History help

James John

HIS 111

May 30, 2017

Ancestor Scavenger Hunt

Cherokee

The Cherokee believe they always lived in the southern Appalachian Mountains. They trace their

history back 13,000 years when they were hunters and gatherers. During the Woodland period

(1000 B.C.E. – 900 C.E.), they planted some crops, hunted, fished, and gathered wild food. They

also made pottery, textiles, carved wood and stone. During the Mississippian period (900 – 1500

C.E.), they moved into towns permanently. They developed the “Three Sisters” agricultural

technique: they planted corn, beans, and squash. They hung birdhouses around the field. This

agricultural technique produced an increase in food, which gave the tribe leisure time. They built

mounds, celebrated religious ceremonies, and created new art forms like shell gorgets. Between

1789 and 1839, the Cherokee became “civilized”: they developed writing, they created a

constitution modeled after the U.S. Constitution, 10% of the population converted to

Christianity, and they opened schools to teach their children to read and write in English.

National Park Service. “Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.” Accessed March

15, 2020.

https://www.nps.gov/trte/upload/TRTE_ContextMap_20091104.jpg

The National Park Service publishes this map. It outlines the trails the Cherokee

traveled during the Trail of Tears. It starts in South Carolina to the north and

Georgia to the south. It moves across Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Missouri

on the way to Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Although the map describes a historic migration, it is a

secondary source.

Films on Demand. “Cherokee Assimilation as Survival (2:03)” in The Story We Tell – The Power

of an Illusion, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=151823&xtid=49735

This video clip describes the ways the Cherokee Nation tried to assimilate into the new

United States. The Cherokee ceded 90% of its land to its neighbor. They implemented

Jefferson’s Civilization Policy, where they transformed their society within a generation.

They educated their children in western-style schools, converted to Christianity, created a

constitution patterned after the U.S.A. Constitution, and published bi-lingual newspapers.

This is a secondary source.

Pulley, Angela F. “Cherokee Phoenix,” New Georgia Encyclopedia

This website discusses the first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix. Its first

issue was in 1828 and its last issue was in 1834. Elias Boudinot was the editor. The newspaper

was printed in both the Cherokee and English languages. Boudinot was forced to resign in 1832,

because he favored the removal of the tribe. The leaders argued members of the press were voice

pieces of the leadership and not guaranteed the freedom of the press. The Georgia Guard seized

Paragraph description of

the term including its

historical significance

(Instructions: 4a)

Your

instinct

will be

to

number

your

sources.

Don’t.

None of

the

formats

allow

this.

Paragraph

description of

the source and

how it relates to

the term. (4b)

Don’t

forget

the URL

(link) on

all your

sources.

This one

is

missing.

All formats

require hanging

indents and

alphabetization

of sources on a

bibliography.

the printing press in 1835 to anyone printing opposition to the Trail of Tears. This is a secondary

source.

“The Story of the Cherokee Exhibit.” Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Accessed March 15,

2020. http://www.cherokeemuseum.org/exhibits/story-of-the-cherokee

The exhibit tells the 13,000 year history of the Cherokee. The tribe asserts the Creator placed

them in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the beginning, as well as giving it language and

customs. During the Woodland period, they permanently moved into towns. During the

Mississippian period, they developed the eastern flint corn that they grew with beans and squash.

This is a secondary source, although it includes photos of artifacts that are primary sources.

“Baker Roll, 1924-1929.” National Archives.

https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/rolls/baker-roll.html

Congress established the Eastern Cherokee Enrolling Commission in 1924 to determine

membership in the tribe. The Commission collected data from older tribal censuses in the

Baker Roll. The data included indexes, application, testimony, correspondence, decisions, and

reports. In order to claim membership in the Cherokee nation, a person needs to prove s/he has

an ancestor on the Baker Roll or 1/16 blood quantum. This is a primary source.

“To the Public (1828)” Cherokee Phoenix vol 1(1), 3.

http://www.teachushistory.org/indian-removal/resources/cherokee-phoenix

The Cherokee Phoenix was the first newspaper published by a Native American tribe. It was

written in both Cherokee and English. This is its inaugural article. It describes the paper’s

principles and purposes. It specifically mentions it will avoid religious controversy and the

affairs of its neighbors. This is a primary source.

Figure 1: The front page of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper.

Accessed at http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/cherokee- phoenix

Denson, Andrew. “Remembering Cherokee Removal in Civil Rights-Era Georgia,” Southern

Cultures (Winter 2008): 85-101. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May

25, 2017).

Identify

your

source as

a primary

or

secondary

source.

(4c)

You may include

images in your work

if you want to, but

you aren’t required

to do so. Make sure

your URL goes

directly to the image

and your description

is thorough and you

won’t need to

include the picture.

This journal article, found through EBSCO at the CCCOnline Library, discussed how southern

monuments do not include Native Americans. It claims the Trail of Tears is the most well-known

event in 19th century U.S.-Native American relations. The author claims race relations in Georgia

are seen in terms of black and white, even though the capital of the Cherokee Nation (New

Echota) was in Georgia. He concludes the restored site of New Echota allows whites to think

about race relations, as Native American history is safe and not contentious. This is a secondary

source, though there are some primary source images and maps included.

A Cherokee Law from 1822. Accessed May 25, 2017.

http://www.cherokee.org/About-The-Nation/History/Trail-of-Tears/A-Cherokee-Law-

from-1822

This law was in response to the state of Georgia appropriating money for Cherokee lands, which

it planned to obtain through a treaty. President Monroe appointed commissioners to negotiate the

treaty. The Cherokee Nation Chiefs agreed not to enter into negotiations for any Cherokee

property or lands, although they would receive the commissioners cordially. This is a primary

source.

Mintz, S. and McNeil, S. “Indian Removal.” Digital History. 2018.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3545

This textbook chapter discussed the background for removing Native Americans from their

lands. It begins with the two conflicting policies the U.S. enacted to deal with the “Indian

Problem”: assimilation and removal. President Monroe sent a plan to Congress in 1825 on

moving all eastern Native American tribes into western lands where white settlers would not be

allowed to live. The Cherokee responded by writing its own constitution declaring sovereignty

over their land. It did not work. The U.S. army evicted the Cherokee in 1838. This is a secondary

source.

Marshall, John. Cherokee Nation v. State of Georgia (1831). Accessed May 2, 2017.

http://www.cherokee.org/About-The-Nation/History/Trail-of-Tears/Cherokee-Nation-v-

State-of-Georgia

Chief Justice John Marshall wrote this U.S. Supreme opinion. Following the discovery of gold in

Cherokee lands, the U.S. chose to remove the Cherokee from their lands. The Indian Removal

Act was signed in 1830. The Cherokee Nation asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an injunction.

The Supreme Court decided no Indian tribe was a foreign state under the definition provided by

the U.S. Constitution. This is a primary source.