The Cherokee Nation, largest of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast, is a people of Iroquoian lineage

The Cherokee Nation, largest of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast, is a people of Iroquoian lineage. The Cherokee, who called themselves "Ani'-Yun' wiya" or "Principal People", migrated to the Southeast from the Great Lakes Region. They commanded more than 40,000 square miles in the southern Appalachians by 1650 with a population estimated at 22,500.

Similar to other Native Americans of the Southeast, their nation was a confederacy of towns, each subordinate to supreme chiefs. When encountered by Europeans, they were an agrarian people who lived in log homes (not tee pees) and observed sacred religious practices.

During the American Revolution the Cherokees, as well as the Creek and Choctaw, supported the British and made several attacks on forts and settlements in the frontier.

After 1800 the Cherokees profoundly assimilated White culture. They adopted a government patterned after the United States, wore European-style dress, and followed the white man's farming and home-building methods. Ironically, the Cherokees fought with Andrew Jackson in the Creek War (1813-14).

Cherokee culture continued to flourish with the invention of the Cherokee syllabary by Sequoyah in 1821. This system, in which each character represents a syllable, produced rapid literacy. It made possible their written constitution, the spread of Christianity, and the printing of the only Native American newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix, begun in 1828. A seat of government was built at New Echota.

However, that same year gold was discovered in north Georgia's Cherokee territory. Within a decade the Principal People's native home, their "Enchanted Land", would be theirs no more.

Today, some argue, we are at the dawn of a new era, one that will change the core of our society. Instances of cultural change on a societal level are rare in the history of the world. Europeans begin such a change in the 1400's, fueled by the ink of Gutenburg's printing press. Yet no society makes a change comparable to the dramatic cultural shift that the Cherokee accomplish in North Georgia from 1794 to 1835.

Great plagues and wars ravage the residents of southern and western Europe starting in the 1300's. From the ashes of fires that burn the bodies of the dead rises a new society, better and stronger for what happened. A society changed immutably by the forces of nature and the nature of man. The epochs of man are delineated by the names given these cultural revolutions-Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and The Enlightenment which culminates in the formation of a new country, the United States.

In America the Cherokee are ravaged by European disease; they are repeatedly swept with smallpox outbreaks. As coastal whites move closer to the inland significant trading with the Cherokee develops. In the first 15 years of the 18th century over a million pelts are shipped from the port of Charleston, South Carolina. The impact on the environment forces the braves to hunt further from home and competition from white hunters depletes these resources. With the encroachments of the whites beginning in 1721(South Carolina), border wars with neighboring Indians, and disease, the Cherokee face a new life. To the Cherokee the world is crumbling.

The world itself is spiritual. Rivers, mountains, sky, and animals are filled with spirits worshipped by these Native Americans. Priests provide a link to the spirit world. Smallpox wipes out half the tribe in 1738-1739 and priests are greatly reduced in number. Called upon to treat the ill, they frequently fall victim to the disease themselves, and their herbal treatment offers no cure for this fatal disease. As death becomes commonplace among Cherokee, customs change. Society is more promiscuous, as in Europe, a natural reaction to ever-present death. A new ceremonial dance reflecting the prevalence of death in the culture is introduced.

With many spiritual symbols of the failure of these priests, and reduced numbers, they lose power. However, strong matrilineal clans are still the core of the society. Each clan has a name (Paint Clan, Deer Clan, Wolf Clan...) and members of each clan populate villages. Intra-clan marriages are forbidden. When married, the man lives with his wife's clan. Anyone may speak at council, which is ruled by the oldest warriors, and in some cases, elder women.

During the French and Indian War (also called the Seven Years War) the Cherokee side with the British. After unprovoked attacks from South Carolina in 1760, they switch sides and engage the settlers in fierce, violent battles on the frontier for nearly two years, signing a peace treaty on British terms late in 1761. Impressed by the British victory, they side with them during the War for American Independence. In 1781 word reaches the Cherokee that the British lose. In 1782 members of the Long Swamp branch(located in present-day Pickens County) sign a treaty with the government ceding about 1600 square miles in eastern Georgia.

Settlers are restricted from Indian Territory prior to the end of the American Revolution by decree of the English king. With the overthrow of the colony's titular head the frontier is thrown open to a vast hoard of frontiersmen blazing the way for farmers and merchants to follow. Unaware the American Government is weaker than the British king, The Treaty of Hopewell is negotiated conceding the government sole power to negotiate with the Cherokee. After a short while the treaty breaks the Cherokee into two distinct groups, the Lower Towns and Upper Towns. The Lower, or River, Towns, known as the Chickamauga, engage in pitched battles off and on over the next 9 years trying to drive white settlers back. The defeat of the Chickamauga in November, 1794, marks the nadir of the Cherokee. From the ashes a new society shall rise.

One of the challenges facing the new United States is internal border conflict with neighbors. Although the conflict is ongoing before 1789 Native Americans deal with colonial governments or royal representatives. Under the Treaty Clause of the United States Constitution, The President is responsible for negotiation with the Cherokee. George Washington faces continuing friction between white settlers and Native Americans, many of whom have already relocated once. Settlers, when writing, use words like simple-minded, ignorant and lazy to describe the Cherokee. Rather than see a different culture, they view these Americans as little more than unwanted animals, like wolves, which they would chase from the land. Cultural friction underlies many of the problems of this frontier. The Cherokee are clan oriented while whites tend to be individualistic. Sacrifice for the clan is a supreme Cherokee belief. When a member of the tribe betrays this tenet, vengeance, in the form of murder, is frequently the result. Settlers who farm see the Cherokee reluctance to begin farming as lazy, and when they do begin to farm the same settlers express fear about "...ever getting rid of them."

Wasington decides that assimilation of American Indians is the best policy. He feels this can be accomplished in 50 years, and specifically targets the Cherokee because they show many traits whites see as promising, ordering Henry Dearborn to begin introduction of technology in the form of spinning wheels and carding machines. Government funded spinning wheels arrive in 1792 along with cotton and seed just before the hunting season. The Cherokee males are surprised by the cloth their wives weave. Among those most impressed with the work is the warrior Ridge when he returns to his home at Pine Log.

The next year, with their own cotton, the Cherokee women weave cloth in six months that is worth more than the pelts the Cherokee men gather in the same amount of time. Ridge begins to see how the technology can help. Two other men live in Pine Log who, along with Ridge, heavily influence the coming renaissance. Charles Hicks, crippled by a painful hip, impresses Ridge because Hicks spends money on books. James Vann, who impresses Ridge because he stands up to a higher chief named Doublehead, also lives there. Together they form the "Cherokee Triumvirate," young chiefs who would change the Cherokee Nation.

With the defeat of the Chickamauga in 1794, early signs of nationalism begin to form among the Cherokee, spurred in part by the Indian agent Dinsmoor. Over the next 12 years the Cherokee establish a rudimentary set of laws by which to govern and begin a loose-knit national police force called the "Lighthorse Patrol."

To the east encroachment troubles the Cherokee. The Wafford Tract in northeast Georgia is sold to whites in 1804, with James Vann acting as agent. A year later the Treaty of Tellico is signed by many of the older chiefs. This includes a provision for a road from Nashville to Savannah following an old Indian trading path. Improvements began on the Federal Highway two years earlier. By 1805 the Georgia Turnpike is complete, crossing the Georgia border south of present day Brainerd, Tennessee, moving south to Ringgold, then almost due southeast. It crosses the Chattahoochee in an area that still today is known as Vann's Ferry. Cherokee, mostly of mixed-blood, along with countrymen, whites who choose to live with the Native Americans, run most of the money-making business on the road.

To ensure the road is approved, the federal government bribes some of the chiefs with "inducements," money and other valuable commodities. One chief who profits handsomely is Doublehead. Vann, Hicks and Ridge and others dislike this policy because the Cherokee as a group are cheated.

In Europe The Reformation changed the interrelation of cultures. Alliances to noblemen evolved into rudimentary national alliances prior to 1500. After Martin Luther, society tended to break along religious lines, Catholic vs. the enemy of the day. For example, in France the Catholics battled the Huguenots. In Germany, the Catholics battled the Lutherans. This period is referred to as the Thirty Years War. Between 1806 and 1810 Cherokee society and allegiances undergo a remarkably similar change in a period referred to as The Revolt of the Young Chiefs.

The man who represents the United States to the Cherokee Nation, and will until 1823, is Return J. Miegs. A Revolutionary War veteran, he acts as advisor, assistant and emissary to the Cherokees. Selected after Washington's term the obedient Miegs follows various President's orders, convinced that Washington's original idea of integration into the United States is "unworkable". By the start of the Revolt of the Young Chiefs the United States policy evolves from one of acculturation to one supporting removal. Miegs has no problem adapting to the new policies, and much to the consternation of the Young Chiefs, actively pursues negotiations with chiefs he knows he can bribe. The Young Chiefs openly revolt against Miegs and the older chiefs. Initially limited, support for this group swells.

In a series of complex internal changes the Upper Towns and Lower Towns merge, with some members of the Lower Towns moving west to Arkansas, at the government's behest. These changes include the murder of Doublehead by the Cherokee Triumvirate, and the murder of James Vann. A brief religious revival, combined with the immense New Madrid earthquake, set the stage for a dramatic cultural shift.

Over-confident after the final victory over Napoleon, the British attempt to wage war against their upstart colony, the United States. Fully aware of the tenuous international situation, Tecumseh attempts to instigate both the Cherokee and Creek Nations. Major Ridge tells the Shawnee warriors to leave the Cherokee, however, a faction of the Creek break off and massacre 250 men, women and children at Fort Mims, Alabama.

Andrew Jackson heads south from Nashville with a group of some 5,000 irregulars, mostly farmers, in search of a good time and a good fight. The Cherokee form a brigade, headed by John Lowrey, a White countryman. Ridge is the highest-ranking Cherokee and takes his rank, Major, as his first name. Many of the other participants play key roles in the future of the Cherokee Nation. John Ross, Sequoyah, and John Walker are among the members who would become historically important in the development of the Cherokee Nation as we know it today.

The Cherokee make significant contributions to the United States effort during the Creek War including saving Andrew Jackson's life on at least one occasion. Ross serves directly under the future president. When the Creek lose the war, Jackson demands cession of the entire third of south Georgia and other lands. Additionally, Jackson demands nearly 2.2 million acres of Cherokee land to which the Creek have only a marginal claim. The Cherokee are shocked.

In the cold winter of 1816 a delegation heads to Washington to dispute the Creek claims to the rich bottomland of the Lower Towns. Running from the southern end of Tennessee into northwestern Alabama, Jackson had many reasons for wanting this land. He was a notorious land speculator, to reward troops from Tennessee, to rid the frontier state of its "Indian problem." However, Secretary of War William Crawford, himself a Georgian, and President James Madison are impressed by the Cherokee claims. On March 22, 1816, they side with the Cherokee and deal Andrew Jackson a serious personal defeat.

Success for the Cherokee was to be short-lived. In September of 1816 a group of 15 chiefs attend a Chickasaw treaty negotiation. Among the 15 were Sequoyah and John Lowrey. They sign a pact with Jackson essentially ceding the same lands that Madison and Crawford returned to the Cherokee.

Over the next two years Cherokee resolve solidifies. Heading to Washington in 1819, with the belief that the federal government would demand the Cherokee move west, John Ross expects the worst. His skillful negotiations disarm the government and only a small amount of land is ceded. When Ross returns with word of the agreement, The Council passes a law that forbids any person to sign a treaty ceding land from the Cherokee Nation. This would establish a final battle line.

Or so they thought. While most Cherokee supported the idea of a strong central council, some, especially in the Lower Towns, (Chickamauga) did not. They felt they should control their rich bottomland, and not the Cherokee council that was gaining power in New Echota. In the "Creek Path conspiracy" a group of Chickamauga chiefs, probably including Sequoyah, tried to sell Cherokee land to Jackson. No record of punishment for the crime exists, but it did underscore the increasing differences and factionalization of the tribe.

Hightower

October 17, 1793

Estimated casualties: Unknown

The story of the battle of Hightower begins eight years before the fighting occurs and 150 miles from the actual location. It is 1785 and the Cherokee sign the Treaty of Hopewell. Named for a South Carolina town, this pact guarantees the Cherokee right to the land they now possessed.

For a number of reasons, but mostly because of the encroachment of settlers on Cherokee land, the Lower Towns (Chickamauga) begin fighting with factions of settlers in the late 1780's. By 1793 the raids can be called a war for our fledgling nation, the United States of America . Officials of the new government, with the approval of President George Washington, make an attempt to negotiate a treaty with the Chickamauga.

William Blount, provisional governor of Tennessee is intimately involved with the events since Hopewell. He is a witness to the original treaty. Blount, who signed the Constitution in 1789, is aware of the negotiations being conducted by the federal government. The governor is also aware that John "Nolichucky Jack" Sevier is preparing to raid the Cherokee 100 miles southwest of Knoxville, in the same approximate area as the treaty negotiations. While there is no proof that Nolichucky Jack knew of these negotiations, Sevier opposed the treaty, feeling that without the treaty he could "wipe out this scourge."

Nolichucky Jack surrounds the small village that holds the federal negotiators and orders Captain John Beard to attack with a detachment of men (probably less than 100). In the attack many Cherokee are killed and James Orr, Daniel Carmicheal and Major Thomas King (the federal negotiators) flee. Sevier is gone as quickly as he appears. President George Washington orders Beard arrested and tried in a United States military court.

The Chickamaugas know that settlers tried in federal courts are rarely convicted of crimes against Cherokee, and such is the case this time. The man is freed, aggravating both President Washington and the Chickamaugas. Seeking blood vengeance in accordance with Cherokee law, John Watts leads a war party of both Cherokee and Creek to attack Knoxville, Tennessee.

Knoxville is only the final target. As they move deep into Tennessee, raids on settlements cut a swath near Sevier's home. On the French Broad River near the Knoxville Road, Cavett's Station is attacked by the war party and during the initial battle Alexander Cavett and a number of Cherokee warriors are killed. Watts offers clemency to the family of Cavett if they surrender and the survivors agree. However, a faction of the combined Indian forces objects to the truce and attacks when the Cavett family leaves their home.

A bloody battle between the Cherokee breaks out. Doublehead and his men, along with some of the Creek Indians begin killing the members of Cavett's family. The mixed blood Cherokee James Vann hoists a young boy to his saddle in an attempt to protect him, but Doublehead kills him with a single blow to the head. Another boy is given to a group of Creek Indians for protection during the battle, and he is murdered.

Stories such as these spread throughout the settled portions of Tennessee. John Sevier has no problem raising a larger force of men to battle the invaders and promptly chases away the Chickamaugan Cherokee and their allies before they enter the city of Knoxville. The war party breaks up. Some head north into Kentucky and some East towards North Carolina.

Sevier follows the largest party down to Hightower a large Chickamaugan village of the day at the site of present-day Rome, Georgia. King Fisher and Doublehead know of the approach of their nemisis, Nolichucky Jack. Taking a secure position on Myrtle Hill, the Cherokee and Creek use the Etowah and Coosa Rivers to protect themselves from the Tennesseans.

In the only written account of the battle, John Sevier describes two attempts to ford the rivers. The successful attempt, about a mile upstream from the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers is met by strong Cherokee resistance. It is during this fighting that the King Fisher is killed.

The death of King Fisher is a crucial blow to the Cherokee. The remaining warriors flee. While the Tennesseeans move west down the Coosa River destroying both Creek and Cherokee villages, the Hightower Cherokee not killed in battle move east along the Etowah to present-day Cartersville, Georgia, where they start a new village, also called Hightower.

Today the battle of Hightower is marked by a single stone in the Myrtle Hill Cemetery. John Sevier went on to become the first governor of the state of Tennessee and later U. S. Senator. Hugh Lawson White, the man reputed to have killed King Fisher, begins practicing law in Knoxville in 1796 and becomes Senator White in 1825. His third party run for United States President in 1836 ends with him winning the states of Tennessee and Georgia.

Doublehead became an important Cherokee Chief, but paid the price for attacking the boy in James Vann's saddle. 17 years later Vann would plot his murder as part of the "Revolt of the Young Chiefs." Major Ridge, who was also present, would go on to many powerful positions in the Cherokee Nation.

Cherokee Index

Index of all Cherokee pages on About North Georgia

Sequoyah's Talking Leaves

Realizing a key to development of the Cherokee Nation was a written language, Sequoyah began work on a graphic representation of the Cherokee language. The syllabary, officially listed as being completed in 1821, took 12 years to create. Sequoyah came up with the idea of "Talking Leaves" when he visited Chief Charles Hicks, who showed him how to write his name so he could sign his work like American silversmiths had begun to do.

Initially, Sequoyah tried pictographs, but soon discovered that the number of symbols in the Cherokee language would be in the thousands. Then he began to create symbols for each syllable the Cherokees use. This was the essential step in creating the syllabary. Sequoyah's written language was not the first example of the concept. A Japanese syllabary was developed from 5th century A. D. Chinese ideographic writing. The concept of an alphabet, which denotes sounds instead of syllables, originated in Phoenicia.

His work was interupted by the Creek War of 1813-1814, when he joined a Cherokee force under the leadership of The Ridge. After the war, Major Ridge would be called on as leader of the Lighthorse Patrol to punish to Sequoyah for trying to create the syllabary. The leaders of the tribe felt that this written language was the work of the devil, and to force him to stop they ordered Ridge to remove the tops of his fingers.

Although he lacked a formal education he spoke several languages fluently. Returning to the Lower Towns, he continued his work while he was caught up in the Creek Path Conspiracy. His syllabary originally contained 115 characters, but he reduced this number to 83 before its first publication. Later, three additional sounds were added bringing the number up to 86.

Disenchanted with the movement towards nationalism, Sequoyah left Georgia in 1821 and moved to Arkansas, arriving in 1822. He was living here when the syllabary was introduced to the Cherokee Nation. In a few short years one man had achieved a means of communication that had taken other civilizations thousands of years to accomplish.

Use of the language spread quickly through the Cherokee Nation. Anyone who could speak the Cherokee language could learn to read or write in two weeks. Thousands of Cherokee began to use Sequoyah's invention on a daily basis and the syllabary gave the nation the ability to create the first American Indian newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix

The name "Talking Leaves" was satirical of whites. The Cherokee felt that white man's words dried up and blew away like leaves when the words no longer suited the whites.

The Cherokee Phoenix (and Indian Advocate)

One of the outstanding achievements of the Cherokee Nation was publication of the first American Indian newspaper. The Cherokee Phoenix, which is still published today, acted as the official voice of the government for the seven years that it was published from an office in the capital city of New Echota. This great national voice would be silenced by the infamous Georgia Guard and the brother of the first publisher.

Sequoyah's "Talking Leaves" gave the Cherokee a tool with which to create the first American Indian newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix. In 1826 the Council approved the construction of a printing office. In 1827 they authorized the purchase of a printing press.

With help from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions the printing office was built. Type was cast in the Cherokee language, a printer was hired, and a printing press and other equipment was sent to the Cherokee capital of New Echota. Choosing Elias Boudinot (Buck Oowatie) as editor seemed natural. Educated at Cornwall, Connecticut, he had worked hard to establish the Phoenix, raising a portion of the money needed through speaking engagements in the northeastern United States. Also raising money through speaking engagements were Boudinot's brother Stand Watie, John Ridge and Elijah Hicks.

The first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix rolled off the presses on February 28, 1828 and had an international circulation. Editor Boudinot was immediately beset with financial problems, one of which was his yearly salary of $300.00. He requested, and got, a substantial raise and an assistant in late 1829 thanks to the efforts of Principal Chief John Ross.

Realizing that many of the issues being faced by the Cherokee were also being faced by other tribes, Boudinot requested that the name of the newspaper be changed to The Cherokee Phoenix and Indian Advocate in 1829. The Cherokee government agreed and both the masthead and content were changed to reflect the new mission.

Ross used the paper successfully as an national voice. Communicating with the Cherokee, spread across present-day Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas was difficult. Printing new laws and meeting notices in the Phoenix fulfilled certain legal obligations of the country. It also served to bring the widespread Cherokee together in what Ross viewed as a single nation.

During this time Boudinot was a strong supporter of the nationalistic movement led by John Ross. His writings included diatribes against the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the encroachment of settlers, and the unwillingness of white courts to accept sworn testimony of Cherokee witnesses. He even supported the law that made it a crime punishable by death to give up land without the approval of the Council.

In 1832 John Ridge joined a small group of Cherokee who began to doubt that the Nation would continue to thrive in the East. He openly advocated removal. Boudinot soon began to embrace the idea and his changing attitude was reflected in the editorials he wrote for the paper. At first Ross defended young Elias from the wrath of the Cherokee government, believing diversified opinions were good.

As Boudinot became convinced that John Ridge was right he began to allow his opinion to seep into the day-to-day news. At first, Ross asked him contain his opinions to the editorial page, then finally demanded that Boudinot cease printing anything about removal. The first publisher of the Cherokee Phoenix resigned, citing Ross's intolerance of "diversified views."

Charles Hicks, the brother-in-law of Ross, was appointed editor. Hicks was strongly against removal, but did as Ross wanted, containing his opinion to the editorial page. Occasionally the Phoenix would print letters from Boudinot, whose house was just down the street from the Phoenix office. The paper was published until May 31, 1834, when the Cherokee Nation ran out of money because the federal government refused to pay money for using Cherokee land that it had agreed to pay in 1804.

Over the next year several attempts were made to rekindle the newspaper, but the office, complete with the printing press, sat idle. When the chance arose to again publish the Cherokee Phoenix, Ross realized that doing so in Georgia was dangerous, since the notorious Georgia Guard was brutally keeping the Cherokee "under control."

The Guard received word through members of the Treaty Party that Ross intended to move the press to the old council grounds in Red Clay, Tennessee. Hours before the move, Elias Boudinot's brother, Stand Watie, joined the Guard in a raid on the offices of the Phoenix. They dumped the soft lead type on the ground and stamped it into the red Georgia clay with their feet, effectively silencing the voice of the Cherokee Nation. Then Watie and the Guard removed the press and set fire to the building.

Three years later the city of New Echota was a ghost town. Cherokee still living nearby in May, 1838 were rounded up and kept in Fort Wool (more), finally marching off on the "Trail of Tears." Then, for more than 100 years the property lay dormant and nature took its course.

In March, 1954, Lewis Larsen, an archeologist with the Georgia Historical Commission arrived to oversee the work of excavating the Cherokee capital. Slowly Larsen and five men worked clearing the land and finding evidence not only of the Cherokee occupation of the site, but also of earlier Indian cultures.

In May, National Park Service Archeologist Joe Caldwell joined the group, as did two more workers. The most interesting find was a Spanish coin dated 1802. Then the earth began to yield more. China, crockery, household wares and the remains of a bootery. Shortly after discovering the bootery, a man found a small piece of lead. He showed it to Caldwell and Larsen who immediately gathered the workers in a circle around the site. Slowly they uncovered the treasure. Two more pieces were quickly discovered, then five, and more. A lot more. Within a two-day span the nine men uncovered over 200 pieces of printing type. By the time the original excavation was completed 1700 pieces of type had been recovered. Of these 600 were identified as Cherokee characters, the others damage so greatly as to be unrecognizable.

When New Echota State Park opened for visitors in 1962 a replica of the original office of the Cherokee Phoenix was a highlight of the tour. Inside that office were 600 pieces of type containing the lasting legacy of the first American Indian newspaper. Later some type was moved to the museum at the State Park and the rest was distributed by the state to various museums and research facilities. The bulk of the type is preserved at Panola Mountain and West Georgia College.

The Cherokee Nation still publishes The Cherokee Phoenix and Indian Advocate. For more information please contact phoenix@cherokee.org or see our links section to visit the site.

The state of Georgia runs New Echota. To find out more about the Cherokee Nation and its first newspaper, we encourage you to visit. From downtown Atlanta it is just over an hour drive. Take I-75 north to exit 317, travel east for .7 miles. New Echota is on the right.

American Indian Land Cessions in Georgia

Since the first Creek(Yamacraw) cession by Mico Tomochichi to James Oglethorpe in 1733, land had been a major concern of the settlers. Cessions by both Creek and the Cherokee did nothing to quench the insatiable thirst for land that the Georgians had.

Indian land cessions prior to 1800

1763 The Treaty of Augusta used trails and rivers to create the first defined line between the Creeks and the colony of Georgia.

1773 Creek and Cherokee debts to Georgians were assumed by the state in payment for the land. This included a small portion of North Georgia.

1782-1783 Land to the south and west of the Tugaloo and Savannah Rivers were ceded by the Cherokee and Creek. Both had laid claim to ownership.

1790 Alexander McGillivray, a mixed race Upper Creek ceded land from the Altamaha to the Oconee in The Treaty of New York, signed by President George Washington.

When the United States took the western claims from Georgia in 1802, the federal government promised to remove the Indians from Georgia soil. That year, and again in 1804, the federal government secured cessions of land for the state. Georgia changed the headright system to one it deemed fairer, where any white man with $4.00 could enter a lottery for land stolen from Native Americans.

During the Creek War, General Andrew Jackson routed the Red Sticks, a violent faction of Creeks who had been agitated by Tecumseh, a Shawnee who came from rousing the Seminoles in Florida. As a result the entire Creek tribe was forced to cede the southern third of present day Georgia to the state to prevent further contact with the Seminoles. This was the single largest cession of land to the state, and the beginning of the end of the Creek in Georgia. The Creek ceded additional land in 1818 and 1821. The Cherokee ceded small portions of land in 1817 and 1819.

Both political parties in Georgia favored Indian removal, but when George Troup became governor in 1823 he aggressively moved to resolve the situation. The Creek, first to be removed, were a loose confederation of tribes with various histories and customs. A small faction of the Lower Creek headed by William McIntosh, the son of a Scottish trader and a Creek woman, negotiated with the state although he did not represent the entire tribe. First cousin to Governor Troup, he gave all remaining Creek land in Georgia to the state in the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1825. After ratification by the federal government, Troup moved to swiftly survey and distribute the land. Realizing they were in danger of losing the last of the Georgia land, the Creek murdered McIntosh. John Quincy Adams, the new President, did not consider the Treaty of Indian Springs valid and pressured Troup to stop moving on the Indian Territory.

Emboldened by his victory in the 1825 election, Troup reaffirmed his belief that the Treaty of Indian Springs was valid. President Adams quickly negotiated the Treaty of Washington in January, 1826. This treaty left a small piece of land on the Georgia-Alabama border in Creek hands. Not pleased with the new treaty, Troup ordered the land surveyed for a lottery, including the piece that was to remain in Creek hands. Since the federal government had no real love for Native Americans they allowed Troup to quickly renegotiate the treaty and take all Creek lands in the state. By 1827 the Creek were gone.

The last piece of land controlled by the Cherokee was North Georgia. In 1828 the state attempted to bring the Cherokee Nation under Georgia law. The conviction and execution of a Native American by the state for the murder of a Cherokee on tribal land in 1830 resulted in an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1831. In Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia Chief Justice John Marshall denied the right of the Cherokee to bring a suit against the state. However, a year later, in a more properly formulated case, Worcester vs. Georgia, the court ruled that the laws of Georgia were invalid in Cherokee land.

The ruling was unenforced by the executive branch. Georgia proceeded with the land lottery of 1832 and gave Cherokee land to whites who began to move in. Despondent and divided the Cherokee Nation broke into two factions, for or against removal. Chief John Ross led the larger group against removal. Chief Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, the first publisher of the Cherokee Phoenix, led the smaller group supporting removal. In 1835 Major Ridge and his faction signed a treaty with the U.S. government agreeing to removal in exchange for 5 million dollars. Both the federal and state government were fully aware that Ridge did not represent the majority of the tribe, but they validated the treaty anyway. The three prominent signers of The Treaty of New Echota were murdered by their tribe, just as William McIntosh had been by the Creek.

The quest for land was over. The insatiable thirst that drove Georgia now was quenched.

Cherokee Removal Forts

The Trail of Tears is a tragic tale of force winning over decency and power winning over justice. While the focus today remains on the route traveled and the journey itself, for eight years prior to the event Cherokee were confronted with their future on a daily basis. Illegal stockades were built on Cherokee land, intended to house Cherokee people long before their forced journey on "The Trail of Tears."

Removal Forts in Georgia

As settlers moved into the area these forts were built for the express purpose of housing the Cherokee before their removal. Sources list the following forts (Counties are listed based on present political boundaries):

Pickens County

Fort Newnan (Talking Rock Fort) Cherokee County

Fort Buffington (East of Canton)

Fort Sixes (Camp Hinar Sixes) Forsyth County

Fort Campbell

Fort Scudders (Fort Eaton, Frogtown) Lumpkin County

Fort Dahlonega (or Fort Embry) Towns County

Fort Chastain Walker County

Fort Cumming (LaFayette) Murray County

Fort Hoskins

Camp (Fort) Gilmer Gilmer County

Fort Hetzel (East Ellijay) Gordon County

Fort New Echota (Fort Wool) Floyd County

Fort Rome Polk County

Fort Cedartown Bartow County

Fort Means (Kingston)

Among the other Cherokee Removal Forts were Fort Red Clay, Fort Cass (about four miles south of present-day Charleston), Fort Marr in Old Fort, all in Tennessee and Fort Butler in Murphy, North Carolina.

Cherokee Forts are built

Earliest of the forts in Georgia, known as Camp Hinar Sixes, was built in September, 1830, shortly after the Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This camp was used to house members of the infamous Georgia Guard who took it upon themselves to brutalize the Cherokee even though at this time the settlers were illegal immigrants. In one instance in 1830, during the construction of the camp the Guard, without provocation, destroyed equipment that Cherokee miners were using to extract gold. The Georgia Guard did not officially exist until December of that year.

After Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia, in which the Supreme Court refused to hear a case about Georgia extending its laws on the Cherokee, construction on the forts sped up. A year later the settlers were stunned when the Court ruled that Georgia could not extend its laws on a sovereign nation such as the Cherokee, but were again heartened by Andy Jackson's rumored statement (he probably never said it), "Well, John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it."

Georgia Settlers and Removal

Settlers were greatly divided on the issue of removal. Families that had lived in the Nation before the Georgia Gold Rush tended to be more supportive of the Cherokee. One reason for the strong bond was the acceptance of them by the tribe. White settlers were easily accepted into Cherokee society. The reverse was not true. In general, Georgians viewed the Cherokee as somewhat higher on the social level than slaves, but not much. Another reason that settlers were greatly divided was the support Cherokee had given struggling early settlers in their time of need.

Some settlers would taunt the Cherokee, telling them the forts were to be their new home. With great concern, Principal Chief John Ross and Whitepath, among others, journeyed to Washington to meet with Jackson. Jackson hypocritically told them "You shall remain in your ancient land as long as grass grows and water runs." In early 1835, before the Treaty of New Echota, work began on road improvements to move the Cherokee to the starting point for their removal.

Military Operations begin

After Major Ridge and other members of the Treaty Party sign the Treaty of New Echota, The Principal People hoped their leaders would get it modified so they might stay on their ancestral land. Even while a Cherokee delegation was in Washington Governor George Gilmer of Georgia and Secretary of War Joel Poinsett were plotting the invasion.

Local operations began on May 18, 1838, mostly carried out by Georgia Guard under the command of Colonel William Lindsey. The first Cherokee round-up under orders from United States General Winfield Scott started on May 25, 1838 with General Charles Floyd in charge of field operations.

General Scott was shocked during a trip to inspect Fort New Echota when he overheard members of The Guard say that they would not be happy until all Cherokee were dead. As a result, he issued meticulous orders on conduct and allowed actions during the action. Troops were to treat tribal members "with kindness and humanity, free from every strain of violence." Each Cherokee was to receive meat and flour or corn regardless of age. Scott's orders were disobeyed by most troops that were not directly under his control.

Occupying the Forts

Some Cherokee reported to the forts, not knowing the fate that awaited them, simply because John Ross had told them this is what they should do. Others stayed and were working in the fields when the soldiers came. The Georgia Guard had identified Cherokee homes. Aided by troops from Alabama, Florida, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee, Georgia militia would typically approach a home and enter the house. The resident(s) would then be forced to leave. The amount of time given residents to collect belongings varied greatly. Some were forced to leave immediately while others had enough time to sell valuables to local settlers at bargain rates. There are numerous instances where settlers attempted to intervene when the Guard was being particularly rough on a family.

Conditions at the forts were horrible. Food intended for the tribe was sold to locals. What little the Cherokee had brought with them was stolen and sold. Living areas were filled with excrement. Birth rates among the Cherokee dropped to near zero during the months of captivity. Cherokee women and children were repeatedly raped. Soldiers forced their captives to perform acts of depravation so disgusting they cannot be told here. One member of the Guard would later write, "During the Civil War I watched as hundreds of men died, including my own brother, but none of that compares to what we did to the Cherokee Indians."

Towards the Trail

For a number of reasons nothing seemed to go right during the removal. The round up that began in mid-May was completed on June 2, 1838. Some Cherokee were forced to live in these conditions for up to five months before the start on the journey whose name is "Nunna daul Tsuny (Trail Where They Cried)."

As many as one-third of the 4,000 deaths as a direct result of the removal can be attributed to conditions in the prisons. Unfortunately, many of the Cherokee Removal Forts are unmarked and lost to time.

Update, May 2003: Since this article first appear on About North Georgia in 1998, interest in the Cherokee Removal Forts has grown. This article was reprinted in the Trail of Tears Newsletter and members of the organization have been working on preserving sites in Georgia and other states.

Welcome to Northwest Georgia's Chieftains Trail!

From our broad valleys and rolling hills to the rugged mountains deep in the heart of Northwest Georgia, Native Americans called this land home for 80 centuries. Aboriginal Archaic Indians lived here before 6200 B.C. Woodland Indians proliferated, growing crops and hunting wild game. Moundbuilders of the Mississippian culture spread to North Georgia up the rivers that feed the Gulf of Mexico beginning in 900 A.D..

The last cultural development of the Moundbuilders may have given way to a loose-knit Confederacy known as the Creek Indians. Their cultural history says they came from the west to inhabit the land in Northwest Georgia. They would share the land with the Cherokee, who were being forced west by the encroachment of European settlers further east. The Cherokee would be last great cultural development in Northwest Georgia before their removal in a tragic event known today as "The Trail of Tears."

Chieftains Trail is a unique combination of sites throughout our region that highlights the history of these First Americans. Nowhere else has so much of our Native American heritage been preserved than here in Northwest Georgia, what the Cherokee called, "The Enchanted Land."

Overview of Northwest Georgia's Chieftains TrailToday, the trail is expanded to include an artistic venture into the western landscapes to which Georgia's native peoples were driven. The “Cowboys and Indians in Georgia” travel package offers visitors a unique way to experience Georgia's native heritage with admission to each of the original Chieftains Trail sites, along with admission to the new Booth Western Art Museum, the Bartow History Center and the Weinman Mineral Museum, all in Cartersville. The “Cowboys and Indians in Georgia” ticket package is just $26 per adult - a 50% savings on all eight attractions. In addition, a variety of accommodations are available at a minimum 25 percent savings, including the popular Lodge at Red Top Mountain State Park and the Fort Mountain State Park Lodge

New Echota Historic Site

County: Gordon City: Calhoun

The silence of the streets of New Echota is broken only by the occasional staccato laughter of children, playing in the now empty capital that serves as a reminder to Georgia of the treachery of the United States government and our own dark history. At New Echota rest the hopes of the sovereign Cherokee Nation. Here the Cherokee establish a capital in 1825 and fight to stay, not with guns, but with the white men's printed page, laws and courts. At the museum the visitor can glimpse the culture of the Cherokee before they moved west on the "Trail of Tears".

New Echota's Beginning

The early 19th century is a new era for the Cherokee. Discarding a traditional clan system of rule, they adopt a government similar to that of the United States. The nation is divided into eight districts, and a legislature established to make laws and approve treaties. Four delegates from each district are elected to the lower house, called the National Council. This body chooses the 12 members of the upper house, called the National Committee. In turn, the National Committee selects the top level officers: principal chief, assistant principal chief and treasurer.

During the fall of 1819, the Council begins holding annual meetings in Newtown, a small community located at the junction of the Coosawattee and Conasauga rivers in present-day Gordon County. On November 12, 1825, the council adopts a resolution making Newtown the Cherokee Nation's capital. They change the town's name to New Echota in honor of Chota, a beloved town located in present-day Tennessee.

New Echota is a planned community laid out by Cherokee surveyors. By 1830 the town has 50 residents, a main street 60 feet wide, and a two-acre town square. The government buildings, including the Council House, Supreme Court and printing office, dominate the center of town. Private homes, stores, a ferry and a mission station are in the outlying area. The town is quiet most of the year, but council meetings provide the opportunity for great social gatherings. During these meetings, several hundred Cherokees fill the town, arriving by foot, on horseback or in stylish carriages.

Tour the reconstructed Supreme Court building and the Print Shop where the bilingual newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, was printed. Visit the restored Vann Tavern and see where missionary Samuel Worcester lived.

County: Murray City: Chatsworth

West of Chatworth, Georgia, a small town in the northwest part of the state, Georgia 225 leaves the main highway and heads south. Shortly after dipping to a stream the road rises and a dramatic brick house appears as if out of nowhere. The house has a commanding view of all land around it and a stunning view of the Cohutta Mountains, less than 10 miles to the east. This brick home is one of the oldest remaining structures in northern third of the state of Georgia and its owners were leaders of the Cherokee Nation.

At the start of the 19th century, one of the richest men in the Western Hemisphere lived on this land. James Vann, a member of the Cherokee Triumvirate, worked and fought hard for the money he used to build this house along the Old Federal Highway at Spring Place. At the time, he owned about 200 slaves and hundreds of acres of farmland.

Vann and a number of his wives lived in the house or nearby. After his murder in 1809, the house passed to Joseph, Vann's eldest son.

When "Rich Joe" Vann was 20 years old President James Monroe paid him a visit in 1819. Through the 1820's Rich Joe proved every bit as shrewd as his father James and expanded the family wealth.

After the Georgia Gold Rush Joseph hired a white man to run the plantation. Although the man never actually worked for Vann, the Cherokee had unknowingly violated a new Georgia law forbiding whites from working for Cherokees without a permit. The infamous Georgia Guard tried to take over the house. A man, Spencer Riley, who claimed to have won the house in the Land Lottery of 1832 also tried to take over the house and Rich Joe, his wife and family were caught in the midst of the struggle between Riley and the Guard. Col. Bishop, leader of the Guard, took a smoldering log and threw it on the cantilevered steps, smoking Riley out of the house.

The Vann's were finally forced out of the house in March, 1835. In November of that year Col. Bishop imprisoned John Howard Payne for 13 days on the grounds. Payne, noted as composer of "Home, Sweet Home" had been charged with sedition for supporting the claims of the Cherokee over the state of Georgia.

The house passed through numerous hands and by the 1950's was in disrepair. The roof had come off and the elements were taking their toll. At the time, sites like Vann House were administered by the Georgia Historical Society. A restoration project began in 1951 and was completed 12 years later.

From our friends at the Vann House:

The new museum plans are coming along. We had the groundbreaking this Spring. Some say the building looks like a big barn. I say that's great, we can interpret it as Vann's stables!

The preliminary archaeology has begun on the site of the historic Springplace Mission. Hopefully, the ground radar surveys will begin soon. The folks at Salem College and the Moravian Church in Winston-Salem have been a godsend in this project. It is a very high priority to find the old mission and preserve as much as we can.;

For further information see:

John Rossa North Georgia Notable Born:Turkeytown(near Center), Alabama, October 3, 1790Died:Washington, D.C., August 1, 1866

Cherokee leader

John Ross was the first and only elected Chief of the Cherokee Nation from the time it was formed until his death in 1866. Highly regarded for his role in leading the fight against removal and leading his people to their exile in Oklahoma, controversy was his constant companion once the Georgia Cherokee arrived.

Ross had a private tutor as a youth. Although only one-eighth Cherokee, Ross played Native American games and kept his Indian ties. Early in his life he was postmaster in Rossville, Ga. and a clerk in a trading firm. The town he founded as Rossville Landing grew much larger than it's namesake as Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Growing up with the constant raids of whites and Indians, Ross witnessed much of the brutality on the early American frontier. The future Walker County was a hunting ground for both white and Cherokee raiding parties, strategically located midpoint between head of Coosa and Col. John Sevier's band of marauders from Tennessee.