Cherokee From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia •Jump to: navigation, search This page contains special characters. Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display these glyphs properly. More info… ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ Cherokee Flag of the Cherokee Nation Flag of the United Keetoowah Band. Flag of the Eastern Band Cherokee Total population 320,000+ Regions with significant populations Federally Enrolled members: Cherokee Nation (f): 270,000+ United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Oklahoma (f): 10,000 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina (f): 10,000+ (f) = federally recognized Language(s) English, Cherokee Religion(s) Christianity (Southern Baptist and Methodist), Traditional Ah-ni-yv-wi-ya, other small Christian groups. Related ethnic groups American Indians, Five Civilized Tribes, Tuscarora, other Iroquoians. For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). The Cherokee ( ah-ni-yv-wi-ya {Unicode: ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ} in the Cherokee language) are a native people from North America, who at the time of European contact in the sixteenth century, inhabited what is now the Eastern and Southeastern United States. Most were forcibly moved westward to the Ozark Plateau in the 1830s. They are one of the tribes referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, they are the largest of the 563 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States. [1] The Cherokee refer to themselves as Tsa-la-gi (pronounced "chaw-la-gee") or A-ni-yv-wi-ya (pronounced "ah knee yuh wee yaw", literal translation: "Principle People"). In 1654, the Powhatan were referring to this people as the Rickahockan. The word "Cherokee" may have originally been derived from the Choctaw trade language[citation needed] word "Cha-la-kee" which means "those who live in the mountains" – or (also Choctaw) "Chi-luk-ik-bi" meaning "those who live in the caves". [citation needed] The Cherokee were called "Alligewi" by the Delawares.[citation needed] Iroquois called them Oyata’ge'ronoñ', "inhabitants of the cave country" (Hewitt). The characteristics of the Cherokee people were described in the writings of William Bartram in his journey through the Cherokee lands in 1776; "The Cherokee…are tall, erect and moderately robust; their limbs well shaped, so as generally to form a perfect human figure; their features regular, and countenance open, dignified, and placid, yet the forehead and brow are so formed as to strike you instantly with heroism and bravery; the eye, though rather small, yet active and full of fire, the iris always black, and the nose commonly inclining to the aquiline. Their countenance and actions exhibit an air of magnanimity, superiority, and independence. Their complexion is a reddish brown or copper colour; their hair, long, lank, coarse, and black as a raven, and reflecting the like lustre at different exposures to the light. The women of the Cherokees are tall, slender, erect and of a delicate frame; their features formed with perfect symmetry; the countenance cheerful and friendly; and they move with a becoming grace and dignity" (R. C. Pritchard, Researches into the Physical History of Mankind (Volume V, 1847), p.403-4) The Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians have headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is located at Cherokee, North Carolina. All three are federally recognized. Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Prehistoric and protohistoric periods 1.2 17th Century 1.3 18th century 1.4 Historians 1.5 19th century 1.5.1 Trail of Tears 1.5.2 Ridge opposition 1.5.3 Separation 1.6 20th century 1.6.1 The 1997 Cherokee Constitutional Crisis 1.7 The United Keetoowah Band 2 Customs and Ceremonies 2.1 Marriage 3 Language and writing system 3.1 Language drift 4 Treaties, Government and Tribal Recognition 5 Modern Cherokee Nation 5.1 Environment 5.2 Cherokee Freedmen 5.3 Relationship with the Eastern Band 5.4 Marriage Law controversy 6 Famous Cherokees 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links 10.1 Organizations [edit] History [edit] Prehistoric and protohistoric periods In describing the history of Indians living in the interior of the American southeast, scholars use the term prehistory for the time before the mid-sixteenth century, when several Spanish expeditions journeyed through the southeast. After these expeditions the European historic record is silent until about 1700. The term protohistory is used for this period. The time after about 1700 is called the historic era. Since historic documentation is generally lacking, Cherokee prehistory and protohistory has been studied via oral tradition, linguistic analysis, and archeology. Unlike most other Indians in the American southeast at the start of the historic era, the Cherokee spoke an Iroquoian language. Since the Great Lakes region was the core of Iroquoian languages, it is theorized that the Cherokee migrated south from the Great Lakes region. Linguistic analysis shows a relatively large difference between Cherokee and the northern Iroquoian languages, suggesting a split in the distant past.[2] Glottochronology studies suggest the split occurred between about 1,500 and 1,800 B.C.[3] The ancient settlement of Keetoowah or giduwa (Cherokee:), on the Tuckasegee River near present- day Bryson City, North Carolina, is frequently cited as the original Cherokee City.[2] During the early historic era, Europeans wrote of several Cherokee town groups, usually using the terms Lower, Middle, and Overhill towns. The Lower towns were situated on the headwater streams of the Savannah River, mainly in present-day western South Carolina and northeastern Georgia. Keowee was one of the chief towns. The Middle towns were located in present western North Carolina, on the headwater streams of the Tennessee River, such as the Little Tennessee River, Hiwassee River, and French Broad River. Among several chief towns was Nikwasi. The Overhill towns were located across the higher mountains in present eastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. Principal towns included Chota and Great Tellico. These terms were created and used by Europeans to describe their changing geopolitical relationship with the Cherokee.[2] [edit] 17th Century According to James Mooney, the English first had contact with the Cherokee in 1654. One of the earliest European-American accounts comes from the expedition of James Needham and Gabriel Arthur, sent in 1673 by fur-trader Abraham Wood of Virginia to the Overhill Cherokee country. Wood hoped to forge a direct trading connection with the Cherokee in order to bypass the Occaneechi Indians who were serving as middlemen on the Trading Path. The two Virginians did make contact with the Cherokee, although Needham was killed on the return journey and Arthur was almost killed. By the late seventeenth century, traders from both Virginia and South Carolina were making regular journeys to Cherokee lands, but few wrote about their experiences. Much of the early trading contact period has only been pieced together by colonial laws and lawsuits involving traders. The trade was mainly deerskins, raw material for the booming European leather industry, in exchange for European technology "trade goods" such as iron and steel tools (kettles, knives, etc), firearms, gunpowder, and ammunition. In 1705 these traders complained that their business had been lost and replaced by Indian slave trade instigated by Governor Moore of South Carolina. Moore had commissioned people to "set upon, assault, kill, destroy, and take captive as many Indians as possible". These captives would be sold and the profits split with the Governor.[4] Although selling alcohol to Indians was made illegal by colonial governments at an early date, rum, and later whiskey, were a common item of trade.[5] [edit] 18th century Tah-Chee (Dutch), A Cherokee Chief, 1837, Smithsonian American Art MuseumOf the southeastern Indian confederacies of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries (Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, etc), the Cherokee were one of the most populous and powerful, and were relatively isolated by their hilly and mountainous homeland. A relatively small-scale trading system was established with Virginia in the late seventeenth century. A much stronger and important trade relationship with the colony of South Carolina, based in Charles Town, began in the 1690s and overshadowed the Virginia relationship by the 1700s.[6] Although there was some trading contact, the Cherokee remained relatively unaffected by the presence of European colonies in America until the Tuscarora War and its aftermath. In 1711 the Tuscarora began attacking colonists in North Carolina after diplomatic attempts to address various grievances failed. The governor of North Carolina asked South Carolina for military aid. Before the war was over several years later, South Carolina had mustered and sent two armies against the Tuscarora. The ranks of both armies were made up mostly of Indians, with Yamasee troops especially. The first army, under the command of John Barnwell, campaigned in North Carolina in 1712. By the end of the year a fragile peace had been established, and the army dispersed. No Cherokee were involved in the first army. Hostilities between the Tuscarora and North Carolina broke out soon after, and in late 1712 to early 1713 a second army from South Carolina fought the Tuscarora. This army consisted of about 100 British and over 700 Indian soldiers. As with the first army, the second depended heavily on the Yamasee and Catawba. This time, however, hundreds of Cherokee joined the army. The army's campaign ended after a major Tuscarora defeat at Hancock's Fort. All told, over 1,000 Tuscarora and allied Indians were killed or captured. Those captured were mainly sold into the Indian slave trade. Although the second army from South Carolina disbanded soon after the battle, the Tuscarora War continued for several years. Some previously neutral Tuscarora turned hostile, and the Iroquois confederacy entered the dispute.