The History of The Cherokee

In public schools today we are taught  the history of our country from the point of view of the settlers, but what about the people that were before us first?  The Cherokees, a nation among the vast number of Native Americans, are one of those people. They once were small chiefdoms of people in the same area that banded together to make a nation with similar cultures and beliefs.  The Cherokee nations is still surviving today along with their culture, language, and beliefs.  One of the biggest historical events in American and Cherokee histories is the Trail of Tears.  During this time is when the conflict between American settlers and Indians came to a head.  It began in the 1800's when the settlers wanted to push west but where stopped because it was considered Native American lands.  The Government tried to buy out the Native Americans but they refused, they tried to coerce into them moving but they refused.  As pressure on the Government to obtain the Cherokees land increased so did conflict and sporadic fighting between settlers and  Native Americans.  Eventually, the Native Americans were forced off their land by the Government and onto a reservation in Oklahoma.  The removal happened during 1838 to 1839 and 4,000 Cherokees ended dying because of disease, exposure, and starvation.

Photo from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1567.html

Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center                                                                                            A Brief History of The Trail Of Tears http://www.cherokee.org/AboutTheNation/History/TrailofTears/24496/Information.aspx                         November 16,2012