The Cherokee Nation

    The Cherokee were one of the five civilized tribes. They were located in the southeastern United States and controlled about 40,000 square miles in the Appalachian Mountains.  

    They fought with British soldiers during the French and Indian War, and the American Revolution.  After the American Revolution, the Cherokee no longer had power, and they were forced to give up some land in the Carolinas.

    During the 1800s, the Cherokee became an advanced civilization because they adopted the ways of white settlers.  Sequoyah, a Cherokee leader, developed the Cherokee alphabet made of symbols, and almost the entire tribe learned to read.  They wrote their own constitution very similar to the United States constitution.  The first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, was started and they even translated the Bible into Cherokee language.

Cherokee Constitution      Cherokee Phoenix     Cherokee Alphabet

    When gold was discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia, word got out to the white settlers.  Many other settlers went to Georgia to seek gold, and the government wanted the land from the Cherokee.  The Cherokee signed a treaty with the goverment of the United States, giving up all their land in the eastern United States.  The treaty was eventually overturned by a Court that ruled that the Cherokee Nation was "a nation within a nation."  The United States no longer had claim over Cherokee land, but the treaty was ignored.

Cherokee Village

    Several tribes were forced from their homes.  Many Native Americans got sick and died because of cold weather, poor food supplies, and poor treatment by Americans.  This march of the tribes was one of the most tragic events in American History known as the "Trail of Tears."

    The remaining Native Americans were taken to what is now Oklahoma.  It was unfit to live there and many Cherokee escaped to the mountains of North Carolina.

Trail of Tears

The Chickasaw Tribe

    The Chickasaw were one of the five civilized tribes, along with the Cherokee.  Most of the Chickasaw lived in Mississippi until they were forced from their homes. They were a small tribe but they were known as fierce warriors.  Many people felt they were the bravest of the Indians living in the southeast.  At an early age, boys were taught to fight and not complain about pain. The war chiefs were well respected and had the most authority.  Their towns were built to withstand attacks. The Chickasaw won every major battle or war they fought.

    The Chickasaw sided with the English during the American Revolution.  The colony of Virginia was not happy and threatened to attack them. The Chickasaw told the colony they would meet them halfway and send them back to Virginia without their heads!  After the war ended, the Chickasaw forged a relationship with the United States.

American Revolution

    The Chickasaw were treated the same as the Cherokee. When white settlers moved to the southeast, they were forced from their land, along with the other civilized tribes.

    Chickasaw were very skilled in battle, but also had other skills.  One of their skills, still appreciated today, was making baskets.

    The Chickasaw did not move

but did migrate with the seasons.

They built summer and winter

homes, and also ballfields because

they liked to play.

    Today, the Chickasaw speak

English.  A few still speak Chickasaw 

to preserve their language.

Chickasaw

Baskets

Chickasaw Homes

The Navajo Tribe

    The Navajo Nation is the largest American Indian tribe.  It has approximately 300,000 members spread across Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.  They call themselves "Dine" which means "the people" and their land is called "Dine Bikeyah", land of the people.  The Navajo became sheepherders and are known as some of the best herdsmen in the southwest.

Navajo Sheepherders

    The Navajo people did not live in villages.  They lived near family so that they could help each other tend crops and look after their herds.

    The Navajo often fought with Mexico.  Mexicans treated them badly.  They were kidnapped and held them as slaves. After the Mexican War, the Navajo thought the United States would help free their slaves from Mexico, but they did nothing.

Navajo Home

    The Navajo were forced from their land when the United States military were ordered to burn their homes and crops.  They were forced to march 300-miles to a prison camp in New Mexico.  Many died during the walk that is known as "The Long Walk."  The United States eventually signed a treaty to return the Navajo to live on their own land.

    During World World II, many Navajo joined the United States Army.  Many Navajo soldiers became "Code Talkers." They developed a system of coding messages to help defeat the Japanese. The Japanese never did break the code!

    "Code Talkers" were honored by the Pentagon in 1992 for their work during the war.  A monument was built on the Navajo Nation to honor the Navajo that served in World War II.

Navajo Code Talkers