Cherokee To Indian Territory Analysis

The Cherokee Nation was a civilized and sophisticated culture that thrives for hundreds of years, prior to European settlement. The influence of the white man on the people became more prevalent as the years passed, and unfortunately, the Cherokee began to integrate their ways with the European settlers. The Cherokee began to assimilate to European religion, trade, livestock handling; and overall began to shift their entire culture around the white influence. However, in modern times it is possible to find a pure ‘bred’ and fully practicing Cherokee family- moreover, they are considered indigenous. Sarah Sargent in her article, Truth and Consequences: Law, Myth and Metaphor in American Indian Contested Adoption, reveals the myths and truths

The cherokee (chair-uh-kee) tribe was a tribe located in the southeastern part of the United States in states like Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Descendants now mostly live in Oklahoma. Many of the descendants now live in Oklahoma because of the Trail of tears which was the removal of Native americans by forcing them to Indian reservation, and if the tribes didn’t go by will the american army would force them.

xIs it wrong to kick someone out of their own home when they didn’t do anything wrong? The Cherokee was in that same situation. The Cherokees’ situation was just like taking a cell phone ,which is dear to a human, away. They were kicked off their own land. They had done nothing too bad, but the Georgians wanted them to leave.

There were two different points of view discussed in the documents. The first view from “Appeal of the Cherokee Nation” showed how the Cherokee was trying to show the congress their point of view about moving from their homeland to a place they do not know. They made valid points why they were not willing to move and their first reason was how they valued their current home because it was the land of their ancestors and they honored their dead in these lands. The Cherokee believed that leaving to the western territory would provoke the western tribes to violence towards the Cherokee members. Andrew Jackson had a different point of view and he was wanting the Cherokee land to use their resources and make more room for white citizens.

Trail of Tears Native Americans experienced a dramatic change in the 1830s. Nearly 125,000 Native Americans who lived on inherited land from ancestors of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida were all cast out by the end of the decade. The federal government forced the natives to leave because white settlers wanted an area to grow their cotton. Andrew Jackson (President of the U.S. during this time) signed into law, the Indian Removal Act, authorizing him to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River in return for native lands within state borders.

From eight present-day states; Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina, more than forty thousand square miles, lived the largest Native American tribe in the United States. The Cherokee. The Cherokee were once a very powerful tribe, they had lived and hunted in a large area of land. Like many Native American tribes, the Cherokee had called themselves “the real people” or the “principal people”. In Cherokee, that word is Ani-Yun-wiya.

In May of 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed The Indian Removal Act into law.32 This law allowed the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for tribal lands within State borders. Few Natives moved peacefully, most resisted the new relocation policy.35 Approximately 125,000 Natives of the ‘Five Civilized Tribes’ – Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and Cherokee, lived on the millions of acres in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida.36 As new settlers were flooding into the United States, prime farm land was coveted by them.37 Georgia passed laws limiting Native Peoples sovereignty and rights and the Natives used the courts to regain their rights.38 In a few cases, such as Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)

Precisely right! Then came gold - and we all know what greed can to do a civilization! The second largest gold rush in the United States (and first largest for Georgia) came with the discovery of gold in 1829, found near what is known today as Lumpkin County. This period would be referred to as the “Georgia Gold Rush.” News spread like wildfire and almost immediately white man moved in to take charge of land occupied by the Cherokee.

Ranging from the south Alleghenies mountain range all the way down to the south of Georgia and far west of Alabama, lived the Cherokee Indians. They were a powerful detached tribe of the Iroquoian family and were commonly called Tsaragi which translates into "cave people. " This tribe was very prominent in what is now called the U.S, but over time has been split up or run out of their land because of social or political encounters with the new settlers from Europe. Despite the dispersion or the split amongst this tribe, they still obtained their core religious beliefs, practices and ceremonies. Their detailed belief system, fundamental beliefs, significant meanings, and their connection to song and dance make up their religious system.

At the beginning of the 19th, the United States was looking for an expansion of land. The white settlers wanted the lands used by the Indians for their own economic gain. By 1830, President Jackson issued the Indian Removal Act; allowing state officials to override federal protection of Native Americans. Most Indian tribes left their homelands in Georgia during the early 1830s. However, the Cherokees remained.

Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. The foundation of America is freedom. Freedom from Britain. However, the freedom is limited to white males who own property. When colonists started to immigrate to America, they wanted to escape from under the rule of Britain.