The Cherokee Indians originally inhabited the southeastern United States, but now over 200,000 live in northeastern Oklahoma. Key events in their history include meeting Europeans in the 1500s, the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Holston, and the Trail of Tears. Sequoyah created a writing system for the Cherokee language in 1819.
The Cherokee Indians are Native Americans who originally inhabited most of what is now the southeastern United States. Today, more than 200,000 Cherokee Indians live in the Cherokee Nation, an eight-county jurisdictional area in northeastern Oklahoma. As the second largest Native American tribe, the Cherokee’s rich history reveals several key events.
The Cherokee Indians first met Europeans in the 1500s. Initially, most of the interaction consisted of trade, which allowed the Indians to further develop themselves in areas such as agriculture. While many key events in Cherokee history have been dealt with by the United States government, one of the most important key events in Cherokee history is the Treaty of Paris.
The Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution, ceding all land south of Canada and east of the Mississippi River to the United States. All previous agreements between Britain and Native Americans, many of whom were Cherokee, were nullified. The United States claimed ownership of the land by right of conquest.
In 1791, the Treaty of Holston was one of the first treaties signed between the Cherokee Nation and the United States government. The treaty established peace and friendship between the two groups, established borders, gave the United States the right to regulate commerce, and gave the Cherokee the right to govern themselves. The treaty was signed by William Blount, governor of the United States territories. The Treaty of Holston succeeded the 1785 Treaty of Hopewell, which had similar components.
The United States and the Cherokee Indians signed many more treaties in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The components of many of the treaties were similar to the Treaty of Holston. Additionally, many of these treaties required the Cherokee to surrender some of their land to be paid by the United States. Relations became strained when the United States tried to push the Cherokee west of the Mississippi River. In 1807, Major Ridge, a Cherokee Indian leader, killed Chief Doublehead for accepting bribes from the United States government in exchange for unfavorable land deals.
Another key event in Cherokee history occurred in 1819 when Sequoyah created a system for writing the Cherokee language. The system, known as a syllabary, assigned each spoken syllable a symbol. In addition, the primer allowed the Cherokee to maintain their social boundaries and ethnic identity. The Cherokee used their language to craft laws and adopt a national constitution. In 1820, Major Ridge wrote a law banning all land sales without tribal council approval. Additionally, the Cherokee modeled a constitution, with three branches of government and a bill of rights, after the United States Constitution.
Further treaties and land sales occurred in the early 1800s until the famous Cherokee Trail of Tears was laid out in April 1838. Major Ridge and a small group of his supporters sold all Cherokee land to the United States for $4.50 million dollars in 1835. The first group of Cherokee who resisted leaving their homeland were forced to march west to present-day Oklahoma. The trail was renamed the Trail of Tears after more than 4,000 Cherokee died in the process.
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