Cherokee Nation

Indians of North Carolina &gt; Cherokee Indians Indians of Oklahoma &gt; Cherokee Indians

Leaders: Sequoyah, Elias Boudinot

History
The Spanish explorer De Soto was the first to encounter the Cheroke in the1540's.

During the French and India War and the Revolutionary War the tribe supported the British.

By 1820 a group that had tired of the encroachment migrated to the Indian Territory which is now Arkansas.

Sequoya (George Grist) a mixed blood, developed the Cherokee alphabet, helping to make the tribe a literate people.

Gold was discovered in their Nation, this became a catalist for removal. With the signing of theTreaty of New Echota, December 29, 1835 the tribe sold their remaining land and greed to move west of the Mississippi.

The removal occured in the winter of 1838-1839, with a 800 mile journy, this became known as the "Trail of Tears", with a loss of one-fourth of their tribe. They joined an earlier group known as "old settlers" who had been in Arkansas. Another group that had been in Mexico (Texas) was forced by government troops to move, they went to the mountains of North Carolin where in 1842, they obtained permision to stay. They are part of the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

The Cherokee were slave owners, and and resided in areas encompassed by southern influence many of them enlisted in the Confederate Army. A Treaty signed in 1866 remitted them to the United States. They were required to release their slaves.

In 1870 some Delaware and Shawnee from Kansas were admitted to the tribe.

There are three band of Cherokee recognized by the Federal government; Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee

Brief Timeline

 * 1689-1763: French and Indian War, the Cherokee supported the English
 * 1736: Jesuit Mission was founded
 * 1738-1750: Smallpox epidemics
 * 1775-83: During Revolutionary War supported the British
 * 1800: "Moravians," Protestant missionaries of German origin, established the first mission at Spring Place.
 * 1801-1823: Return J. Meigs, an Indian agent, lived among the Cherokee.
 * 1819-1821: Sequoyah (George Gist) created the Cherokee alphabet.
 * 1827: Tribal leaders recorded their constitution
 * 1828: Cherokee Phoenix, a bilingual newspaper, contained columns in both English and Cherokee. Editor -- Elias Boudinot
 * December 1835: Treaty of New Echota
 * 1838: First Group; Start of Trail of Tears, 800-mile journey; 1838-39 - Second group; 4,000 Cherokees died

Reservations
Qualla Reservation for Eastern Cherokees, in Swain and Jackson Counties North Carolina

Additional References to the History of the Tribe and/or Bands
Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Cherokee tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.

Tribal Headquarters
Cherokee Nation Tribal www.cherokee.org/Government/Default.aspx Government P.O. Box 948 Tahlequah, OK 74465 Phone: 918.453.5000

Census Records
1835 Cherokee Nation http://hometown.aol.com

1851 Chapman Roll www.tngennet.org

1851 Old Settler Roll www.accessgenealogy.com (A list of Cherokee still living in1851 who lived in Oklahoma before 1839)

1852 Siler Roll  http://members.aol.com

1854 Roll Cherokee Indians prepared by Mallay www.accessgenealogy.com

1880 Cherokee Census www.accessgenealogy.com

1890 Wallace Roll - Cherokee Freedmen (African Americans - Cherokee citizenship) www.afregeneas.com

1896-1897 Kern - Clifton Roll www.accessgenealogy.com (contains 4523 individules missed on the Wallace Roll.)

1924 Baker Roll www.easternband.com

The Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled annual Indian Census rolls on many of the reservations from 1885-1940. They list the names of individuals, their age, and other details aboaut each person enumerated. For moare infoormation about these records click here.

Enrollment Records

 * Dawes Commision Enrollement for Five Civilized Tribes
 * Eastern Cherokee - Guion Miller

Removal
1835 Trail of Tears www.accessgenealogy

Treaties
During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual Indian tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. For more information about treaties, click here.

Treaties to which the Cherokee Indians were a part were:


 * 1785 November 28, at Hopewell
 * November 28, 1785, referred to
 * 1791 July 2, on Holston River
 * 1794 June 26, at Philadelphia
 * 1798 October 2, at Tellico
 * 1804 October 24, at Tellico
 * 1805 October 25, at Tellico
 * 1805 October 27, at Tellico
 * 1806 January 7, at Washington
 * September 11, 1807,
 * August 9, 1814, referred to
 * 1816 March 22, at Washington
 * 1816 September 14, at Chickasaw Council House
 * 1817 July 8, at Cherokee Agency
 * 1819 February 27, at Washington
 * 1828 May 6, at Washington, Western Cherokee
 * 1833 February 14, at Fort Gibson
 * 1835 March 14, unratified
 * 1835 August 24, at Camp Holmes
 * 1835 December 29, at New Echota
 * March 1, 1836, supplementary
 * 1846 August 6, at Washington, with Western Cherokee
 * September 13, 1865, at Fort Smith-unratified
 * 1866 July 19, at Washington
 * 1868 April 27,

Western Band Treaties


 * May 6, 1828, at Washington
 * February 14, 1833,

Vital Records
Prior to the Indian Reorganization Act, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through their agencies, may have recorded some vital events. Some were recorded on health forms, such as the "Sanitary Record of Sick, Injured, Births, Deaths, etc." Others were recorded as supplements to the "Indian Census Rolls." Some were included in the unindexed reports and other correspondence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Some vital records for the Cherokee Indians include:


 * Cherokee Agency, M 595, births and deaths 1924-1932, FHL Film: 573871; 1926-1939, FHL Film: 573872

Important Web Sites

 * Constitution of the Cherokee Nation
 * Official Web Site of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
 * Cherokee Tribe Wikipedia
 * All Things Cherokee website -- a largely commercial website with a free message board and some free information about Cherokee research and records.