DOCSLIB.ORG

A Struggle for Cherokee Community: Excavating Identity in Post-Removal North Carolina

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Struggle for Cherokee Community: Excavating Identity in Post-Removal North Carolina A Struggle for Cherokee Community: Excavating Identity in Post-Removal North Carolina Lance Greene A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Chair: Vin Steponaitis Advisor: Brett Riggs Reader: Silvia Tomaskova Reader: Valerie Lambert Reader: John Finger ©2009 Lance Greene ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT LANCE GREENE: A Struggle for Cherokee Community: Excavating Identity in Post-Removal North Carolina (Under the direction of Vin Steponaitis and Brett Riggs) The Cherokee Removal of 1838 was intended to remove all members of the Cherokee Nation to west of the Mississippi River. However, a small number avoided forced emigration. After the soldiers had left the region, many of these Cherokees sustained traditional practices in spite of increasing social and codified racism. The undefined status of the Cherokees in North Carolina at this time left them socially and economically marginalized. However, they also found ways to use this liminal space to their benefit. My research uses a combination of archaeological, documentary, and landscape data to investigate how one Cherokee family negotiated this new social terrain. The Welch family embraced alternative concepts of race, ethnicity, and gender to help maintain a traditional Cherokee community called Welch's Town in southwestern North Carolina. They adopted certain aspects of western culture, while maintaining some traditional Cherokee practices. Through this hybridity, they managed to maintain their farm and also their connections to and support of the Cherokee community on their land. iii To A.V.G. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS At the outset, I would like to thank Brett Riggs. I have worked with Brett for almost twenty years, in a multitude of field and lab settings. Brett introduced me to historic Cherokee archaeology during a lengthy field survey that sometimes tested our physical endurance. Nonetheless, I was fascinated by the archaeology. This was due in part to Brett impressing upon me the significance of the research for contemporary Cherokees, and his devotion to sharing it with them. Brett has continued to share with me his encyclopedic knowledge of Cherokee history and archaeology, his insights into Cherokee society (both past and present), and his views on the use and meaning of archaeological data. I consider it a privilege to have worked and studied in the Anthropology Department and the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I found there a rich and supportive community of faculty and students, and I and my wonderful cohort thrived in the collegial environment. My scholarship benefited greatly from my time there. In particular, Silvia Tomaskova not only altered my views of material culture research but opened a new space in which I could ask more interesting questions using archaeology. Vin Steponaitis taught me the significance and appropriate uses of quantitative methods, in addition to being a supportive instructor and dissertation chair. I have also been lucky that one in my cohort, Mark Plane, was also focusing on historic American Indian research. Mark and I spent many hours discussing archaeology, material culture, Indian identity, as well as a variety of other academic and not-so-academic topics. My research has improved dramatically because of Mark’s input, and it would be difficult to find more interesting conversation. Fieldwork at the Welch site was performed by a group of well-trained archaeologists who, luckily for me, were also good friends. Scott Shumate, Bill Jurgelski, Mark Plane, Eric Hoover, Jon v Marcoux, and Greg Wilson all performed admirably and dealt patiently with bad weather, bad housing, and bad food. Bill Jurgelski and I met on a site in Hawaii more than 20 years ago. After many years of working in different regions, we reconnected and found that we were researching the same topics. I have known Scott Shumate for almost as long, and have had the pleasure of working with him many times across North Carolina. Few people have had such an impact on me regarding field archaeology and material culture of Southern Appalachia. Jim and Jeanette Wilson and Burke West have been extremely patient and cooperative during several years of fieldwork on their land. Burke has often shifted his farming schedule so that the site could be backfilled, or mowed, or cow- free. Their interest in the site and in the history of the area has made working with them very enjoyable. Numerous institutions provided generous grants to fund my fieldwork, which otherwise would have been impossible: the Wenner-Gren Foundation Fieldwork Grant, the North Carolina Archaeological Society Grant-in-Aid Program, the University of North Carolina Center for the Study of the American South Summer Research Grant, and the University of North Carolina Research Laboratories of Archaeology Timothy P. Mooney Fellowship. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Rodney Snedeker of the US Forest Service. Rodney organized research assistantships for me that funded a large part of my tenure at UNC, and allowed me to work on removal-era sites at the same time. The entire faunal assemblage was analyzed by Tom Whyte at Appalachian State University. Tom has studied numerous faunal collections from historic sites in the region, and provided me with much insight into how the animals represented by the faunal material might have been collected, processed, and consumed. Rob Cuthrell analyzed a sample of the floral remains for his Honor's thesis at the University of North Carolina, under the direction of Margie Scarry. His thorough analysis has been a vital component of my research. I owe a debt to many people who work in the cultural resource offices of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. I would particularly like to thank TJ Holland, director of the Junaluska Museum. vi For years, he has supported my work, provided funding, and brought me along on trips to the National Archives. More than that, he has shared his knowledge of local Cherokee history, and has been a great host on numerous occasions at his home in Robbinsville. Our conversations have educated me on Cherokee life, as well as on fine art and other subjects. Finally, I would like to thank Noeleen and Tess. Noeleen has been supportive during this entire process, and has always been willing to discuss archaeological method and theory and read through whatever I might be working on. Tess always entertains me, and keeps me from getting too obsessed. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1 Study Area and Its Natural Environment ................................................................................... 6 Race and Ethnicity ..................................................................................................................... 7 Documentary records ............................................................................................................... 16 Regional archaeological research............................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER 2: THEORY ...............................................................................................................21 Modernity................................................................................................................................. 22 Liminality................................................................................................................................. 24 Localism................................................................................................................................... 26 Clientelism ............................................................................................................................... 28 Material Culture ....................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 3: WELCH SITE ARCHAEOLOGY......................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 4: HISTORICAL SETTING ...................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 5: "THE DARKEST PART OF THE NATION": MODERNIZATION ON VALLEY RIVER (1835-1838) .............................................................................................. 48 Modernization .......................................................................................................................... 50 The Welch Family During Removal ........................................................................................ 63 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................. 68 viii CHAPTER 6: "CONFESSEDLY A CHEROKEE AND ALIEN
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cherokee Ethnogenesis in Southwestern North Carolina
    The following chapter is from: The Archaeology of North Carolina: Three Archaeological Symposia Charles R. Ewen – Co-Editor Thomas R. Whyte – Co-Editor R. P. Stephen Davis, Jr. – Co-Editor North Carolina Archaeological Council Publication Number 30 2011 Available online at: http://www.rla.unc.edu/NCAC/Publications/NCAC30/index.html CHEROKEE ETHNOGENESIS IN SOUTHWESTERN NORTH CAROLINA Christopher B. Rodning Dozens of Cherokee towns dotted the river valleys of the Appalachian Summit province in southwestern North Carolina during the eighteenth century (Figure 16-1; Dickens 1967, 1978, 1979; Perdue 1998; Persico 1979; Shumate et al. 2005; Smith 1979). What developments led to the formation of these Cherokee towns? Of course, native people had been living in the Appalachian Summit for thousands of years, through the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippi periods (Dickens 1976; Keel 1976; Purrington 1983; Ward and Davis 1999). What are the archaeological correlates of Cherokee culture, when are they visible archaeologically, and what can archaeology contribute to knowledge of the origins and development of Cherokee culture in southwestern North Carolina? Archaeologists, myself included, have often focused on the characteristics of pottery and other artifacts as clues about the development of Cherokee culture, which is a valid approach, but not the only approach (Dickens 1978, 1979, 1986; Hally 1986; Riggs and Rodning 2002; Rodning 2008; Schroedl 1986a; Wilson and Rodning 2002). In this paper (see also Rodning 2009a, 2010a, 2011b), I focus on the development of Cherokee towns and townhouses. Given the significance of towns and town affiliations to Cherokee identity and landscape during the 1700s (Boulware 2011; Chambers 2010; Smith 1979), I suggest that tracing the development of towns and townhouses helps us understand Cherokee ethnogenesis, more generally.
    [Show full text]
  • Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2017 Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves Beau Duke Carroll University of Tennessee, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Recommended Citation Carroll, Beau Duke, "Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2017. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4985 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Beau Duke Carroll entitled "Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Jan Simek, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: David G. Anderson, Julie L. Reed Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Beau Duke Carroll December 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Beau Duke Carroll All rights reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not be possible without the following people who contributed their time and expertise.
    [Show full text]
  • National Historic Landmark
    BLOOD RUN NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANCE AND NEEDS | LYON COUNTY, IOWA MARCH 2013 The Blood Run National Historic Landmark is a site that bridges many worldviews in time and culture. It is a place of many voices, many histories, and many stories. At its highpoint in the 16th and 17th centuries the site represented the center of a bustling, complex world linked to the quarries at today’s Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota, the activities that created the Jeffers petroglyph site in Minnesota, and far beyond through trade. For its time, Blood Run held an important position among societies on the cusp of drastic and inalterable change. Blood Run is a site with many pasts and competing visions for the future. To understand why things happened the way they did at the place known archaeologically as Blood Run is to move through the land, the place, the times. Sioux quartzite boulder with over 700 pits. Pipes and pipestone fragments characteristic of Blood Run. Photo Credit: John Pearson Blood Run encompasses over 1.3 square miles (844 acres) along both sides of the Big Sioux River on the Iowa/South Dakota border. Named for Blood Run Creek, the site was home to numerous prehistoric and protohistoric groups. Most notably, it is the largest known and most complex site of the late prehistoric Oneota tradition. Above the ground, remnants of this community include large and small mounds and enigmatic pitted boulders—large rocks with hundreds of small “cups” covering their surface. Between 68 and 80 mounds are still visible in Iowa today.
    [Show full text]
  • Surface Water Supply of the United States
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OEOJUGE OTIS SMITH. DiBKCTOK WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 243 SURFACE WATER SUPPLY OF THE UNITED STATES 1907-8 PART III. OHIO RIYER BASIN PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF M. 0. LEIGHTON BY A. H. HORTON, M. R. HALL, AND R. H. BOLSTER WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1910 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 243 SURFACE WATER SUPPLY OF THE UNITED STATES 1907-8 PART III. OHIO RIVER BASIN PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF M. 0. LEIGHTON BY A. H. HORTON, M. R. HALL, AND R. H. BOLSTER Water Resources Branch, Geological Survey, WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1910 CONTENTS. Page. Introduction.............................................................. 7 Authority for investigations........................................... 7 Scope of investigations................................................ 8 Purposes of the work. ............................^.................... 9 Publications.......................................................... 10 Definition of terms................................................... 13 Convenient equivalents................................................ 14 Explanation of tables................................................. 15 Field methods of measuring stream flow................................. 16 Office methods of computing and studying discharge and run-off.......... 21 Accuracy and reliability of field data and comparative results........... 26 Use of the data.......................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2 CULTURE HISTORICAL CONTEXT the 2010 Investigations at the Ashe Ferry Site Focused on Archaeological Components That Date to the Late Woodland (Ca
    Chapter 2 CULTURE HISTORICAL CONTEXT The 2010 investigations at the Ashe Ferry site focused on archaeological components that date to the Late Woodland (ca. A.D. 800–1150) and Mississippian (ca. A.D. 1150–1540) periods, and the vast majority of contexts and assemblages documented at Ashe Ferry are attributable to these components, with the exceptions of one Middle Woodland period feature (a single cached vessel) and two Late Archaic period caches. Radiocarbon assays of samples from discrete contexts at Ashe Ferry indicate a primary span of occupation ca. A.D. 950–1150, with continued or sporadic lower intensity occupation through ca. A.D. 1325. Test units and extensive mechanical stripping of flood overburden and plowzone from the site also yielded collections that included small numbers of Early, Middle, and Late Archaic projectile points, as well as a few diagnostic Middle Woodland period pottery sherds. The following discussion specifically contextualizes the investigations of Late Woodland period and Mississippian period components at the Ashe Ferry site with an overview of the current state of knowledge concerning these archaeological periods in the central Carolina piedmont, with broader reference to this span in the surrounding region. Early Woodland Period The inception of the Woodland period (ca. 3000–1000 B.P.) in the Carolina piedmont is defined by the widespread, ubiquitous use of pottery by human populations who pursued transhumant or semi-transhumant hunter-gatherer strategies refined throughout the preceding Archaic period. This threshold is clearly arbitrary inasmuch as pottery production was commonplace among Late Archaic period societies in the South Carolina coastal plain and along the fall line after 4500 B.P.
    [Show full text]
  • Bipolar Technology and Pebble Stone Artifacts
    Bipolar Technology and Pebble Stone Artifacts: Experimentation in Stone Tool Manufacture A thesis submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department ofAnthropology and Archaeology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan By Bruce David Low Fall 1997 ( Copyright Bruce David Low, 1997. All rights reserved.) PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereoffor financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head ofthe Department ofAnthropology and Archaeology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (S7N 2AS) i ABSTRACT There is a general lack of research concerning the technological aspect of pebble stone artifacts throughout the Northern Plains.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cherokee Removal and the Fourteenth Amendment
    MAGLIOCCA.DOC 07/07/04 1:37 PM Duke Law Journal VOLUME 53 DECEMBER 2003 NUMBER 3 THE CHEROKEE REMOVAL AND THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT GERARD N. MAGLIOCCA† ABSTRACT This Article recasts the original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment by showing how its drafters were influenced by the events that culminated in The Trail of Tears. A fresh review of the primary sources reveals that the removal of the Cherokee Tribe by President Andrew Jackson was a seminal moment that sparked the growth of the abolitionist movement and then shaped its thought for the next three decades on issues ranging from religious freedom to the antidiscrimination principle. When these same leaders wrote the Fourteenth Amendment, they expressly invoked the Cherokee Removal and the Supreme Court’s opinion in Worcester v. Georgia as relevant guideposts for interpreting the new constitutional text. The Article concludes by probing how that forgotten bond could provide the springboard for a reconsideration of free exercise and equal protection doctrine once courts begin exploring the meaning of this Cherokee Paradigm of the Fourteenth Amendment. Copyright © 2003 by Gerard N. Magliocca. † Assistant Professor, Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis. J.D., Yale Law School, 1998; B.A., Stanford University, 1995. Many thanks to Bruce Ackerman, Bill Bradford, Daniel Cole, Kenny Crews, Brian C. Kalt, Robert Katz, Mary Mitchell, Allison Moore, Amanda L. Tyler, George Wright, and the members of the Northwestern University School of Law Constitutional Colloquium for their insights. Special thanks to Michael C. Dorf, Gary Lawson, Sandy Levinson, and Michael Klarman, who provided generous comments even though we had never met.
    [Show full text]
  • 2016 Athens, Georgia
    SOUTHEASTERN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS & ABSTRACTS OF THE 73RD ANNUAL MEETING OCTOBER 26-29, 2016 ATHENS, GEORGIA BULLETIN 59 2016 BULLETIN 59 2016 PROCEEDINGS & ABSTRACTS OF THE 73RD ANNUAL MEETING OCTOBER 26-29, 2016 THE CLASSIC CENTER ATHENS, GEORGIA Meeting Organizer: Edited by: Hosted by: Cover: © Southeastern Archaeological Conference 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS THE CLASSIC CENTER FLOOR PLAN……………………………………………………...……………………..…... PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………….…..……. LIST OF DONORS……………………………………………………………………………………………….…..……. SPECIAL THANKS………………………………………………………………………………………….….....……….. SEAC AT A GLANCE……………………………………………………………………………………….……….....…. GENERAL INFORMATION & SPECIAL EVENTS SCHEDULE…………………….……………………..…………... PROGRAM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26…………………………………………………………………………..……. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27……………………………………………………………………………...…...13 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28TH……………………………………………………………….……………....…..21 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29TH…………………………………………………………….…………....…...28 STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION ENTRIES…………………………………………………………………..………. ABSTRACTS OF SYMPOSIA AND PANELS……………………………………………………………..…………….. ABSTRACTS OF WORKSHOPS…………………………………………………………………………...…………….. ABSTRACTS OF SEAC STUDENT AFFAIRS LUNCHEON……………………………………………..…..……….. SEAC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS FOR 2016…………………….……………….…….…………………. Southeastern Archaeological Conference Bulletin 59, 2016 ConferenceRooms CLASSIC CENTERFLOOR PLAN 6 73rd Annual Meeting, Athens, Georgia EVENT LOCATIONS Baldwin Hall Baldwin Hall 7 Southeastern Archaeological Conference Bulletin
    [Show full text]
  • Cherokee Archaeological Landscapes As Community Action
    CHEROKEE ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES AS COMMUNITY ACTION Paisagens arqueológicas Cherokee como ação comunitária Kathryn Sampeck* Johi D. Griffin Jr.** ABSTRACT An ongoing, partnered program of research and education by the authors and other members of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians contributes to economic development, education, and the creation of identities and communities. Landscape archaeology reveals how Cherokees navigated the pivotal and tumultuous 16th through early 18th centuries, a past muted or silenced in current education programs and history books. From a Cherokee perspective, our starting points are the principles of gadugi, which translates as “town” or “community,” and tohi, which translates as “balance.” Gadugi and tohi together are cornerstones of Cherokee identity. These seemingly abstract principles are archaeologically detectible: gadugi is well addressed by understanding the spatial relationships of the internal organization of the community; the network of relationships among towns and regional resources; artifact and ecofact traces of activities; and large-scale “non-site” features, such as roads and agricultural fields. We focus our research on a poorly understood but pivotal time in history: colonial encounters of the 16th through early 18th centuries. Archaeology plays a critical role in social justice and ethics in cultural landscape management by providing equitable access by * Associate Professor, Illinois State University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Campus Box 4660, Normal, IL 61701. E-mail: [email protected] ** Historic Sites Keeper, Tribal Historic Preservation Office, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Qualla Boundary Reservation, P.O. Box 455, Cherokee, NC 28719, USA. História: Questões & Debates, Curitiba, volume 66, n.2, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Seal of the Cherokee Nation
    Chronicles of Ohhorna SEAL OF THE CHEROKEE NATION A reproduction in colors of the Seal of the Cherokee Nation appears on the front coyer of this summer number of The Chronicles, made from the original painting in the Museum of the Oklahoma Historical Society.' The official Cherokee Seal is centered by a large seven-pointed star surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves, the border encircling this central device bearing the words "Seal of the Cherokee Nation" in English and seven characters of the Sequoyah alphabet which form two words in Cherokee. These seven charactem rspresenting syllables from Sequoyah's alphabet are phonetically pronounced in English ' ' Tw-la-gi-hi A-ye-li " and mean " Cherokee Nation" in the native language. At the lower part of the circular border is the date "Sept. 6, 1839," that of the adoption of the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation, West. Interpretation of the de~icein this seal is found in Cherokee folklore and history. Ritual songs in certain ancient tribal cere- monials and songs made reference to seven clans, the legendary beginnings of the Cherokee Nation whose country early in the historic period took in a wide area now included in the present eastern parts of Tennessee and Kentucky, the western parts of Virginia and the Carolinas, as well as extending over into what are now northern sections of Georgia and Alabama. A sacred fire was kept burning in the "Town House" at a central part of the old nation, logs of the live oak, a hardwood timber in the region, laid end to end to keep the fire going.
    [Show full text]
  • United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma Hosts Keetoowah Cherokee Language Classes Throughout the Tribal Jurisdictional Area on an Ongoing Basis
    OKLAHOMA INDIAN TRIBE EDUCATION GUIDE United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (Oklahoma Social Studies Standards, OSDE) Tribe: United Keetoowah (ki-tu’-wa ) Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma Tribal website(s): www.keetoowahcherokee.org 1. Migration/movement/forced removal Oklahoma History C3 Standard 2.3 “Integrate visual and textual evidence to explain the reasons for and trace the migrations of Native American peoples including the Five Tribes into present-day Oklahoma, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and tribal resistance to the forced relocations.” Oklahoma History C3 Standard 2.7 “Compare and contrast multiple points of view to evaluate the impact of the Dawes Act which resulted in the loss of tribal communal lands and the redistribution of lands by various means including land runs as typified by the Unassigned Lands and the Cherokee Outlet, lotteries, and tribal allotments.” Original Homeland Archeologists say that Keetoowah/Cherokee families began migrating to a new home in Arkansas by the late 1790's. A Cherokee delegation requested the President divide the upper towns, whose people wanted to establish a regular government, from the lower towns who wanted to continue living traditionally. On January 9, 1809, the President of the United States allowed the lower towns to send an exploring party to find suitable lands on the Arkansas and White Rivers. Seven of the most trusted men explored locations both in what is now Western Arkansas and also Northeastern Oklahoma. The people of the lower towns desired to remove across the Mississippi to this area, onto vacant lands within the United States so that they might continue the traditional Cherokee life.
    [Show full text]
  • Site Coordinator, Blood Run National Historic Landmark Reports To: Historic Sites Manager, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa Dept
    Job Title: Site Coordinator, Blood Run National Historic Landmark Reports To: Historic Sites Manager, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa Dept. of Cultural Affairs Work Location: Lyon County, Iowa (exact location TBD) Position Type: Part-Time, maximum of 780 hours/year Eligibility: Anyone interested in American/Iowa history, Native American studies, archaeology, anthropology, public history, or cultural/natural resource management is eligible to apply. Skills and qualities required: • Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, and the ability to speak to groups of people with ease. • Ability to learn and explain the history of the Blood Run site, as well as its natural and cultural features. • Must reflect the State Historical Society’s mission to preserve and present history in a friendly and accessible way. • Physical capability to assist Department of Natural Resources staff with site maintenance activities. Training and docent handbook provided. • Highly motivated self-starter with ability to work on solo or group projects. Summary of Responsibilities: Under general supervision, develop and deliver interpretation and educational programming at Blood Run National Historic Landmark. Coordinate booking of school and group tours. Lead tour groups through the site, explaining features and historical context. Answer questions related to the history of the site. Assist in the development of written interpretation such as brochures, outdoor panels, etc. Work with management and partners to organize special events, historical lectures, or other programs using outside presenters. Prepare presentations related to Blood Run and related history by researching and reading source material. Provide historical information in response to requests from interested parties by public speaking, and/or by locating and sending written material.
    [Show full text]