Today marks the 186 year anniversary of the first publication of an American Indian newspaper. On February 21, 1828 the first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix was published. The paper was bilingual, printed in both the Cherokee syllabary and English. The Cherokee syllabary was developed by Sequoyah and introduced to the Cherokee people in 1821.
Cherokee Genealogy Queries Posted December 0
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Video
May 2013 marks the 175th anniversary of the tragedy known as the Trail of Tears. Tens of thousands of Cherokee (as well as Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole) were rounded up from their homes by the US army, and sent to stockade camps where they would wait for their forced journey west to begin. Many
Factionalism, Fighting and the Tragedy of the Trail
The alienation and removal of the Cherokee from their ancestral lands was long in the making. White encroachment was an old problem for the Cherokee, but the sovereign right of the Cherokee over their lands had never been more compromised than it was in the 1830s. With Andrew Jackson’s election as President in 1828 and
Stand Watie – Leader and Survivor
Stand Watie was an influential member of the Cherokee Nation and a Brigadier General of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Born in Rome, Georgia in 1805, he was the younger brother of Elias Boudinot and nephew of Major Ridge. In 1835, Watie, along with his brother and other family members — all part of
Wilma Mankiller – Former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
Becoming the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation was not an easy task. Many Cherokee voters were reluctant to elect a woman to such a high office. Though the Cherokee are historically a matriarchal society, chauvinistic proved to be a major hurdle for Mankiller. However she succeeded in winning her
Chief John Ross (1790-1866)
During the 1820s, John Ross was involved in organizing the Cherokee tribe into the Cherokee Nation, with its own Constitution. In 1828 the Cherokee elected it’s first Principal Chief. John Ross was elected and held the position until his death 1866. John Ross, who was one-eighth Cherokee, helped lead the Cherokee people through one of
The Trail of Tears
It was a rude awakening for the Cherokee in May 1838. Most people didn’t believe that the U.S. Government would actually remove the Cherokee people by force. But in late May 1838, five days before the deadline for voluntary removal, the U.S. Government began the process of forcibly removing the Cherokee people from their ancestral
Nancy Ward: Beloved Woman of the Cherokee
Nanye-hi was born in 1738. She was the daughter of Tame Doe, a member of the Wolf Clan and sister to Attakullakulla. She married Kingfisher and had two children by him. Nanye-hi accompanied her husband on a raid of the Creeks during the Battle of Taliwa in 1755. Kingfisher was killed in the battle and
Ned Christie – Cherokee Outlaw?
As a girl I remember I used to love to flip through my parents’ set of Time-Life books about The Old West. My favorite book of the series, by far, was the Gunfighters book. I used to love to read about all the outlaws who roamed the West and roamed in a child’s imagination. I
Andrew Jackson – The Worst President The Cherokee Ever Met
The title of worst US president is hotly debated and is most often awarded to Andrew Johnson or Warren Harding. Many polls and studies rank Andrew Jackson in or near the top 10 best presidents. However, to many Cherokees Andrew Jackson is without a doubt the worst US president. Some Cherokees would rather carry two