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67-528: The title of "Principal Chief" was created in 1794, when the Cherokee began to formalize a more centralized political structure. They founded the original Cherokee Nation . The Cherokee Nation–East adopted a written constitution in 1827, creating a government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Principal Chief was elected by the National Council, which was the legislature of

134-546: A Jesuit , named the river when he explored its mouth in 1673. Before his voyage down the Mississippi Marquette had spent some time at the mission of St. François Xavier, named for the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier . The spelling of the river's name shifted from "François" to "Francis" in the early 20th century. A number of place names in the region stem from the river's name, including St. Francois County and

201-584: A homestead , which was untaxable and inalienable (ineligible to be sold) for twenty-one years, and seventy acres of surplus land which was inalienable for five years. In response to these actions, the leaders of the Five Civilized Tribes sought to gain approval for a new State of Sequoyah in 1905 that would have a Native American constitution and government. The proposal received a cool reception in Congress and failed. The tribal government of

268-496: A Principal Chief for the non-UKB Cherokee in 1941. In 1975, these Cherokee drafted their constitution as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, which was ratified on June 26, 1976. In 1999, they approved several changes to the constitution, including the removal of the qualifying phrase "of Oklahoma" from their name, leaving it simply "Cherokee Nation". Before 1794, the Cherokee had no standing national government. Their structure

335-501: A federal act (31 Stat. 1447) of March 3, 1901. The Cherokee called themselves the Ani-Yun' wiya . In their language ; this meant "leading" or "principal" people. Before 1794, the Cherokee had no standing national government. Its people were highly decentralized and lived in bands and clans according to a matrilineal kinship system. The people lived in towns located in scattered autonomous tribal areas related by kinship throughout

402-757: A mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along the western side of the Missouri Bootheel . The river rises in a region of granite mountains in Iron County, Missouri , and flows generally southwardly through the Ozarks and the St. Francois Mountains near Missouri's highest point Taum Sauk . It forms the Missouri-Arkansas border in the Bootheel and eventually exits

469-643: A mountainous area in what later became the northeastern part of the future state of Alabama . U.S. president George Washington sought to " civilize " the southeastern American Indians, through programs overseen by US Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins . Facilitated by the destruction of many Indian towns during the American Revolutionary War , U.S. land agents encouraged Native Americans to abandon their historic communal-land tenure and settle on isolated subsistence farmsteads. Over-harvesting by

536-748: A provision that lasted until June 1914). This act also provided for the allotment of communal lands and extinguishing of Cherokee land title in preparation for admission of Oklahoma as a state in 1907. Following passage of the federal Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936, the Keetoowah Nighthawk Society organized in 1939 as the United Keetoowah Band. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved their constitution in 1940. The United States President began appointing

603-686: A state and the Civil War ended, European-American settlers pushed out the Native Americans. Like the Delaware, the two Chippewa bands were relocated to the Cherokee Nation in 1866. They were so few in number that they eventually merged with the Cherokee. The Cherokee Freedmen were former African American slaves who had been owned by citizens of the Cherokee Nation during the Antebellum Period . In 1863, President Lincoln issued

670-614: Is placed in quotation marks, since this title was created by British emissary Sir Alexander Cuming ; it was not accepted by the tribe as a whole. In 1777, Dragging Canoe and a large body of Cherokee, primarily from Tennessee, separated from the bands that had signed treaties of peace with the Americans during the American Revolution . They migrated first to the Chickamauga (now Chattanooga, Tennessee ) region, then to

737-508: The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma was drafted in 1975 and ratified on June 26, 1976. A new constitution was ratified in 2003 with the name of the tribe changed to simply "Cherokee Nation". Appointed "Principal Chiefs", many holding the title to serve for a single day, signed documents and performed other pro forma duties as required by the federal government. The UKB Cherokee are descendants primarily of Old Settlers who organized under

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804-645: The Curtis Act which extended the Dawes Act of 1887 over the Five Civilized Tribes , forcing dissolution of tribally held lands in favor of individual allotments of private property . It terminated the tribal courts, made tribal members subject to federal legislation, and gave the federal government the authority to determine tribal membership. The Curtis Act provided that residents of Indian Territory had voting rights in local elections and gave

871-684: The Emancipation Proclamation which granted citizenship to all freedmen in the Confederate States, including those held by the Cherokee. In reaching peace with the Cherokee, the U.S. government required the freedom of their slaves and full Cherokee citizenship for those who wanted to stay with the nation. This was later guaranteed in 1866 under a treaty with the United States. This list of historic people includes only documented Cherokee living in, or born into,

938-517: The Five Civilized Tribes . All Five Tribes acknowledged "in writing that, because of the agreements they had made with the Confederate States during the Civil War, previous treaties made with the United States would no longer be upheld, thus prompting the need for a new treaty and an opportunity for the United States to fulfill its goal of wrenching more land" from their grasp. The new treaty established peace and requiring them to emancipate their slaves and to offer them citizenship and territory within

1005-826: The St. Francis National Forest . In addition to the Little River, tributaries of the St. Francis include the Little St. Francis River , which joins it along its upper course in Missouri; the Tyronza River , which joins it in Arkansas; and the L'Anguille River , which joins it just above its mouth. The river became the home of Cherokee Indians who attacked a boat on the Tennessee River on June 11, 1794 known as

1072-554: The U.S. federal government promised representatives of the state of Georgia to extinguish Native American titles to internal Georgia lands in return for the state's formal cession of its unincorporated western claim (which was made part of the Mississippi Territory ). Negotiating with states to give up western claims was part of the unfinished business from the American Revolution and establishing of

1139-527: The War of 1812 against Great Britain. He was the de facto principal chief from 1813–1827. The Cherokee Nation—East had first created electoral districts in 1817. By 1822, the Cherokee Supreme Court was founded. Lastly, the Cherokee Nation adopted a written constitution in 1827 that created a government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Principal Chief was elected by

1206-406: The deerskin trade had brought white-tailed deer in the region to the brink of extinction. Americans introduced pig and cattle raising, and these animals replaced deer as the principal sources of meat. The Americans supplied the tribes with spinning wheels and cotton -seed, and men were taught to fence and plow the land. (In the Cherokee traditional division of labor, most cultivation for farming

1273-400: The "Five Lower Towns" area – further west and southwest of there – in order to continue fighting (see Cherokee–American wars ). In time, these Chickamauga Cherokee comprised a majority of the nation, due to both sympathy with their cause and the destruction of the homes of other Cherokee who later joined them. The separation ended at a reunification council with

1340-742: The "Old Settlers"); those who were forced by the Federal government of the United States to relocate (through the Indian Removal Act ) by way of the Trail of Tears (1830s); and descendants of the Natchez , the Lenape and the Shawnee peoples, and, after the Civil War and emancipation of slaves, Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants. The nation was recognized as a sovereign government; because

1407-639: The 'arts of civilized life.' The Moravian, and later Congregationalist , missionaries also ran boarding schools. A select few students were chosen to be educated at the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions school in Connecticut . These men continued to be leaders in the tribe. Hicks participated in the Red Stick War , a civil war between traditional and progressive Creek factions. This coincided with part of US involvement in

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1474-640: The 20th century. In 1866, some Delaware ( Lenape ) were relocated to the Cherokee Nation from Kansas, where they had been sent in the 1830s. Assigned to the northeast area of the Indian Territory, they united with the Cherokee Nation in 1867. The Delaware Tribes operated autonomously within the lands of the Cherokee Nation. The Natchez are a Native American people who originally lived in the Natchez Bluffs area. The present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi developed in their former territory. By

1541-433: The Cherokee Nation in 1809. Chiefs: Little Turkey was elected First Beloved Man of the Cherokee (the council seat of which was shifted south to Ustanali (later known as New Echota), near what is now Calhoun, Georgia ) in the aftermath of the assassination by frontiersmen of Corntassel (also called Cornsilk) and several other leaders. Hanging Maw of Coyatee, listed above, claimed the title as his right by tradition, as he

1608-468: The Cherokee Nation was dissolved in 1906. After this, the structure and function of the tribal government were not formally defined. The federal government occasionally designated chiefs of a provisional "Cherokee Nation", but usually just long enough to sign treaties. As the shortcomings of the arrangement became increasingly evident to the Cherokee, a demand arose for the formation of a more permanent and accountable tribal government. New administrations at

1675-549: The Cherokee Nation–West. There were seven officially recognized battles involving Native American units, who were either allied with the Confederate States of America or loyal to the United States government. 3,000 out of 21,000 members served as a soldier in the Confederacy. Several prominent members of the Cherokee Nation made contributions during the war: After the war, the United States negotiated new treaties with

1742-475: The Cherokee Outlet to cattlemen . The lease income had supported the Cherokee Nation in its efforts to prevent further encroachments on tribal lands. All Native people residing in Indian Territory were granted US citizenship under an act (31 Stat. 1447) of March 3, 1901. The Cherokee Nation entered an allotment agreement in 1902, which provided that each tribal citizen would receive forty acres as

1809-789: The Cherokee exchanged remaining communal lands in Georgia (north of the Hiwassee River ), Tennessee, and North Carolina for lands in the Arkansaw Territory west of the Mississippi River . A majority of the remaining Cherokee resisted these treaties and refused to leave their lands east of the Mississippi. Finally, in 1830, the United States Congress enacted the Indian Removal Act to bolster

1876-603: The Cherokee reunification council of 1809. Three important veterans of the Cherokee–American wars, James Vann (a successful businessman) and his two protégés, The Ridge (also called Ganundalegi or "Major" Ridge) and Charles R. Hicks , made up the younger 'Cherokee Triumvirate.' These leaders advocated acculturation of the people, formal education of the young, and introduction of European-American farming methods. In 1801 they invited Moravian missionaries to their territory from North Carolina to teach Christianity and

1943-595: The Cherokee to move there voluntarily. The reservation boundaries extended from north of the Arkansas River to the southern bank of the White River . The Cherokee who moved to this reservation became known as the "Old Settlers" or Western Cherokee. By additional treaties signed with the U.S., in 1817 ( Treaty of the Cherokee Agency, 8 July 1817 ) and 1819 ( Treaty of Washington, 27 February 1819 ),

2010-592: The Cherokee to side with the Confederacy, while Ross thought it better to remain neutral. This split was due to the Union's and Southern state's involvement of the Trail of Tears, which complicated the nation's political outlook. Within the first year of the war, general consensus in the nation moved towards siding with the Confederacy. Numerous skirmishes took place in the Trans-Mississippi area, which included

2077-461: The Confederacy free land. The study found that even though levels of inequality in 1860 were similar in the Cherokee Nation and the Confederacy, former black slaves prospered in the Cherokee Nation over the next decades. The Cherokee Nation had lower levels of racial inequality where blacks saw higher incomes, higher literacy rates, and greater school attendance. In 1898, the US Congress passed

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2144-611: The Muscle Shoals Massacre and had removed to the west. The Spanish authorities allowed the Indian settlement to trade and the area flourished with a population greater than Arkansas Post. The origin of the river's name is unclear. It might refer to St. Francis of Assisi , the founder of the Franciscan order. None of the region's early explorers were Franciscans, however. One possibility is that Jacques Marquette ,

2211-738: The Muscogee (Creek) Nation (and by extension the Cherokee Nation) had never been disestablished in the years before allotment and Oklahoma Statehood. The Cherokee Nation consisted of the Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ —pronounced Tsalagi or Cha-la-gee ) people of the Qualla Boundary and the southeastern United States; those who relocated voluntarily from the southeastern United States to the Indian Territory (circa 1820 —known as

2278-533: The Nation voted to support the Confederacy , and Ross acquiesced for a time. In 1862, however, he and many of his supporters fled to Washington, DC. At that time Stand Watie , serving as a Confederate officer, was elected Principal Chief by a portion of the Nation. The remaining Ross group never supported Watie's election, though, and lived apart under their own officials. In preparation for Oklahoma statehood,

2345-530: The Nation. The Cherokee Nation–West adopted a similar constitution in 1833. In 1839 most of the reunited nation was reunited in Indian Territory, after forced removal from the Southeast. There they adopted one constitution. In 1868, the Eastern Band of Cherokee, made up of those who had managed to remain primarily in the homelands of North Carolina, created a separate and distinct constitution and formalized

2412-546: The National Council, which was the legislature of the Nation. A similar constitution was adopted by the Cherokee Nation—West in 1833. The Constitution of the reunited Cherokee Nation was ratified at Tahlequah, Oklahoma on September 6, 1839, at the conclusion of " The Removal ". The signing is commemorated every Labor Day weekend with the celebration of the Cherokee National Holiday . In 1802,

2479-714: The Ross party of Cherokee Nation East. The removal of the eastern Cherokee Territory took place in 1839. It was followed by the executions in June 1839 of Major Ridge , John Ridge , and Elias Boudinot (Treaty party members who had aligned with the Old Settlers). At that time, the council deposed Brown, replacing him with Looney. A sizable faction of the Old Settlers refused to recognize Looney and elected Rogers in his stead, but their efforts to maintain autonomy petered out

2546-605: The US Department of Interior designated it a National Historic Landmark . The Nation was made up of scattered peoples mostly living in the Cherokee Nation–West and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (both residing in the Indian Territory by the 1840s), and the Cherokee Nation–East ( Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians ); these became the three federally recognized tribes of Cherokee in

2613-611: The Union army during the American Civil War . European Americans encroached and settled on their lands after the war. In 1869, the Cherokee Nation and Loyal Shawnee agreed that 722 of the Shawnee would be granted Cherokee citizenship. They settled in Craig and Rogers counties . The Anishinaabe -speaking Swan Creek and Black River Chippewa bands were removed from southeast Michigan to Kansas in 1839. After Kansas became

2680-671: The United States acquired it, the Western Cherokee eventually migrated to Indian Territory in 1828 after the Treaty of Washington. They named their capital there Tahlontiskee. John Jolly died while the Latecomers were arriving, and John Looney succeeded him automatically. Looney was deposed by the council and replaced with Brown; his supporters wanted to put the Cherokee Nation West in a better position vis-a-vis

2747-441: The United States. European Americans were seeking more land in what became known as the Deep South because of the expansion of cotton plantations. Invention of the cotton gin had made short-staple cotton profitable, and it could be cultivated in the uplands of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. In 1815, the US government established a Cherokee Reservation in the Arkansaw district of the Missouri Territory and tried to convince

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2814-409: The Valley Towns who managed to remain in 1838 following Indian Removal of most of the Cherokee to Indian Territory. Principal chiefs: Two principal chiefs of the tribe have been impeached since the late 20th century: Jonathan L. Taylor in 1995 and Patrick Lambert in 2017. After removal of the eastern Cherokee to Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears , they created a new constitution to unify

2881-415: The federal Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and the state Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936. They ratified their constitution and bylaws and were recognized by the federal government in 1950. Cherokee Nation (19th century) The Cherokee Nation ( Cherokee : ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, pronounced Tsalagihi Ayeli ) was a legal, autonomous , tribal government in North America recognized from 1794 to 1907. It

2948-406: The federal government the right to incorporate towns and establish public educational facilities. Under its terms tribal governments of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations would be abolished on March 6, 1906 in preparation for uniting Indian and Oklahoma Territories into the State of Oklahoma. President Benjamin Harrison September 19, 1890, stopped the leasing of land in

3015-410: The federal level also recognized this issue, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration gained passage of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, encouraging tribes to re-establish governments and supporting more self-determination. The Cherokee convened a general convention on 8 August 1938 in Fairfield, Oklahoma , to elect a new Chief and reconstitute the Cherokee Nation . The Cherokee Nation

3082-403: The former Eastern Cherokee with the Western Cherokee. This allowed for direct election of the Principal Chief. Though a holdout minority of the Old Settlers elected John Rogers as their principal chief, his government never gained further support and soon faded away. The John Ross faction abandoned the established capital of Tahlontiskee and built Tahlequah instead. During the Civil War,

3149-479: The legal basis for the forcible removal known as the Trail of Tears. Most of the settlements were established in the area around the western capital of Tahlontiskee (near present-day Gore, Oklahoma ). Within the Cherokee Nation, there were advocates for neutrality, a Union alliance, and a Confederate alliance. Two prominent Cherokee, John Ross and Stand Watie were slaveholders and shared some values with Southern plantation owners. Watie thought it best for

3216-453: The majority of its leaders allied with the Confederacy, the United States required a new peace treaty after the American Civil War, which also provided for emancipation of Cherokee slaves. The territory was partially occupied by United States. In the late 19th century, Congress passed the Dawes Act , intended to promote assimilation and extinguish Indian governments, but it exempted the Five Civilized Tribes . The Curtis Act of 1898 extended

3283-459: The mid-eighteenth century, the Natchez people were defeated by French colonists and dispersed from there. Many survivors had been sold (by the French) into slavery in the West Indies. Others took refuge with allied tribes, one of which was the Cherokee. Known as the Loyal Shawnee or Cherokee Shawnee, one band of Shawnee people relocated to Indian Territory with the Seneca people (Iroquois) in July 1831. The term "Loyal" came from their serving in

3350-466: The next year. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is made up of descendants of Cherokee primarily from along the Oconaluftee River in Western North Carolina , in today's Cherokee County. The band formed after the treaties of 1817 and 1819 were made between the Cherokee Nation East and the US government; they were outside the former territory. They were later joined by Utsala's band from the Nantahala River in western North Carolina, and those few from

3417-403: The original Cherokee Nation who are not mentioned in the main article: 35°54′N 94°58′W  /  35.900°N 94.967°W  / 35.900; -94.967 St. Francis River The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River , about 426 miles (686 km) long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States . The river drains

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3484-402: The original Cherokee Nation's governmental authority was dismantled by the United States in 1906, except for limited authority to deal with land issues until 1914. The Principal Chief was appointed by the US federal government . In 1971 an election was held. Principal Chief and incumbent, W.W. Keeler , who had been appointed by President Harry Truman in 1949, was elected. The constitution of

3551-437: The position of Principal Chief. The position had existed in the east since the time of Yonaguska . Their descendants make up the members of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians today, referred to as the EBCI. In 1906, the US government dismantled the Cherokee Nation's governmental structure under the Dawes Act (except for allowing the tribe to retain limited authority to deal with remaining land issues,

3618-488: The provisions of the Dawes Act to the Five Tribes, in preparation for the admission of Oklahoma as a state in 1907. It provided for the distribution of tribal lands to individuals and also gave the federal government the authority to determine who were members of each tribe. The Curtis Act provided that residents of Indian Territory had voting rights in local elections. Cherokee people, who were living in Indian Territory in 1901, were granted United States citizenship by virtue of

3685-424: The reservation if the freedmen chose to stay with the tribe, as the US had done for enslaved African Americans. The area was made part of the reconstruction of the former Confederate States overseen by military officers and governors appointed by the federal government. A 2020 study contrasted the successful distribution of free land to former slaves in the Cherokee Nation with the failure to give former slaves in

3752-410: The river flows through the Mark Twain National Forest and past Sam A. Baker State Park and the towns of Farmington , Greenville and Fisk . In Arkansas it passes the towns of St. Francis , Lake City , Marked Tree and Parkin , and continues through two additional namesakes of the river — St. Francis County , and St. Francis Township in northeastern Phillips County — ending its course adjoining

3819-454: The river parallels Crowleys Ridge and is part of a navigation and flood-control project that encompasses a network of diversion channels and ditches along it and the Castor and Little rivers. Below the mouth of the Little River in Poinsett County, Arkansas , the St. Francis is navigable by barge . It joins the Mississippi River in Phillips County, Arkansas , about 7 miles (11 km) north of Helena . Along its course in Missouri,

3886-438: The site. Indications of Cherokee influence found in and about Tahlequah. For example, street signs appear in both the Cherokee language—in the syllabary alphabet created by Sequoyah (ca. 1767–1843) —and in English. Designed by architect C. W. Goodlander in the 'late Italianate' style, the Cherokee National Capitol was constructed between 1867 and 1869. Originally, it housed the nation's court as well as other offices. In 1961,

3953-438: The southern Appalachia region. Various leaders were periodically appointed (by mutual consent of the towns) to represent the towns or bands to French, British and, later, United States authorities as was needed. The Cherokee knew this leader as "First Beloved Man" —or Uku. The English had translated this as " chief ". The chief's function was to serve as focal point for negotiations with the encroaching Europeans. Hanging Maw

4020-431: The state at Missouri's lowest point in the "toe" at 241 feet (73 m) above sea level. It passes through Lake Wappapello , which is formed by a dam constructed in 1941. Below the dam the river meanders through cane forests and willow wetlands or forested swamp , transitioning from a clear stream into a slow and silt -laden muddy river as it enters the flat lands of the Mississippi embayment . In its lower course

4087-431: The treaties and forcibly free up title to the lands desired by the states. At this time, one-third of the remaining Native Americans left voluntarily, especially because the act was being enforced by use of government troops and the Georgia militia. Although The Treaty of New Echota was not approved by the Cherokee National Council nor signed by Principal Chief John Ross, it was amended and ratified in March 1836, and became

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4154-477: Was based on clans and towns, which had various leaders. The clans had functions within each town and within the tribe. The towns appointed their own leaders to represent the tribe to British, French, and (later) American authorities. They typically had both peace ("white") and war ("red") chiefs. The range of aboriginal titles were usually translated by the English as "chief," but the Cherokee called their headmen of towns and villages " Beloved Man ." The term "emperor"

4221-502: Was divided into nine districts [1] named Canadian, Cooweescoowee, Delaware, Flint, Goingsnake, Illinois, Saline, Sequoyah, and Tahlequah (capital). Founded in 1838, Tahlequah was developed as the new capital of a united Cherokee Nation. It was named after the historic Great Tellico , an important Cherokee town and cultural center in present-day Tennessee that was one of the largest Cherokee towns ever established. The mostly European-American settlement of Tellico Plains later developed at

4288-509: Was done by women.) Women were instructed in weaving. Eventually, blacksmiths, gristmills and cotton plantations (along with slave labor) were established. Succeeding Little Turkey as Principal Chief were Black Fox (1801–1811) and Pathkiller (1811–1827), both former warriors of Dragging Canoe. "The separation", a phrase which the Cherokee used to describe the period after 1776, when the Chickamauga had left other bands that were in close proximity to Anglo-American settlements, officially ended at

4355-419: Was often referred to simply as " The Nation " by its inhabitants. The government was effectively disbanded in 1907, after its land rights had been extinguished, prior to the admission of Oklahoma as a state. During the late 20th century, the Cherokee people reorganized, instituting a government with sovereign jurisdiction known as the Cherokee Nation . On July 9, 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that

4422-595: Was recognized as a chief by the United States government, but not by the majority of Cherokee peoples. At the end of the Cherokee–American wars (1794), Little Turkey was recognized as " Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation " by all the towns. At that time, Cherokee communities were on lands claimed by the states of North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia , and the Overhill area, located in present-day eastern Tennessee . The break-away Chickamauga band (or Lower Cherokee), under War Chief Dragging Canoe ( Tsiyugunsini , 1738–1792), had retreated to and inhabited

4489-477: Was the headman of the Upper Towns. Many Cherokee and the US government recognized him as Principal Chief. Little Turkey was finally recognized as "Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation" by all the towns after the end of the Cherokee–American wars , when the Cherokee established their first nominal national government. Originally settling along the St. Francis and White rivers in what was classified first as Spanish Louisiana and later Arkansas Territory after

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