122-689: Overhill Cherokee was the term for the Cherokee people located in their historic settlements in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee in the Southeastern United States , on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains . This name was used by 18th-century European traders and explorers from British colonies along the Atlantic coast, as they had to cross the mountains to reach these settlements. Situated along
244-557: A British-Cherokee relationship that, despite breaking down on occasion, remained strong for much of the 18th century. With the growth of the deerskin trade , the Cherokee were considered valuable trading partners, since deer skins from the cooler country of their mountain hunting-grounds were of better quality than those supplied by the lowland coastal tribes, who were neighbors of the English colonists. In January 1716, Cherokee murdered
366-410: A French agent, Priber quickly abandoned his mission. He adopted Cherokee customs, learned the language, and quickly gained the tribe's trust. Priber attempted to organize Cherokee society in accordance with early 18th-century European idealism. He promoted the idea that all things should be held in common, including wives and children. Claiming the English were fraudulent and greedy, he suggested moving
488-595: A Friend of the great Moytoy, and Jacob the Conjurer . Cuming learned that Moytoy was trying to gain control of the entire Cherokee people, who were highly decentralized, with power associated with regional settlements. Cuming agreed to help Moytoy if the chief would help him get the Crown of Tanasi. On March 30, 1730, Cuming followed the Warriors' Path from Great Tellico to Tanasi, which he found "pleasantly situated" along
610-695: A band of Shawnee in the 1660s. But from 1710 to 1715, the Cherokee and Chickasaw allied with the British, and fought the Shawnee, who were allied with French colonists, forcing the Shawnee to move northward. The Cherokee fought with the Yamasee , Catawba , and British in late 1712 and early 1713 against the Tuscarora in the Second Tuscarora War . The Tuscarora War marked the beginning of
732-580: A co-commander at Kings Mountain, was dispatched, along with several thousand militia, to the south on a punitive expedition to the Overhill towns. After defeating the Cherokee in a fierce battle at Boyd's Creek (in modern-day Sevier County), Sevier proceeded southward. He destroyed most of the remaining, lightly defended villages, including the chief city of Chota . After the Cherokee defeats at Heaton's Station and Fort Watauga in 1776, most Cherokee chiefs, including Attakullakulla and Oconastota , signed
854-1030: A cross-country hiking trail, now connects the Sequoyah Museum with Murphy, North Carolina , roughly following the ancient Trading Path. The Frank H. McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee contains hundreds of Cherokee artifacts obtained from various excavations which the university has conducted in the Tennessee Valley over the past century. Cherokee people California : large ethnic diaspora community, 22,124 registered tribal members North Carolina : 16,158 (0.2%) Oklahoma : 102,580 (2.7%) – extends to nearby Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri South Carolina : 3,428 The Cherokee ( / ˈ tʃ ɛr ə k iː , ˌ tʃ ɛr ə ˈ k iː / ; Cherokee : ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ , romanized: Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi , or Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ , romanized: Tsalagi ) people are one of
976-422: A dam was constructed in a major Tennessee Valley Authority project. Archaeologists conducted extensive excavations prior to this, during which they identified most of the Overhill towns and extracted thousands of artifacts, helping them develop volumes of invaluable information regarding the region's Cherokee and pre-Cherokee inhabitants. They learned that different cultures of indigenous peoples had lived along
1098-569: A delegation of Muscogee Creek leaders at the town of Tugaloo , marking their entry into the Yamasee War . It ended in 1717 with peace treaties between the colony of South Carolina and the Creek. Hostility and sporadic raids between the Cherokee and Creek continued for decades. These raids came to a head at the Battle of Taliwa in 1755, at present-day Ball Ground, Georgia , with the defeat of
1220-541: A dialect distinctive from that found in the Middle and Lower towns, although all the people identified as Cherokee. For most of the 17th century, the British colonies on the Atlantic coast dealt with the Cherokee via representatives of other tribes acting as middlemen. As the fur trade expanded in importance with rising demand in European markets, traders and trappers went to the Overhill settlements for direct contact with
1342-647: A diplomatic mission to the Overhill towns to address the issue of unlicensed traders, who were underselling merchants conducting business legally. Chicken arrived in Great Tellico in July. He described the village as "compact and thick settled;" the town and tribe had long competed in the region with the Creek tribe. Chicken followed the Warriors' Path north to the Little Tennessee River, where he met
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#17327733143521464-1008: A familiar relationship with its president, Sir Hans Sloane. Collinson shared Bartram's new plants with friends and fellow gardeners. Early Bartram collections went to Lord Petre, Philip Miller at the Chelsea Physic Garden , Mark Catesby , the Duke of Richmond, and the Duke of Norfolk. In the 1730s, Robert James Petre, 8th Baron Petre of Thorndon Hall, Essex, was the foremost collector in Europe of North American trees and shrubs. Earl Petre's death in 1743 resulted in his American tree collection being auctioned off to Woburn, Goodwood, and other large English country estates. Thereafter, Collinson became Bartram's chief London agent. "Bartram's Boxes", as they became known, were shipped regularly to Peter Collinson every fall for distribution in England to
1586-673: A fort be built to protect the area's women and children while the warriors were away. In 1756, the colonies dispatched Captain Raymond Demeré and engineer John DeBrahm to the area with several wagon loads of supplies for the construction of a fort along the Little Tennessee River. The fort, named after John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun , stood at the junction of the Little Tennessee and the Tellico rivers. The Cherokee village of Tuskegee developed in its vicinity. Shortly after
1708-619: A lack of provisions forced them to surrender. The British colonies responded swiftly to the fall of Fort Loudoun. South Carolina sent Colonel James Grant against the Lower Towns; Virginia dispatched Colonel William Byrd to attack the Middle Towns in western North Carolina; and Colonel Adam Stephen detached from Byrd's regiment and marched to Long Island on the Holston (near modern-day Kingsport, Tennessee ) with plans to attack
1830-468: A meeting with local Cherokee leaders. He arrived fully armed at the meeting at the town council house, in defiance of custom. There he made a prepared speech saying that he was a private citizen wishing only to see their country, and that if any Indians wished to return to England with him, he would take them. He asked them to join his party in a toast to the health of King George II, and to kneel in allegiance. He told his guides that he would have set fire to
1952-593: A pension of £50 per year as King's Botanist for North America, a post he held until his death. With this position, Bartram shipped his seeds and plants also to the royal collection at Kew Gardens. Bartram also contributed seeds to the Oxford and Edinburgh botanic gardens. In 1769 he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Bartram died on September 22, 1777. He
2074-505: A plain farmer, with no formal education beyond the local school. He had a lifelong interest in medicine and medicinal plants, and read widely. He started his botanical career by devoting a small area of his farm to growing plants he found interesting. Later, he made contact with European botanists and gardeners interested in North American plants, and developed his hobby into a thriving business. Bartram began to travel extensively in
2196-470: A polluting activity. Researchers have debated the reasons for the change. Some historians believe the decline in priestly power originated with a revolt by the Cherokee against the abuses of the priestly class known as the Ani-kutani . Ethnographer James Mooney , who studied and talked with the Cherokee in the late 1880s, was the first to trace the decline of the former hierarchy to this revolt. By
2318-565: A regional variation of the Mississippian culture that arose circa 1000 and lasted to 1500 CE. There is a consensus among most specialists in Southeast archeology and anthropology about these dates. But Finger says that ancestors of the Cherokee people lived in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee for a far longer period of time. Additional mounds were built by peoples during this cultural phase. Typically in this region, towns had
2440-585: A single platform mound and served as a political center for smaller villages. The Cherokee occupied numerous towns throughout the river valleys and mountain ridges of their homelands. What were called the Lower towns were found in what is present-day western Oconee County, South Carolina , along the Keowee River (called the Savannah River in its lower portion). The principal town of the Lower Towns
2562-733: A split between the groups in the distant past, perhaps 3,500–3,800 years ago. Glottochronology studies suggest the split occurred between about 1500 and 1800 BCE. The Cherokee say that the ancient settlement of Kituwa on the Tuckasegee River is their original settlement in the Southeast. It was formerly adjacent to and is now part of Qualla Boundary (the base of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians ) in North Carolina. According to Thomas Whyte, who posits that proto-Iroquoian developed in Appalachia,
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#17327733143522684-560: A time; so soon as the patient can bear it, they wound round with wire to expand them, and are adorned with silver pendants and rings, which they likewise wear at the nose. This custom does not belong originally to the Cherokees, but taken by them from the Shawnese, or other northern nations. They that can afford it wear a collar of wampum, which are beads cut out of clam-shells, a silver breast-plate, and bracelets on their arms and wrists of
2806-630: A wide list of clients, including the Duke of Argyll, James Gordon, James Lee, and John Busch, progenitor of the exotic Loddiges nursery in London. The boxes generally contained 100 or more varieties of seeds, and sometimes included dried plant specimens and natural history curiosities, as well. Live plants were more difficult and expensive to send and were reserved for Collinson and a few special correspondents. In 1765, after lobbying by Collinson and Benjamin Franklin in London, George III rewarded Bartram
2928-418: Is considered Cherokee country. The Spanish recorded a Chalaque people as living around the Keowee River , where western North Carolina, South Carolina, and northeastern Georgia meet. The Cherokee consider this area to be part of their homelands, which also extended into southeastern Tennessee. Further west, De Soto's expedition visited villages in present-day northwestern Georgia, recording them as ruled at
3050-544: Is named after him. Bartram's Garden has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. Bartram married twice, first in 1723 to Mary Maris (d. 1727), with whom he had two sons, Richard and Isaac. After her death, in 1729 he married Ann Mendenhall (1703–1789). They had five boys and four girls together. His third son, William Bartram (1739–1823), became a noted botanist , natural history artist, and ornithologist in his own right. He wrote Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida,... which
3172-414: Is nearby. 35°33′08″N 84°00′27″W / 35.55231°N 84.00737°W / 35.55231; -84.00737 Tallassee ( Ta'lasi ) – located in present-day Blount and Monroe counties along the Little Tennessee River, a mile or so downstream from the modern Calderwood Dam. The modern town of Tallassee is situated much further downstream, and its location should not be confused with that of
3294-532: Is part of the Iroquoian language group. In the 19th century, James Mooney , an early American ethnographer , recorded one oral tradition that told of the tribe having migrated south in ancient times from the Great Lakes region, where other Iroquoian peoples have been based. However, anthropologist Thomas R. Whyte, writing in 2007, dated the split among the peoples as occurring earlier. He believes that
3416-480: Is shaved, tho' many of the old people have it plucked out by the roots, except a patch on the hinder part of the head, about twice the bigness of a crown-piece, which is ornamented with beads, feathers, wampum , stained deer hair, and such like baubles. The ears are slit and stretched to an enormous size, putting the person who undergoes the operation to incredible pain, being unable to lie on either side for nearly forty days. To remedy this, they generally slit but one at
3538-585: Is that "Cherokee" derives from the Lower Creek word Cvlakke ("chuh-log-gee"), as the Creek were also in this mountainous region. The Iroquois Five Nations, historically based in New York and Pennsylvania, called the Cherokee Oyata'ge'ronoñ ("inhabitants of the cave country"). It is possible the word "Cherokee" comes from a Muscogee Creek word meaning "people of different speech", because
3660-480: Is the Cherokee name for the Cherokee language . Many theories, though all unproven, abound about the origin of the name "Cherokee." It may have originally been derived from one of the competitive tribes in the area. The earliest Spanish transliteration of the name, from 1755, is recorded as Tchalaque , but it dates to accounts related to the Hernando de Soto expedition in the mid-16th century. Another theory
3782-740: The Battle of Taliwa . British soldiers built forts in Cherokee country to defend against the French in the Seven Years' War , which was fought across Europe and was called the French and Indian War on the North American front. These included Fort Loudoun near Chota on the Tennessee River in eastern Tennessee. Serious misunderstandings arose quickly between the two allies, resulting in the 1760 Anglo-Cherokee War . King George III's Royal Proclamation of 1763 forbade British settlements west of
Overhill Cherokee - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-476: The Eastern Band of the Cherokee . Further upstream, Chilhowee Dam was named after the now-submerged site of Chilhowee. Tennessee Reservoir Development Agency (TRDA) boat ramps have been named after the submerged former sites of Toqua and Tallassee. Abrams Creek, which traverses Cades Cove and empties into the Little Tennessee, is named after chief Abraham of Chilhowee. In the 20th century, Fort Loudoun
4026-891: The Eastern Shore of Maryland to Northampton County, Virginia . In the fall of 1738, he made another excurion from his home in Philadelphia through Virginia, visiting the Gover family in Anne Arundel County , to Port Tobacco on the Potomac Cedar Point, Maryland opposite Hooe's Ferry in King George County, Virginia , and then went to Fredericksburg. He proceeded to visit John Clayton in Gloucester County, Virginia , crossed
4148-485: The Great Lakes region was the territory of most Iroquoian-language speakers, scholars have theorized that both the Cherokee and Tuscarora migrated south from that region. The Cherokee oral history tradition supports their migration from the Great Lakes. Linguistic analysis shows a relatively large difference between Cherokee and the northern Iroquoian languages, suggesting they had migrated long ago. Scholars posit
4270-656: The Green Corn Ceremony . Much of what is known about pre-18th century Native American cultures has come from records of Spanish expeditions. The earliest ones of the mid-16th century encountered peoples of the Mississippian culture era, who were ancestral to tribes that emerged in the Southeast, such as the Cherokee, Muscogee , Cheraw , and Catawba . Specifically in 1540–41, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto passed through present-day South Carolina, proceeding into western North Carolina and what
4392-670: The Highlands . A few were Scotch-Irish, English, French, and German (see Scottish Indian trade ). Many of these men married women from their host peoples and remained after the fighting had ended. Some of their mixed-race children, who were raised in Native American cultures, later became significant leaders among the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast . Notable traders, agents, and refugee Tories among
4514-615: The Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern North Carolina , southeastern Tennessee , southwestern Virginia, edges of western South Carolina , northern Georgia and northeastern Alabama consisting of around 40,000 square miles. The Cherokee language
4636-473: The Joara chiefdom (north of present-day Morganton, North Carolina ). The historic Catawba later lived in this area of the upper Catawba River. Pardo and his forces wintered over at Joara, building Fort San Juan there in 1567. His expedition proceeded into the interior, noting villages near modern Asheville and other places that are part of the Cherokee homelands. According to anthropologist Charles M. Hudson ,
4758-759: The Ohio River west of the Appalachian Mountains. Many of his plant acquisitions were shipped to collectors in Europe . In return, they supplied him with books and apparatus. Bartram, sometimes called the "father of American botany", was one of the first practicing Linnaean botanists in North America. He forwarded plant specimens to Carl Linnaeus , Dillenius , and Gronovius . He also assisted Linnaeus's student Pehr Kalm during his extended collecting trip to North America in 1748–1750. Bartram
4880-673: The Second Cherokee War . Overhill Cherokee Nancy Ward , Dragging Canoe 's cousin, warned settlers of impending attacks. Provincial militias retaliated, destroying more than 50 Cherokee towns. North Carolina militia in 1776 and 1780 invaded and destroyed the Overhill towns in what is now Tennessee. In 1777, surviving Cherokee town leaders signed treaties with the new states. Dragging Canoe and his band settled along Chickamauga Creek near present-day Chattanooga, Tennessee , where they established 11 new towns. Chickamauga Town
5002-562: The Tennessee and Chattahoochee rivers were remote enough from white settlers to remain independent after the Cherokee–American wars . The deerskin trade was no longer feasible on their greatly reduced lands, and over the next several decades, the people of the fledgling Cherokee Nation began to build a new society modeled on the white Southern United States. John Bartram John Bartram (March 23, 1699 – September 22, 1777)
Overhill Cherokee - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-532: The Tennessee Valley in what is now Tennessee. The Overhill capital, or "mother town," shifted between Great Tellico, Tanasi, and Chota. The Overhill settlements were established sometime between the late 16th century and the late 17th century, although scholars disagree on a more exact timeframe. The major towns were well-settled by the time the first Euro-American explorers arrived in the late 17th century. The Overhill Cherokee were recognized as speaking
5246-619: The white settlers. They also developed their own writing system. Today, three Cherokee tribes are federally recognized : the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (UKB) in Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation (CN) in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) in North Carolina. The Cherokee Nation has more than 300,000 tribal members, making it the largest of the 574 federally recognized tribes in
5368-435: The "Crown of Tannassy." Although he had planned to present the party and crown to King George II, a delegation from Charleston arrived claiming Cuming had defrauded them. While Cuming's schemes led to his own downfall, his visit to the Overhill towns helped to solidify an alliance between the Cherokee and the English. Around 1736, Christian Priber , a German utopian idealist, reached Great Tellico. Although initially working as
5490-622: The "Head Warrior" of Tanasi and the chiefs of Citico and Tallassee. Sir Alexander Cuming arrived in Charleston, South Carolina , in December 1729. Although he lacked official diplomatic credentials, Cuming managed to convince several Charlestonians that he was an agent of King George II of Great Britain on a mission to gain the loyalty of the Cherokee. Cuming set out for the Overhill town of Tanasi in March 1730, his stated goal being to gain
5612-613: The 1820s. Initially only the didanvwisgi learned to write and read such materials, which were considered extremely powerful in a spiritual sense. Later, the syllabary and writings were widely adopted by the Cherokee people. In 1657, there was a disturbance in Virginia Colony as the Rechahecrians or Rickahockans , as well as the Siouan Manahoac and Nahyssan , broke through the frontier and settled near
5734-411: The Appalachian crest, as his government tried to afford some protection from colonial encroachment to the Cherokee and other tribes they depended on as allies. The Crown found the ruling difficult to enforce with colonists. From 1771 to 1772, North Carolinian settlers squatted on Cherokee lands in Tennessee, forming the Watauga Association . Daniel Boone and his party tried to settle in Kentucky, but
5856-423: The British against the rebellious American colonies, hoping to push the encroaching settlers out of their territory. In 1776, the Cherokee initiated a plan to drive the settlers out of the Washington District, North Carolina , and invade Virginia. Virginia merchant Isaac Thomas— later a co-founder of Sevierville — was warned of the invasion by Nancy Ward , a Cherokee Beloved Woman and diplomat. Thomas passed on
5978-432: The Cherokee and Tuscarora broke off in the Southeast from the major group of Iroquoian speakers who migrated north to the Great Lakes area. There a succession of Iroquoian-speaking tribes were encountered by Europeans in historic times. In the 1830s, the American writer John Howard Payne visited Cherokee then based in Georgia. He recounted what they shared about pre-19th-century Cherokee culture and society. For instance,
6100-406: The Cherokee and Americans, who had achieved independence from the British Crown. In 1805, the Cherokee ceded their lands between the Cumberland and Duck rivers (i.e. the Cumberland Plateau ) to Tennessee . The traders and British government agents dealing with the southern tribes in general, and the Cherokee in particular, were nearly all of Scottish ancestry, with many documented as being from
6222-427: The Cherokee and other western tribes. In 1673, Virginia merchants sent agents James Needham and Gabriel Arthur on a trip west of the Appalachians, hoping to open a direct trade route. While Needham was killed on the return trip, Arthur stayed behind. He later claimed to have accompanied the natives (possibly the Cherokee) on raids of Spanish settlements in Florida. In 1725, South Carolina sent Col. George Chicken on
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#17327733143526344-459: The Cherokee capital to modern-day Alabama , where it would be closer to the French colonial territory of La Louisiane . The English tried to arrest Priber in 1739 but were prevented by the Cherokee. He was finally captured by the Creek people in 1743 and turned over to South Carolina authorities. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War , the Cherokee aligned with the British. The Overhill towns agreed to provide military support, but asked that
6466-512: The Cherokee delegation signed the Treaty of Whitehall with the British. Moytoy's son, Amo-sgasite (Dreadful Water), attempted to succeed him as "Emperor" in 1741, but the Cherokee elected their own leader, Conocotocko (Old Hop) of Chota . Political power among the Cherokee remained decentralized, and towns acted autonomously. In 1735, the Cherokee were said to have sixty-four towns and villages, with an estimated fighting force of 6,000 men. In 1738 and 1739, smallpox epidemics broke out among
6588-550: The Cherokee included John Stuart , Henry Stuart, Alexander Cameron, John McDonald, John Joseph Vann (father of James Vann ), Daniel Ross (father of John Ross ), John Walker Sr., Mark Winthrop Battle, John McLemore (father of Bob), William Buchanan, John Watts (father of John Watts Jr. ), John D. Chisholm , John Benge (father of Bob Benge ), Thomas Brown, John Rogers (Welsh), John Gunter (German, founder of Gunter's Landing), James Adair (Irish), William Thorpe (English), and Peter Hildebrand (German), among many others. Some attained
6710-416: The Cherokee were concentrated around three general regions. The "Lower Towns" were centered on the town of Keowee in the hills of South Carolina and northeastern Georgia. The "Middle Towns" were centered on Nequassee and Tassetchee amidst the Great Balsam Mountains and eastern Unicoi Mountains in western North Carolina. The Overhill Cherokee lived in settlements located between the Appalachian Mountains and
6832-532: The Cherokee, who had no natural immunity to the new infectious disease. Nearly half their population died within a year. Hundreds of other Cherokee committed suicide due to their losses and disfigurement from the disease. British colonial officer Henry Timberlake , born in Virginia, described the Cherokee people as he saw them in 1761: The Cherokees are of a middle stature, of an olive colour, tho' generally painted, and their skins stained with gun-powder, pricked into it in very pretty figures. The hair of their head
6954-491: The Chickamauga towns in 1782, Dragging Canoe moved the Chickamaugas southwest to modern-day Marion County, Tennessee , where he continued his struggle. After the assassination of Old Tassel in 1788, Chief Hanging Maw was recognized as the leader of the Overhill towns. With violence spiraling out of control, Hanging Maw petitioned territorial Governor William Blount for a fort to protect the peaceful Overhill villages from vengeful settlers. In 1794, Hanging Maw donated land at
7076-408: The Falls of the James River, near present-day Richmond, Virginia . The following year, a combined force of English colonists and Pamunkey drove the newcomers away. The identity of the Rechahecrians has been much debated. Historians noted the name closely resembled that recorded for the Eriechronon or Erielhonan , commonly known as the Erie tribe , another Iroquoian-speaking people based south of
7198-497: The Franklin tree, Franklinia alatamaha in southeastern Georgia in 1765, later named by his son William Bartram. A genus of mosses, Bartramia , was named for him, as were such plants as the North American serviceberry, Amelanchier bartramiana , as well as the subtropical tree Commersonia bartramia (brown kurrajong). This grows in an area from the Bellinger River in coastal eastern Australia to Cape York , Vanuatu , and Malaysia . John Bartram High School in Philadelphia
7320-407: The Great Lakes in present-day northern Pennsylvania. This Iroquoian people had been driven away from the southern shore of Lake Erie in 1654 by the powerful Iroquois Five Nations, also known as Haudenosaunee , who were seeking more hunting grounds to support their dominance in the beaver fur trade. The anthropologist Martin Smith theorized some remnants of the tribe migrated to Virginia after
7442-419: The Great Lakes. This has been the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee nations and other Iroquoian-speaking peoples. Another theory is that the Cherokee had been in the Southeast for thousands of years and that proto-Iroquoian developed here. Other Iroquoian-speaking tribes in the Southeast have been the Tuscarora people of the Carolinas, and the Meherrin and Nottaway of Virginia. James Mooney in
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#17327733143527564-412: The Hiwassee River south of modern Etowah , and along the Tellico River in modern Tellico Plains . Although Native Americans used most of the western side of the Great Smoky Mountains primarily as a hunting ground, early Euro-American explorers recalled seeing abandoned villages and temporary hunting camps scattered around the region. These were often found in the game-rich coves of the northern part of
7686-422: The Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions, Animals, and other Matters Worthy of Notice, made by Mr. John Bartram in his Travels from Pennsylvania to Onondaga, Oswego, and the Lake Ontario, in Canada (London, 1751). During the winter of 1765/66, he visited East Florida in the south, which was a British colony, and published an account of this trip with his journal (London, 1766). He also visited areas along
7808-601: The Little Tennessee River, about 10 miles (16 km) south of modern-day Vonore. Chota was the de facto Cherokee capital in the mid-18th century, considered a 'mother town,' and the birthplace of several prominent chiefs. At the time of Timberlake's visit in 1761, Chota was centered around a large councilhouse, which could seat 500, and about 60 residential houses. The town's name is sometimes spelled "Echota." 35°33′18″N 84°07′52″W / 35.55507°N 84.13104°W / 35.55507; -84.13104 Citico ( Si'tiku ) – located in present-day Monroe County, at
7930-466: The Little Tennessee River. The town was the capital of the Overhill Cherokee c. 1721–1730. The Little Tennessee was originally simply called the "Tennessee," which was an alternate spelling of "Tanasi." European-American settlers eventually applied the name to the entire state. 35°33′00″N 84°08′01″W / 35.55005°N 84.13374°W / 35.55005; -84.13374 Chota ( Itsa'sa ) – located in present-day Monroe County, along
8052-629: The Little Tennessee River. Timberlake reported a councilhouse in Tomotley where a "death hallow" was sounded to signify the return of a war party. 35°34′19″N 84°11′13″W / 35.57182°N 84.18697°W / 35.57182; -84.18697 Toqua ( Dakwa ) – located in present-day Monroe County, at the confluence of Toco Creek and the Little Tennessee River, just south of modern-day Fort Loudoun State Park. 35°34′11″N 84°10′21″W / 35.56984°N 84.17248°W / 35.56984; -84.17248 Tanasi – located in present-day Monroe County, adjacent to Chota along
8174-489: The Little Tennessee. Cuming met with the Tanasi Warrior, whom he understood to be the de facto leader of the Overhill at the time. After gaining the Tanasi Warrior's allegiance, Cuming returned to Great Tellico. He accompanied Moytoy back across the Unicoi Mountains to Nequassee, and helped the chief be crowned as "Emperor of the Cherokee." Cuming returned to England on June 5, 1730, accompanied by several Cherokee and carrying an opossum -hair headdress, which he referred to as
8296-479: The Lower Cherokee) to sign a treaty ending the Cherokee–American wars. Over the next ten years, the U.S. made several other treaties with the Cherokee, persuading Cherokee leaders to cede large portions of land in East and Middle Tennessee, including the Overhill towns along the Little Tennessee, in an attempt to gain peace. With the cession of Overhill lands, the Cherokee Nation 's center of power shifted south to New Echota in Georgia . Settlers migrating throughout
8418-533: The Mississippian culture-period (1000 to 1500 CE in the regional variation known as the South Appalachian Mississippian culture ), local women developed a new variety of maize (corn) called eastern flint corn . It closely resembled modern corn and produced larger crops. The successful cultivation of corn surpluses allowed the rise of larger, more complex chiefdoms consisting of several villages and concentrated populations during this period. Corn became celebrated among numerous peoples in religious ceremonies, especially
8540-437: The Muscogee. In 1721, the Cherokee ceded lands in South Carolina. In 1730, at Nikwasi , a Cherokee town and Mississippian culture site, a Scots adventurer, Sir Alexander Cuming , crowned Moytoy of Tellico as "Emperor" of the Cherokee. Moytoy agreed to recognize King George II of Great Britain as the Cherokee protector. Cuming arranged to take seven prominent Cherokee, including Attakullakulla , to London , England. There
8662-413: The Overhill Towns. The Cherokee immediately sued for peace, which was granted. To help solidify the peace, Colonel Stephen dispatched Lieutenant Henry Timberlake and Sergeant Thomas Sumter to accompany a Cherokee delegation on a tour of the Overhill towns. After a five-day journey down the Holston, French Broad , and Little Tennessee rivers, Timberlake arrived in the Overhill town of Tomotley. There he
8784-572: The Overhill towns and burned Tuskegee and Citico. The major faction of the Cherokee made peace shortly thereafter, under the Treaty of De Witt's Corner . In 1780, while the North Carolina militia from the Washington District, often referred to as the "overhill militia", were away at the Battle of Kings Mountain , the Cherokee launched sporadic raids against the settlers there. Upon his return, Colonel John Sevier , who had gained fame as
8906-532: The Pardo expedition also recorded encounters with Muskogean -speaking peoples at Chiaha in southeastern modern Tennessee. Linguistic studies have been another way for researchers to study the development of people and their cultures. Unlike most other Native American tribes in the American Southeast at the start of the historic era, the Cherokee and Tuscarora people spoke Iroquoian languages . Since
9028-488: The Payne papers describe the account by Cherokee elders of a traditional two-part societal structure. A "white" organization of elders represented the seven clans . As Payne recounted, this group, which was hereditary and priestly, was responsible for religious activities, such as healing, purification, and prayer. A second group of younger men, the "red" organization, was responsible for warfare. The Cherokee considered warfare
9150-561: The Shawnee, Delaware , Mingo , and some Cherokee attacked a scouting and forage party that included Boone's son, James Boone, and William Russell 's son, Henry, who were killed in the skirmish. Faragher, John Mack (1992). Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer . New York: Holt. pp. 93–4. ISBN 0-8050-1603-1 . In 1776, allied with the Shawnee led by Cornstalk , Cherokee attacked settlers in South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina in
9272-590: The Southeast kept up pressure to gain Cherokee lands. In 1967, the Tennessee Valley Authority began construction on Tellico Dam just above the mouth of the Little Tennessee. The impoundment created Tellico Lake and effectively flooded all of the original known Overhill sites along the Little Tennessee River. Before the flooding, the University of Tennessee conducted extensive archaeological excavations, identifying Chota's townhouse and
9394-508: The Treaty of De Witt's Corner. Dragging Canoe and Ostenaco refused to recognize this treaty, claiming the settlers were unlikely to abide by the treaty's terms. Along with several renegade tribesmen from across the Cherokee tribes, they moved south to Chickamauga Creek , in the vicinity of what is now Chattanooga , and set up a series of villages. Settlers called them the " Chickamauga Cherokee " after their location and to distinguish them from
9516-609: The United States. In addition, numerous groups claim Cherokee lineage , and some of these are state-recognized. A total of more than 819,000 people are estimated to have identified as having Cherokee ancestry on the U.S. census; most are not enrolled members of any tribe. Of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, the Cherokee Nation and the UKB have headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma , and most of their members live in
9638-754: The York River to visit John Custis in Williamsburg, Virginia , and then journeyed up the James River to visit William Byrd II 's plantation at Westover . He continued westware to visit Isham Randolph 's Dungeness estate, and then continued west to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley . [1] In 1743, he visited western parts of New York and the northern shores of Lake Ontario , and wrote Observations on
9760-682: The ancient village. The Cherokee Tallassee is sometimes referred to as "Tallassee Old Town." 35°30′20″N 84°00′01″W / 35.50556°N 84.00028°W / 35.50556; -84.00028 Great Tellico ( Talikwa ) – located in present-day Monroe County, in Tellico Plains , where the Tellico River levels out at the base of the Unicoi Mountains. Great Tellico rose to prominence in early 18th century under its chief Moytoy . Sir Alexander Cuming , who visited
9882-403: The area. Because they gave up tribal membership at the time, they became state and US citizens. In the late 19th century, they reorganized as a federally recognized tribe. A Cherokee language name for Cherokee people is Aniyvwiya ( ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ , translating as "Principal People"). Another endonym is Anigiduwagi (ᎠᏂᎩᏚᏩᎩ, translating as "People from Kituwah"). Tsalagi Gawonihisdi ( ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ )
10004-607: The close of the Seven Years' War, Euro-American settlers began trickling into east Tennessee from the eastern colonies. In 1772, several pioneers negotiated a lease for Cherokee lands in northeast Tennessee and formed the Watauga Settlement . In spite of the agreement, tensions between the pioneers and the Cherokee rose steadily. By the outbreak of the American Revolution , the Cherokee were allied with
10126-440: The confluence of Citico Creek and the Little Tennessee River. The town's name is sometimes spelled "Settaco." 35°32′56″N 84°05′56″W / 35.54887°N 84.09891°W / 35.54887; -84.09891 Chilhowee ( Tsu'lun'we ) – located in present-day Blount and Monroe counties at the confluence of Abrams Creek and the Little Tennessee River. The junction of modern U.S. Route 129 and Foothills Parkway
10248-451: The confluence of the Tellico and Little Tennessee rivers south of modern-day Fort Loudoun State Park . Tuskegee was the birthplace of Sequoyah, noted as the first person to independently create a written alphabet, which he did for the Cherokee language . 35°35′30″N 84°12′08″W / 35.59167°N 84.20222°W / 35.59167; -84.20222 Tomotley – located in present-day Monroe County, adjacent to Toqua along
10370-414: The decline of the Overhill towns. The Cherokee were forced to cede most of their lands in this area through a series of unfavorable treaties with the United States. For a time, they migrated to the south and west, deeper into Georgia and Alabama, and away from settler pressure. The Overhill town of Chota , in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee , was recognized as the de facto capital and mother town of
10492-535: The difficult journey to the interior over the mountain range. By the middle of the century, the Overhill towns were consistently courted by both British and French emissaries, as the two powers struggled for the control of the North American continent and the lucrative fur trade . During and following the American Revolutionary War , in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the westward thrust of Euro-American settlement resulted in conflict and
10614-529: The eastern American colonies in order to study and collect plants. Bartram maintained a friendship with Peter Collinson , Alexander Catcot , and others through letter writing between London and the colonies, and he regularly collected specimens for Collinson and others in Europe who were interested in obtaining unfamiliar species from the New World for their gardens and scientific study. In 1737 Bartram travelled by horseback through modern day Delaware and
10736-500: The entire Cherokee Nation for most of the 18th century, when it was the major settlement. The town of Tanasi became the namesake for the state of Tennessee. Many prominent Cherokee leaders, including Attakullakulla , Oconastota , Nancy Ward , and Sequoyah , were born and raised in Overhill towns. In the 1970s, most of the former Overhill sites were submerged by the impoundment of the Little Tennessee River after
10858-601: The fabled "Crown of Tannassy." Cuming moved quickly along the Trading Path, interacting briefly with Lower and Middle chiefs. In just under a month, Cuming had crossed the Unicoi Mountains into the Overhill country, a dangerous place at the time because of the Cherokees' ongoing war with the Creeks. Years later, colonial trader Ludovick Grant, who lived in Great Tellico and briefly accompanied Cuming during his tour, described Cuming's techniques. In each town, Cuming arranged
10980-483: The fort's construction, relations between the English and the Cherokee soured. Several Cherokee returning home from battle were killed by settlers, and an increase in horse thefts created tension in Virginia. After a contingent of Cherokee chiefs were detained at Fort Prince George in late 1759, the Cherokee, under Chief Standing Turkey , laid siege to Fort Loudoun . The fort's garrison held out until August 1760, when
11102-409: The grave of Oconastota. The site of Chota's townhouse was covered with fill, raising it above water levels. A monument with eight pillars— one for the Cherokee Nation and each of its seven clans— was placed at the site along with the reinterred grave of Oconastota. Nearby, a small monument was erected marking the site of Tanasi and recalling it as the root of the state's name. Both sites are managed by
11224-581: The greater Cherokee tribe. The Chickamauga (or "Lower Cherokee" as they were also sometimes called) proceeded to carry on an unconventional war against the encroaching Euro-American settlers, ambushing small patrols and attacking small settlements. After Oconastota's death in the early 1780s, Chief Old Tassel was recognized as the leader of the Overhill Cherokee. He sought more distance from the Chickamauga. After an expedition by Sevier destroyed
11346-694: The historic Cherokee and occupied what is now Western North Carolina in the Middle Woodland period, circa 200 to 600 CE. They are believed to have built what is called the Biltmore Mound, found in 1984 south of the Swannanoa River on the Biltmore Estate, which has numerous Native American sites. Other ancestors of the Cherokee are considered to be part of the later Pisgah phase of South Appalachian Mississippian culture ,
11468-520: The honorary status of minor chiefs and/or members of significant delegations. By contrast, a large portion of the settlers encroaching on the Native American territories were Scotch-Irish , Irish from Ulster who were of Scottish descent and had been part of the plantation of Ulster . They also tended to support the Revolution. But in the back country, there were also Scotch-Irish who were Loyalists, such as Simon Girty . The Cherokee lands between
11590-702: The junction of Nine Mile Creek and the Little Tennessee River to the U.S. government for the construction of the Tellico Blockhouse . Along with a small garrison of federal soldiers, the Tellico Blockhouse was the headquarters of the Tellico Agent, William Blount, the official liaison between the U.S. and the Cherokee. On November 8, 1794, Blount met Hanging Maw (representing the Overhill Cherokee) and John Watt (representing
11712-470: The late 19th century recorded conversations with elders who recounted an oral tradition of the Cherokee people migrating south from the Great Lakes region in ancient times. They occupied territories where earthwork platform mounds were built by peoples during the earlier Woodland and Mississippian culture periods. For example, the people of the Connestee culture period are believed to be ancestors of
11834-499: The lower Little Tennessee , lower Tellico , lower Hiwassee and upper Tennessee rivers, the Overhill towns rose to prominence within the Cherokee Nation in the early 18th century. They began to standardize trade with British colonists. In the early part of the century, the Overhill towns' remote location at the far end of the Trading Path meant they were reached only by those traders and explorers adventurous enough to make
11956-495: The origin of the proto-Iroquoian language was likely the Appalachian region , and the split between Northern and Southern Iroquoian languages began 4,000 years ago. By the 19th century, White American settlers had classified the Cherokee of the Southeast as one of the " Five Civilized Tribes " in the region. They were agrarian , lived in permanent villages and had begun to adopt some cultural and technological practices of
12078-566: The range and near the junctions of major streams. Mialoquo ( Amaye'le'gwa ) – located in present-day Monroe County, on a now-submerged island in the middle of the Little Tennessee River. This was just north of the modern U.S. Route 411 bridge. Mooney believed Mialoquo might have been the village of Nilaque, which the naturalist John Bartram recorded visiting. The term "Mialoquo" means "Great Island." 35°36′55″N 84°14′26″W / 35.61534°N 84.24048°W / 35.61534; -84.24048 Tuskegee ( Taskigi ) – located at
12200-459: The residents greeted him with a long dance. After smoking a peace pipe with the town leader Cheulah, Timberlake proceeded southward to Chilhowee, where he gained similar assurances of peace. He returned via the trail to Long Island on the Holston. Timberlake's journals, published in the 1760s, contain detailed descriptions of Cherokee council-houses, residences, canoes, and other facets of everyday Cherokee life; these were invaluable to historians. At
12322-644: The river for 12,000 years. The Overhill settlements were concentrated around three rivers at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Unicoi Mountains , in what are now Monroe and Polk counties in Tennessee. The northernmost of these three rivers, the Little Tennessee, was the locus of a string of prominent Overhill settlements situated between modern-day Vonore and Calderwood Dam . Other important settlements were situated along
12444-527: The river levels into a fertile plain. The site has been developed as farmland. The term Hiwassee means "savanna" or "plain." Hiwassee is sometimes called "Hiwassee Old Town." 35°14′35″N 84°34′53″W / 35.24314°N 84.58149°W / 35.24314; -84.58149 The Overhill settlements were connected by a series of well-established Native American trails: Early Euro-American explorers in Southern Appalachia noted that
12566-572: The same metal, a bit of cloth over their private parts, a shirt of the English make, a sort of cloth-boots, and mockasons ( sic ), which are shoes of a make peculiar to the Americans, ornamented with porcupine-quills; a large mantle or match-coat thrown over all complete their dress at home ... From 1753 to 1755, battles broke out between the Cherokee and Muscogee over disputed hunting grounds in North Georgia . The Cherokee were victorious in
12688-657: The state. The UKB are mostly descendants of "Old Settlers", also called Western Cherokee: those who migrated from the Southeast to Arkansas and Oklahoma in about 1817, prior to Indian removal . They are related to the Cherokee who were later forcibly relocated there in the 1830s under the Indian Removal Act . The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is located on land known as the Qualla Boundary in western North Carolina. They are mostly descendants of ancestors who had resisted or avoided relocation, remaining in
12810-601: The time by the Coosa chiefdom . This is believed to be a chiefdom ancestral to the Muscogee Creek people , who developed as a Muskogean-speaking people with a distinct culture. In 1566, the Juan Pardo expedition traveled from the present-day South Carolina coast into its interior, and into western North Carolina and southeastern Tennessee. He recorded meeting Cherokee-speaking people who visited him while he stayed at
12932-416: The time that Mooney was studying the people in the late 1880s, the structure of Cherokee religious practitioners was more informal, based more on individual knowledge and ability than upon heredity. Another major source of early cultural history comes from materials written in the 19th century by the didanvwisgi ( ᏗᏓᏅᏫᏍᎩ ), Cherokee medicine men , after Sequoyah 's creation of the Cherokee syllabary in
13054-492: The town in 1730, reported that Great Tellico had the fiercest warriors of all the Overhill towns. Great Tellico's sister town, Chatuga , was also located in the valley. 35°21′59″N 84°17′15″W / 35.36627°N 84.28745°W / 35.36627; -84.28745 Great Hiwassee ( Ayouwasi ) – located in present-day Polk County, along the Hiwassee River at the base of the Unicoi Mountains , where
13176-524: The townhouse and killed the assembled Indians if they refused. During his stay in Great Tellico, Cuming was impressed by the display of its chief Moytoy. He described the encounter in his journal (referring to his party in third person): They arrived at great Telliquo in the Afternoon, saw the petrifying Cave, a great many Enemies Scalps brought in and put upon Poles at the Warriors Doors, made
13298-441: The two peoples spoke different languages. Jack Kilpatrick disputes this idea, noting that he believes the name come from the Cherokee word "tsàdlagí" meaning "he has turned aside". Anthropologists and historians have two main theories of Cherokee origins. One is that the Cherokee, an Iroquoian-speaking people, are relative latecomers to Southern Appalachia , who may have migrated in late prehistoric times from northern areas around
13420-438: The warning to the settlers, who prepared their defenses. The first prong of the attack, led by Dragging Canoe , was defeated by colonists at Heaton's Station . The second and third prongs, led by Abraham of Chilhowee and The Raven , were routed at Fort Watauga and Carter's Valley. In response to these attacks, several thousand militia members in two groups led by William Christian and General Griffith Rutherford invaded
13542-598: The wars ( 1986:131–32 ), later becoming known as the Westo to English colonists in the Province of Carolina. A few historians suggest this tribe was Cherokee. Virginian traders developed a small-scale trading system with the Cherokee in the Piedmont before the end of the 17th century. The earliest recorded Virginia trader to live among the Cherokee was Cornelius Dougherty or Dority, in 1690. The Cherokee gave sanctuary to
13664-621: The west bank of the Schuylkill , about 3 miles (5 km) from the center of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . Known as Bartram's Garden , it is frequently cited as the first true botanic collection in North America. It was designated in 1960 as a National Historic Landmark . In 1743, Bartram was one of the co-founders, along with Benjamin Franklin , of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. It supported scientific studies as well as philosophy. Bartram
13786-431: The western side of the Appalachian Mountains, in present-day southeastern Tennessee. During the late Archaic and Woodland Period , Native Americans in the region began to cultivate plants such as marsh elder , lambsquarters , pigweed , sunflowers , and some native squash . People created new art forms such as shell gorgets , adopted new technologies, and developed an elaborate cycle of religious ceremonies. During
13908-628: Was Keowee . Other Cherokee towns on the Keowee River included Estatoe and Sugartown ( Kulsetsiyi ), a name repeated in other areas. In western North Carolina, what were known as the Valley, Middle, and Outer Towns were located along the major rivers of the Tuckasegee , the upper Little Tennessee , Hiwasee , French Broad and other systems. The Overhill Cherokee occupied towns along the lower Little Tennessee River and upper Tennessee River on
14030-546: Was aided in his collecting efforts by other British colonists. In Bartram's Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida , a trip taken from July 1, 1765, to April 10, 1766, Bartram wrote of specimens he had collected. In the colony of British East Florida , he was helped by Dr. David Yeats, secretary of the colony. About 1728, he established an 8-acre (32,000 m ) botanic garden in Kingsessing , on
14152-520: Was an American botanist, horticulturist, and explorer, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for most of his career. Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus said he was the "greatest natural botanist in the world." Bartram corresponded with and shared North American plants and seeds with a variety of scientists in England and Europe. He started what is known as Bartram's Garden in 1728 at his farm in Kingsessing (now part of Philadelphia). It
14274-600: Was buried at the Darby Friends Cemetery in Darby, Pennsylvania . Most of Bartram's many plant discoveries were named by botanists in Europe. He is best known today for the discovery and introduction of a wide range of North American flowering trees and shrubs, including kalmia , rhododendron , and magnolia species; for introducing the Dionaea muscipula or Venus flytrap to cultivation; and for discovering
14396-410: Was considered the first botanic garden in the United States. His sons and descendants operated it until 1850. Still operating in a partnership between the city of Philadelphia and a non-profit foundation, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. Bartram was born into a Quaker farm family in colonial Marple , Pennsylvania near Philadelphia, on March 23, 1699. He considered himself
14518-406: Was greeted by Ostenaco and witnessed a ceremonial return of a Cherokee war party. After smoking a peace pipe with Ostenaco, Timberlake proceeded southward to Chota, where he was met by some 400 Cherokee. Timberlake smoked a peace pipe with several tribal leaders and recorded the layout and design of the town's large council-house. The following day, Timberlake arrived in the town of Citico, where
14640-528: Was his headquarters and the colonists tended to call his entire band the Chickamauga to distinguish them from other Cherokee. From here he fought a guerrilla war against settlers, which lasted from 1776 to 1794. These are known informally as the Cherokee–American wars, but this is not a historian's term. The first Treaty of Tellico Blockhouse , signed November 7, 1794, finally brought peace between
14762-463: Was particularly instrumental in sending seeds from the New World to European gardeners; many North American trees and flowers were first introduced into cultivation in Europe by this route. Beginning around 1733, Bartram's work was assisted by his association with the English merchant Peter Collinson . Collinson, also a lover of plants, was a fellow Quaker and a member of the Royal Society, with
14884-535: Was reconstructed by state teams, as well as a replica of a 17th-century village dwelling of Tuskegee; these are located within the Fort Loudoun State Park . The state park also manages the Tellico Blockhouse site, the foundations of which have been identified and marked. The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, near Fort Loudoun in Vonore, is dedicated to the creator of the Cherokee alphabet. The Unicoi Trail,
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