History
History of the Cherokee -- First Contact with Europeans
The first recorded European contact with the Cherokee was Hernando De
Soto's expedition of 1540. Records of the expedition refer to the tribe as
"Chalaque", probably from the Mobilian trade language (a corrupted Choctaw
jargon used by the tribes of the Southeast), probably meaning "cave
people". This word in the southern Cherokee dialect was pronounced
"Tsa-la-gi" but in the eastern area pronounced "Tsa-ra-gi", from which the
name "Cherokee" is derived. The Cherokee called themselves "Ani-Yun-wiya",
the principal people. The Cherokee also referred to themselves as
"Ani-Kituhwagi", the people of Kituhwa -- an ancient town which was
probably the original nucleus of the tribe.
In April of 1540, De Soto crossed through the Cherokee country looking for
gold. The Spanish explorers found the first Cherokee village they
encountered practically deserted. The Cherokee were aware of the
outrageous conduct of the Spaniards toward neighboring tribes so they
abandoned their towns before the arrival of the expedition, leaving behind
only those who could not travel. In need of food and receiving no help
from the Cherokee, the expedition quickly moved on to the north.
Turning to the west, across the Blue Ridge, De Soto again entered the
Cherokee country and received a much warmer welcome. The Cherokee were
reportedly very hospitable and provided the travelers with much needed
food -- corn, wild turkey, and other small game.
De Soto moved on to the Muscogee, Creek, country but sent two soldiers
back into the Cherokee country to look for reported copper and gold mines.
One report states that they found mines of a fine species of copper with
indications of gold and silver but De Soto chose not to return to search
for the mines.
The two soldiers were given a dressed buffalo skin, the first obtained by
white men, and described it as "an ox hide as thin as a calf's skin, and
the hair like a soft wool between the coarse and fine wool of sheep." It
should be noted that buffalo (actually the correct name is "bison") did
not just roam the "Great Plains" but could be found all the way to the
Atlantic Coast.
The next reported contact with Europeans came in the fall of 1566. The
Spanish had established Fort San Felipe near present Port Royal, SC and a
small expedition was sent into the interior of the region. Joined the
following summer by another detachment of troops, the combined force
returned to their fort. Most reports were that they received a friendly
reception everywhere along their route.
The Spanish carried on mining and smelting of gold and other metals within
the Cherokee country in the mid to late 1600's. Although these operations
were kept secret by the Spanish, they were well known in the Spanish
settlements of Santa Elena and Saint Augustine
History of the Cherokee -- First Contact with Europeans
The first recorded European contact with the Cherokee was Hernando De
Soto's expedition of 1540. Records of the expedition refer to the tribe as
"Chalaque", probably from the Mobilian trade language (a corrupted Choctaw
jargon used by the tribes of the Southeast), probably meaning "cave
people". This word in the southern Cherokee dialect was pronounced
"Tsa-la-gi" but in the eastern area pronounced "Tsa-ra-gi", from which the
name "Cherokee" is derived. The Cherokee called themselves "Ani-Yun-wiya",
the principal people. The Cherokee also referred to themselves as
"Ani-Kituhwagi", the people of Kituhwa -- an ancient town which was
probably the original nucleus of the tribe.
In April of 1540, De Soto crossed through the Cherokee country looking for
gold. The Spanish explorers found the first Cherokee village they
encountered practically deserted. The Cherokee were aware of the
outrageous conduct of the Spaniards toward neighboring tribes so they
abandoned their towns before the arrival of the expedition, leaving behind
only those who could not travel. In need of food and receiving no help
from the Cherokee, the expedition quickly moved on to the north.
Turning to the west, across the Blue Ridge, De Soto again entered the
Cherokee country and received a much warmer welcome. The Cherokee were
reportedly very hospitable and provided the travelers with much needed
food -- corn, wild turkey, and other small game.
De Soto moved on to the Muscogee, Creek, country but sent two soldiers
back into the Cherokee country to look for reported copper and gold mines.
One report states that they found mines of a fine species of copper with
indications of gold and silver but De Soto chose not to return to search
for the mines.
The two soldiers were given a dressed buffalo skin, the first obtained by
white men, and described it as "an ox hide as thin as a calf's skin, and
the hair like a soft wool between the coarse and fine wool of sheep." It
should be noted that buffalo (actually the correct name is "bison") did
not just roam the "Great Plains" but could be found all the way to the
Atlantic Coast.
The next reported contact with Europeans came in the fall of 1566. The
Spanish had established Fort San Felipe near present Port Royal, SC and a
small expedition was sent into the interior of the region. Joined the
following summer by another detachment of troops, the combined force
returned to their fort. Most reports were that they received a friendly
reception everywhere along their route.
The Spanish carried on mining and smelting of gold and other metals within
the Cherokee country in the mid to late 1600's. Although these operations
were kept secret by the Spanish, they were well known in the Spanish
settlements of Santa Elena and Saint Augustine
History of the Cherokee -- 1700 Through the Revolutionary War
As tribes acquired firearms from Europeans and used them against neighboring tribes, a "weaponry race" began. Tribes accelerated trade to acquire firearms for military purposes. Initially the guns were purchased with furs and skins. The South Carolina Colony, established in 1670, was encouraging the tribes to trade their Native American prisoners of war which were then sold into slavery.
In 1705, there were complaints from North Carolina that the South Carolina governor's trade in Native American slaves had so angered the tribes that an Indian war was inevitable. Several tribes, including the Cherokee, assisted colonists in driving out their mutual enemy, the Tuscarora, in a war that lasted from 1711-1713. However, with the Tuscarora out of the way, the tribes begin to address their grievances with the colonists -- primarily the sale of Native Americans into slavery despite agreements to discontinue this practice. The result was a war, in 1715, in which the combined tribes in the region threatened to wipe-out the South Carolina Colony. Ultimately, the colonists were able to mass their forces and after achieving several victories the tribes began to sue for peace. Peace was made with the Cherokee who were given a large quantity of guns and ammunition in exchange for their alliance with the colony.
In 1721, a treaty was signed with South Carolina to systematize trade but the most significant condition was the establishment of a fixed boundary between the Cherokee and the colony which was the first land cession made by the Cherokee to the Europeans. The population of the Cherokee Nation was probably 16,000-17,000 including 6,000 warriors. Although allied with the English, the Cherokee began to favor the French who had established Fort Toulouse near present Montgomery AL. The French showed greater respect for the Indians than the British who considered them an inferior race. (It should be noted that the English also considered non-English whites as inferior). To prevent a Cherokee alliance with the French, Sir Alexander Cuming visited the prominent Cherokee towns and convinced the Cherokee to select an "emperor", Chief Moytoy of Tellico, to represent the tribe in all dealings with the British. In addition, he escorted seven Cherokees to England who met with the King and swore allegiance to the crown. A treaty was signed obligating the Cherokee to trade only with the British, return all runaway slaves, and to expel all non-English whites from their territory. In return, the Cherokee received a substantial amount of guns, ammunition, and red paint. Although the seven Cherokee who made the trip were presented to the king as "chiefs", only one could be considered a prominent Cherokee -- the others being young men who went for the adventure. The chiefs of the tribe declined due to their responsibilities for hunting and defense. However, one of the young men was Attacullakulla, known as "Little Carpenter", who later became a powerful and influential chief. About 1738, small pox, brought to Carolina by slave ships, broke out among the Cherokee with such terrible effect that nearly half the tribe died from the disease within a year. Native Americans had never been exposed to many European diseases and had no immunity to them. To make matters worse, the traditional Cherokee remedy for serious illnesses of plunging in a cold stream was the worst possible treatment. James Adair, an English trader who lived among the Cherokee for 40 years, reported the Cherokee were so proud of their physical appearance that when they saw their disfigurement from the disease many warriors committed suicide: Some shot themselves, others cut their throats, some stabbed themselves with knives and others with sharp-pointed canes; many threw themselves with sullen madness into the fire and there slowly expired, as if they had been utterly divested of the native power of feeling pain.
The small pox epidemic was also devastating to Cherokee religious tradition. Cherokee priests, unable to cure the disease, fell from favor. The priests felt that the tribe was being punished for adopting the white man's ways and discarded their now powerless sacred objects. The Cherokee were constantly at war with neighboring tribes. In 1715, they drove the Shawnee northward out of the Cumberland River region. They continued their hereditary war with the Creeks (Muscogee). They fought an eleven year war with the Chickasaw until they were ultimately defeated in 1768. When the Seven Years War ("French and Indian War") began, the Cherokee would have sided with the French except for their dependence on trade with the English. Lieutenant Henry Timberlake, a young Virginian officer who visited the Cherokee a few years later, gave the reasons for their fondness for the French: I found the nation much attached to the French, who have the prudence, by familiar politeness -- which costs but little and often does a great deal -- and conforming themselves to their ways and temper, to conciliate the inclinations of almost all the Indians they are acquainted with, while the pride of our officers often disgusts them. Nay, they did not scruple to own to me that it was the trade alone that induced them to make peace with us, and not any preference to the French, whom they loved a great deal better....
The English are now so nigh, and encroached daily so far upon them, that they not only felt the bad effects of it in their hunting grounds, which were spoiled, but had all the reason in the world to apprehend being swallowed up by so potent neighbors or driven from the country inhabited by their fathers, in which they were born and bought up, in fine, their native soil, for which all men have a particular tenderness and affection. A treaty was signed in 1754 reaffirming the Cherokee alliance with the English and, besides the usual stipulation of land sessions, provided for British forts in the Cherokee country. In spite of the treaty, the Cherokee were obviously in contact with the French and perhaps participated with other French-allied tribes in raids against the British colonists. About 100 Cherokee accompanied a British expedition that was intended to attack the French-allied Shawnee but the campaign was abandoned when their provisions were lost while attempting to cross a swollen river. The Cherokee began home on foot in starving condition, angered at the contempt and neglect they experienced from the British. They "confiscated" some free-roaming horses belonging to Virginia colonists, feeling fully justified considering their service to the ungrateful colonists. The colonists, however, attacked the Cherokee, killing over twenty of them. The Cherokee dead were mutilated and scalped and the scalps redeemed for bounty as provided by Virginia law. The chiefs of the Nation attempted to negotiate restitution with the colonists but the young warriors were so incensed that they began raiding border settlements. The colonists declared war, cut-off all trade, and demanded that numerous chiefs be surrendered for execution. Thirty-two prominent Cherokee, including the famous war chief Oconostota, went to Fort Prince George, in South Carolina, to attempt to negotiate peace but the British took the whole party prisoner. Chief Attacullakulla, the Little Carpenter, was able to negotiate the release of Oconostota and two others while the remaining twenty-nine chiefs remained captive. Angered at the tactics of the British, Oconostota laid siege to Fort Prince George. The commander of the fort was called out to speak to Oconostota but when he came out he was shot and killed. The garrison of the fort immediately killed their twenty-nine captives. With war now in full swing, Oconostota's warriors begin raiding the Carolina settlements while other Cherokees laid siege to Fort Loudoun in what is now eastern Tennessee. A force of 1,600 Colonials drove Cherokees back and destroyed numerous towns. The Cherokee, however, massed a large force and in June of 1760 forced the colonists to retire leaving Fort Loudoun under siege. Fort Loudoun surrendered to Oconostota in August on the condition that they would be allowed safe passage with sufficient arms and ammunition for the march home but delivering all other weapons and ammunition to the Cherokee.
When they occupied the fort, the Cherokee discovered that powder, balls (i.e., bullets), and cannon had been buried or thrown in the river. Angered at the former garrison's deception, the Cherokees attacked the soldiers the next morning killing 29 in the first volley and taking the remainder prisoner until they were later ransomed by the colony. The colonist demanded revenge and, despite attempts for peace by Attacullakulla, sent a 2,600 man force in 1761 which destroyed 15 Cherokee towns and "pushed the frontier seventy miles farther to the west" though incurring heavy losses in the process. Attacullakulla was able to negotiate a treaty with the South Carolina colony in September of 1761. In November of the same year, a force of Virginians who had descended as far a present Kingsport TN were met by a delegation of Cherokees and a treaty was signed. In addition, Lt. Henry Timberlake volunteered to return with the Cherokee and lived with them for several months. Timberlake later took a delegation of chiefs to England but, since the trip was not authorized by the government, they were practically ignored and returned disgusted. By the time France and England made peace in 1763, the tribes throughout the region had been devastated by warfare, loss of crops and orchards, and another small pox epidemic. Immigrants began to flood across the mountains. Numerous treaties were signed, each relinquishing more land to the whites, in an attempt to fix a permanent border but all were ignored by the settlers. The most significant treaty was the Henderson Purchase in 1775 which ceded.
As tribes acquired firearms from Europeans and used them against neighboring tribes, a "weaponry race" began. Tribes accelerated trade to acquire firearms for military purposes. Initially the guns were purchased with furs and skins. The South Carolina Colony, established in 1670, was encouraging the tribes to trade their Native American prisoners of war which were then sold into slavery.
In 1705, there were complaints from North Carolina that the South Carolina governor's trade in Native American slaves had so angered the tribes that an Indian war was inevitable. Several tribes, including the Cherokee, assisted colonists in driving out their mutual enemy, the Tuscarora, in a war that lasted from 1711-1713. However, with the Tuscarora out of the way, the tribes begin to address their grievances with the colonists -- primarily the sale of Native Americans into slavery despite agreements to discontinue this practice. The result was a war, in 1715, in which the combined tribes in the region threatened to wipe-out the South Carolina Colony. Ultimately, the colonists were able to mass their forces and after achieving several victories the tribes began to sue for peace. Peace was made with the Cherokee who were given a large quantity of guns and ammunition in exchange for their alliance with the colony.
In 1721, a treaty was signed with South Carolina to systematize trade but the most significant condition was the establishment of a fixed boundary between the Cherokee and the colony which was the first land cession made by the Cherokee to the Europeans. The population of the Cherokee Nation was probably 16,000-17,000 including 6,000 warriors. Although allied with the English, the Cherokee began to favor the French who had established Fort Toulouse near present Montgomery AL. The French showed greater respect for the Indians than the British who considered them an inferior race. (It should be noted that the English also considered non-English whites as inferior). To prevent a Cherokee alliance with the French, Sir Alexander Cuming visited the prominent Cherokee towns and convinced the Cherokee to select an "emperor", Chief Moytoy of Tellico, to represent the tribe in all dealings with the British. In addition, he escorted seven Cherokees to England who met with the King and swore allegiance to the crown. A treaty was signed obligating the Cherokee to trade only with the British, return all runaway slaves, and to expel all non-English whites from their territory. In return, the Cherokee received a substantial amount of guns, ammunition, and red paint. Although the seven Cherokee who made the trip were presented to the king as "chiefs", only one could be considered a prominent Cherokee -- the others being young men who went for the adventure. The chiefs of the tribe declined due to their responsibilities for hunting and defense. However, one of the young men was Attacullakulla, known as "Little Carpenter", who later became a powerful and influential chief. About 1738, small pox, brought to Carolina by slave ships, broke out among the Cherokee with such terrible effect that nearly half the tribe died from the disease within a year. Native Americans had never been exposed to many European diseases and had no immunity to them. To make matters worse, the traditional Cherokee remedy for serious illnesses of plunging in a cold stream was the worst possible treatment. James Adair, an English trader who lived among the Cherokee for 40 years, reported the Cherokee were so proud of their physical appearance that when they saw their disfigurement from the disease many warriors committed suicide: Some shot themselves, others cut their throats, some stabbed themselves with knives and others with sharp-pointed canes; many threw themselves with sullen madness into the fire and there slowly expired, as if they had been utterly divested of the native power of feeling pain.
The small pox epidemic was also devastating to Cherokee religious tradition. Cherokee priests, unable to cure the disease, fell from favor. The priests felt that the tribe was being punished for adopting the white man's ways and discarded their now powerless sacred objects. The Cherokee were constantly at war with neighboring tribes. In 1715, they drove the Shawnee northward out of the Cumberland River region. They continued their hereditary war with the Creeks (Muscogee). They fought an eleven year war with the Chickasaw until they were ultimately defeated in 1768. When the Seven Years War ("French and Indian War") began, the Cherokee would have sided with the French except for their dependence on trade with the English. Lieutenant Henry Timberlake, a young Virginian officer who visited the Cherokee a few years later, gave the reasons for their fondness for the French: I found the nation much attached to the French, who have the prudence, by familiar politeness -- which costs but little and often does a great deal -- and conforming themselves to their ways and temper, to conciliate the inclinations of almost all the Indians they are acquainted with, while the pride of our officers often disgusts them. Nay, they did not scruple to own to me that it was the trade alone that induced them to make peace with us, and not any preference to the French, whom they loved a great deal better....
The English are now so nigh, and encroached daily so far upon them, that they not only felt the bad effects of it in their hunting grounds, which were spoiled, but had all the reason in the world to apprehend being swallowed up by so potent neighbors or driven from the country inhabited by their fathers, in which they were born and bought up, in fine, their native soil, for which all men have a particular tenderness and affection. A treaty was signed in 1754 reaffirming the Cherokee alliance with the English and, besides the usual stipulation of land sessions, provided for British forts in the Cherokee country. In spite of the treaty, the Cherokee were obviously in contact with the French and perhaps participated with other French-allied tribes in raids against the British colonists. About 100 Cherokee accompanied a British expedition that was intended to attack the French-allied Shawnee but the campaign was abandoned when their provisions were lost while attempting to cross a swollen river. The Cherokee began home on foot in starving condition, angered at the contempt and neglect they experienced from the British. They "confiscated" some free-roaming horses belonging to Virginia colonists, feeling fully justified considering their service to the ungrateful colonists. The colonists, however, attacked the Cherokee, killing over twenty of them. The Cherokee dead were mutilated and scalped and the scalps redeemed for bounty as provided by Virginia law. The chiefs of the Nation attempted to negotiate restitution with the colonists but the young warriors were so incensed that they began raiding border settlements. The colonists declared war, cut-off all trade, and demanded that numerous chiefs be surrendered for execution. Thirty-two prominent Cherokee, including the famous war chief Oconostota, went to Fort Prince George, in South Carolina, to attempt to negotiate peace but the British took the whole party prisoner. Chief Attacullakulla, the Little Carpenter, was able to negotiate the release of Oconostota and two others while the remaining twenty-nine chiefs remained captive. Angered at the tactics of the British, Oconostota laid siege to Fort Prince George. The commander of the fort was called out to speak to Oconostota but when he came out he was shot and killed. The garrison of the fort immediately killed their twenty-nine captives. With war now in full swing, Oconostota's warriors begin raiding the Carolina settlements while other Cherokees laid siege to Fort Loudoun in what is now eastern Tennessee. A force of 1,600 Colonials drove Cherokees back and destroyed numerous towns. The Cherokee, however, massed a large force and in June of 1760 forced the colonists to retire leaving Fort Loudoun under siege. Fort Loudoun surrendered to Oconostota in August on the condition that they would be allowed safe passage with sufficient arms and ammunition for the march home but delivering all other weapons and ammunition to the Cherokee.
When they occupied the fort, the Cherokee discovered that powder, balls (i.e., bullets), and cannon had been buried or thrown in the river. Angered at the former garrison's deception, the Cherokees attacked the soldiers the next morning killing 29 in the first volley and taking the remainder prisoner until they were later ransomed by the colony. The colonist demanded revenge and, despite attempts for peace by Attacullakulla, sent a 2,600 man force in 1761 which destroyed 15 Cherokee towns and "pushed the frontier seventy miles farther to the west" though incurring heavy losses in the process. Attacullakulla was able to negotiate a treaty with the South Carolina colony in September of 1761. In November of the same year, a force of Virginians who had descended as far a present Kingsport TN were met by a delegation of Cherokees and a treaty was signed. In addition, Lt. Henry Timberlake volunteered to return with the Cherokee and lived with them for several months. Timberlake later took a delegation of chiefs to England but, since the trip was not authorized by the government, they were practically ignored and returned disgusted. By the time France and England made peace in 1763, the tribes throughout the region had been devastated by warfare, loss of crops and orchards, and another small pox epidemic. Immigrants began to flood across the mountains. Numerous treaties were signed, each relinquishing more land to the whites, in an attempt to fix a permanent border but all were ignored by the settlers. The most significant treaty was the Henderson Purchase in 1775 which ceded.
Clans
Wolf Clan (Ani way ha)
The Wolf Clan is the largest and the most prominent.
It has most of the war chiefs. T
hey are the Keepers of the Wolf.
Blue Clan (Ani s ahoni)
Also known as the Panther Clan, made blue medicine from a blue plant to keep the children well.
Also known as the Wildcat clan.
The Long Hair Clan (A ni gi lohi)
Also known as the Twister, Hair Hanging Down clan and the Wind Clan.
Those of this clan wore their hair long and either down or braided.
They walked in a proud manner and were teachers of the old ways and people of peace not war.
Most of the Peace Chiefs were of this clan.
They wore a robe of white feathers.
Bird Clan (Ani tis qua)
Keeper of the birds as well as our messengers.
The people of this clan were skilled in use of the blowgun.
They used it for hunting birds.
Paint Clan (Ani Wo di)
The paint clan made red paint.
They were sometimes considered medicine men and sorcerers.
Deer Clan (Ani Awi)
This clan was keepers of the deer and hunters of the deer.
They were also fast runners.
Wild Potato Clan (Ani gat o geioi)
Also known as the Raccoon Clan or the Blind Savannah Clan, Bear Clan.
They were well known to be the gatherers of the wild potatoes plant for making food.
Wolf Clan (Ani way ha)
The Wolf Clan is the largest and the most prominent.
It has most of the war chiefs. T
hey are the Keepers of the Wolf.
Blue Clan (Ani s ahoni)
Also known as the Panther Clan, made blue medicine from a blue plant to keep the children well.
Also known as the Wildcat clan.
The Long Hair Clan (A ni gi lohi)
Also known as the Twister, Hair Hanging Down clan and the Wind Clan.
Those of this clan wore their hair long and either down or braided.
They walked in a proud manner and were teachers of the old ways and people of peace not war.
Most of the Peace Chiefs were of this clan.
They wore a robe of white feathers.
Bird Clan (Ani tis qua)
Keeper of the birds as well as our messengers.
The people of this clan were skilled in use of the blowgun.
They used it for hunting birds.
Paint Clan (Ani Wo di)
The paint clan made red paint.
They were sometimes considered medicine men and sorcerers.
Deer Clan (Ani Awi)
This clan was keepers of the deer and hunters of the deer.
They were also fast runners.
Wild Potato Clan (Ani gat o geioi)
Also known as the Raccoon Clan or the Blind Savannah Clan, Bear Clan.
They were well known to be the gatherers of the wild potatoes plant for making food.