THE CHEROKEE ...

The Smoky Mountains are the oldest on earth and provide wonderful experiences at every turn. Dominated by mile high peaks, lush valleys, rushing rivers, and more species of birds, plants, animals, and trees than anywhere else in the world, these mountains are nothing less than exhilarating.

The Cherokees believe that they have always lived in Western North Carolina. Indeed, finely crafted stone tools and fluted spear-points confirm that ancient people lived here more than 11,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age. Ancient Cherokee tales describe hunts of the mastodons that once foraged through the upland spruce and fir.

Some believe the Cherokee Indians first arrived in the Smoky Mountain region in about 1,000 A.D. and were a breakaway group of New England's Iroquois. Either way, by the time European explorers arrived in the New World, they found a flourishing nation. Seven clans totaling over 25,000 Cherokee controlled some 140,000 square miles of lands that now represent parts of eight states. Villages governed themselves democratically, with all adults gathering to discuss matters of importance in each town’s council house. Each village had a peace chief, war chief, and priest.

The Cherokee Clans are a traditional social organization of Cherokee society and currently seven clans are recognized by the Cherokee Indians.  [Source: Cherokee Nation cultural resource center]

The seven clans are as follows:

BLUE (A NI SA HO NI), historically this clan made medicine from a blue-colored plant to keep the children well. They are also known as the Panther or Wild Cat Clan.

LONG HAIR (A NI GI LO HI), are also known as The Twister, Hair Hanging Down or Wind Clan. They wore elaborate hairdos and walked with a proud, twisting gait. Clan members are regarded as peacemakers and Peace Chiefs would often be from this clan. Prisoners of war, orphans of other tribes, and others with no Cherokee tribe were often adopted into this clan, thus a common interpretation of the name 'Strangers.' 

BIRD (A NI TSI S KWA), were historically known as messengers. The belief that birds are messengers between earth and heaven, or the People and Creator, gave the  members of this clan the responsibility of caring for the birds. 

PAINT (A NI WO DI), were historically known as a prominent healers medicine people. Medicine is often 'painted' on a patient after harvesting, mixing and performing other aspects of the ceremony. They made red paint and prepared teas for vapor therapy specific to each ailment.

DEER (A NI KA WI), were historically known as fast runners and hunters. Even though they hunted game for subsistence, they respected and cared for the animals while they were living among them. They were also known as messengers on an earthly level, delivering messengers from village to village, or person to person. 

WILD POTATO (A NI GA TO GE WI) historically, members of this clan were known to be 'keepers of the land' and gatherers of the wild potato in swamps along streams. They are also known as the Bear, Raccoon, or Blind Savannah Clan.

WOLF (A NI WA YAH), is the largest and most prominent clan throughout time. During the time of the Peace Chief and War Chief government setting, the War Chief would come from this clan. Wolves are known as protectors. 

They named the Smoky Mountain area "Shaconage," or "place of blue smoke" and enjoyed a progressively settled existence, relying heavily on agriculture. Men hunted and fished; women gathered wild food and cultivated "the three sisters" corn, beans, and squash. This was life that realized harmony with nature, sustainability, personal freedom, and balance between work, play, and praise. The land furnished all, food in abundance, materials for shelter, clothing and utensils, and herbs to treat every known illness.

The Cherokees were quick to embrace useful aspects of the newcomers’ culture, from peaches and watermelons to a written language. Sequoyah, [a.k.a. George Guess] was born in 1776 and was the son of a Native American woman and a white trader named Gist. Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith, single-handedly created a remarkable written language for his people in the 1820s. He devised a "syllabary" of 86 characters to represent every sound made in the Cherokee language. Within two short years, the entire Cherokee nation had adopted the language and become proficient enough to publish their own newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix. Unfortunately, the Cherokee Phoenix proved to be one of several ill-starred emulations of European settlers' customs, including a constitution, written legal codes and a supreme court.

Although the Cherokee did exist peacefully with early settlers, white men's greed for more land eventually forced the Cherokee people from their homelands. Nearly 200 years of broken treaties had reduced the Cherokee empire to a small territory. The federal government no longer needed the Cherokees as strategic allies against the French and British. Land speculators wanted Cherokee land to sell for cotton plantations. The discovery of gold in the mountains of northern Georgia sealed the Cherokees' fate and in 1830, president Andrew Jackson signed the "Removal Act", mandating the removal of all native peoples east of the Mississippi River.

Although the Cherokees resisted removal through their bilingual newspaper and through legal means, taking their case all the way the Supreme Court, Jackson’s policy prevailed. In June 1838, events culminated in the tragic "Trail of Tears,"  the forced removal of the Cherokees in the East to Oklahoma. Of the nearly 16,000 Cherokees forced out, only about 12,000 survived the arduous journey; dying along the way from exposure, disease, and the shock of separation from their home. Some Cherokee refused to leave their home though, hiding high in the mountains.

INCORPORATION OF THE EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS ...

Section I - By an act of the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, ratified on 11 March 1889  [Laws of North Carolina, Circa 1889, Chapter 211, Page 889]  the North Carolina or Eastern Cherokee Indians, resident and domiciled in the counties of Cherokee, Graham, Jackson and Swain, is created a body politic and corporate under the name, style and title of "The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians"  with all the rights, privileges, franchises and powers incident and belonging to corporations under the laws of the State of North Carolina.

Section II - Said Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is authorized to sue and implead (sic) and might be sued and might be sued and impleaded (sic), touching and concerning all of the property of whatever nature held in common by the said band in said counties.

Section III - Any grants to any person or persons for any of the land held by said Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and under whom said Indians claimed title, as also all deeds made by commissioners of the state to any person or persons for what are known as Cherokee Lands held by said Cherokee Indians in said counties and under whom said Cherokee Indians claim, are held as valid.

Section IV - It is provided that in all cases where all titles and deeds have been executed to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, or any person or persons in trust for them under that name and style, by any person or persons, either collectively or personally, officially or in any capacity whatsoever, such deeds or titles should be held as valid against the State and all persons or any person claiming by, through or under the State by virtue of any grant dated or issued subsequent to the aforesaid deeds or titles to the said Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Section V - It is provided that in case of any person or persons claiming any part of the lands described in the preceding sections adversely to the said Indians under colorable title or titles shall be sued by reason of such adverse claim, or any possession under such colorable title or titles, said act shall not be used as evidence on either side nor in any way prejudice the rights of either party, but such suit or suits shall be determined as if said act had not been passed.

Section VI - Said act will take effect on the date from and after its ratification.

THE QUALLA BOUNDARY TODAY ...

The 56,000-acre Qualla Indian Reservation chartered in North Carolina serves as their home and embraces portions of Cherokee, Graham, Jackson and Swain Counties; located in the southwestern portion of the State of North Carolina. The reservation is nestled by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and by the Great Smoky Mountains to the west and is partially sheltered by sharp ranges and lofty peaks. These Cherokee are known as the Eastern Band and continue to populate the reservation today. They descend from those who were able to hold on to land they owned, defying removal, and others who returned, many on foot. Gradually and with great effort, they have created a vibrant society, a sovereign nation of 100 square miles where people in touch with their past and alive to the present, preserve timeless ways and wisdom.

Today, the reservation is known as the Qualla Boundary and offers a rare opportunity to explore the same magnificent region the Cherokee have called home for thousands of years. Many opportunities exist to explore the Cherokees' rich culture. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian houses many fascinating artifacts, some of which date from 10,000 years ago. At the Oconaluftee Indian Village, visitors can step back in time to an authentic 1750s Cherokee community with working craftsmen and botanical gardens. The Cherokee Museum and Gallery is dedicated to showing special exhibits by native artists and the country's largest selection of handmade Native American arts and crafts can be found at the Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual. Special events, like fishing tournaments, powwows, festivals and much more occur throughout the year.

You'll find a nation still linked to ancient customs and traditions that enable them to live in harmony with nature just as their ancestors did.

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