The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have a history dating back 11,000 years, with stories of hunting mastodons and using powerful bows to hunt deer, elk, and bear. They once ruled over 140,000 square miles and farmed the Three Sisters. There was a harmonious interaction with Europeans until broken treaties and the Trail of Tears forced them westward.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are found in the highlands of North Carolina. Artifacts believed to belong to the tribe have been found and date back 11,000 years to the time of the Ice Age. Stories are told describing early Indians hunting mastodons across the countryside. This was the main tribe affected by The Trail of Tears death march. Of the 16,000 Cherokee who began the forced march to Oklahoma, one-quarter to one-half died of exposure, exhaustion, disease, and the shock of being separated from their home.
When the first Europeans traveled through the lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, they encountered the hunting bows used by the natives. The tribe proved to be great potters, hunters and farmers. The Indians were able to use their very powerful bows to take down deer and elk with ease. The Indians also used bows to hunt bear.
More than 1,000 years ago, the eastern band of Cherokee Indians ruled over 140,000 square miles that spanned what is now the southern United States. Each village governed itself and the adults gathered to discuss important matters. Villages had both a peacetime and wartime chieftain. The men hunted and fished, while the women gathered food and tended the fields.
The eastern band of Cherokee Indians farmed what they called the Three Sisters, which referred to beans, corn, and squash. They practiced inter-planting to help reduce the need for weeding and staking out. They had herbs that cured many of their ailments before the Europeans arrived. The land supplied provided all basic needs including food, clothing, tools and materials used to build a shelter. Every morning the tribe gave thanks for the bountiful land.
For more than 200 years after the arrival of Europeans, there was a harmonious interaction between the eastern band of Cherokee Indians and Europeans. The Cherokee offered help to the Europeans and enjoyed the new foods they brought, such as watermelon and peaches. Marriages between the two peoples were not uncommon, and the Cherokee even adopted and learned the written language of the Europeans.
However, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have suffered for nearly 200 years from problems with the US government, including broken treaties. Former President Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokee west of the Mississippi River, and after a failed Supreme Court decision, the Indians were forced to march west on what is now called The Trail of Tears. This allowed their ancestral land to be sold to whites to be used as cotton plantations and mines for newly discovered gold throughout Georgia.
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