caused much illness on the reservation. (This situation is depicted, fictionally to a degree, in the movie “Thunderheart;” starring Val Kilmer — who also has native a American heritage.)
This confrontation came to a boiling point, when violence broke out; several died (February 27, 1973).
Although the “Incident at Oglala” (as referred to by a documentary by Robert Redford) was not directly connected to the Southeastern tribes; it did bring about a different focus, when viewing Native Americans. AIM, the American Indian Movement “seized and held Wounded Knee, demanding a U. S. Senate investigation of Native American problems. Federal law enforcement officers were sent to the site, and during gunfire exchanges, two Native Americans were killed and several people on both sides were injured.
The siege ended 70 days later, when the Native Americans were promised that negotiations concerning their grievances would be considered. After one meeting with White House representatives and a promise of a second one, the Native Americans were informed that their treaty grievances should be referred to Congress. [Sadly] No further meetings took place.”
PRESENT
For Cherokee and ALL Native Americans:
Sovereignty and Gaming
Funding Indian Education Projects, U. S. Courts get involved:
Self-determination? In the case of Native Americans it has to do with controlling how, when, where, and with what resources their tribal members interact. This means that in order for the Native Americans to be self-sufficient, they have to be able to establish, regulate, fund, and patrol:
1) school
2) casinos
3) colleges, and many other tribal members’ businesses.
These issues are a matter of sovereignty’ and get very complicated when it comes to the hugely lucrative industry of Indian gaming.
“The development of gaming operations on Indian reservations, and the phenomenal success some tribes have had with these operations, has brought a new dimension to the debate over Indian sovereignty. For the first time some tribes now have, through gaming profits, the economic means to exercise their “inherit sovereign power,” among many, the ability to provide essential services themselves rather than having to depend on the government…The era of reservation gaming was ushered in by the Supreme Court’s decision in 1987 case California vs. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. The Court ruled that a state has no authority to regulate or prohibit gaming on Indian lands if the State otherwise allows gaming…by 1993, 25 states allowed some form of gaming on reservation and the profits from Indian gaming had skyrocketed to $6 billion. 175 tribes were involved with gaming…In testimony before a congressional hearing in October 1993, (Donald) Trump stated that:
“it’s obvious that organized crime is rampant on the Indian reservations. This thing is going to blow sky high. It will be the biggest scandal since Al Capone, and it will destroy the gaming industry.”
The FBI refuted these statements and has testified that it has not detected major incursions by organized crime into Indian gaming around the country.”
Revival of Language and Customs
What could this incoming source of finances mean for Native Americans? Most are directing, ear-marking funds for educational purposes; and trying to revitalize their tribal languages. Which are on the verge of dying out, “The gaming money would allow the Wampanoags to recover their tribal traditions, many of which have been lost since the Wampaoags’ first contact with English settlers in 1620.”
Just one example how the “white man’s” weakness may help to make the Native Americans more self-sufficient; if not more competitive in the new “High-tech” economy of today.
The Echota tribe trace their roots to the Chickamauga Cherokee of North Alabama…”One of the tribe’s [future] objectives is to revitalize the Cherokee language…The ultimate goal is to offer instruction in the Cherokee language through the Alabama public school system…”
I hope they succeed.
Tribes Recognized by the State of Alabama
Currently in Alabama, there are only SIX or SEVEN tribes “officially” recognized by the State, several of these tribes are:
Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama (“http://www.tsalagi.org”), Machis Lower Creek Indian Tribe, Star Clan of Muskogee Creeks, Cherokees of Southeast Alabama, and Mowa Band of Chotaw Indians.
[NOTE: There are several other Cherokee groups/tribes that are recognized by the State of Alabama — Cherokee’s of Alabama, based in Joppa; UCAN, based in NE Alabama, and others…which will be added as I learn more about them.]
Closing Comments
While traveling with the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears Reverend Daniel S. Butrick had this to say: “Yet we have been distressed on every side, we have not been destroyed, we have not been destroyed,” he wrote on one particularly hard day.
The heritage of the Cherokee is one of persistence; whether or not they are a “conquered people,” I don’t feel that any Native American group should be thought of in that manner. Yet, many white’ people say things not realizing how harsh the words sound to someone whose heritage is one of Native American blood.
What does it mean to be Indian?
One writer traveling through the ancestral homeland has this to say about his Cherokee forefathers: “It was a Nation who answered to no one but itself and the Great Spirit.
Aside from the Eastern Band, it is possible that a trace of the Cherokee people does exist in the old homelands – most there claim to be Cherokee. Who am I to say whether or not they are Cherokee.
What I do know is that, while we may be decades departed from those old lands, the Cherokee Indian retains a presence in the Southeast.
“Our dead are buried there and our names resonate to this day. The Cherokee can be scorned, maltreated, and driven from there homes, but their spirit will always remain in those hills.”
Thus I will close this report, and ponder the information it covers.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about the Cherokee, I know I have found a deeper admiration of what these people went, and are going through; in hope of “pursuing happiness,” as we all do.
— Cathy A. Abernathy
[ END ]
Cherokee's of Alabama 
