The Cherokee were a farming people whose homelands included a large portion—over 40,000 square miles—of the American southeast. Their territory included parts of the present-day states of Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, and the Carolinas.
At the time of European contact in the sixteenth century, the Cherokee were divided into three broad groups: (1) the Lower Towns along the rivers in South Carolina, (2) the Upper or Overhill Towns in eastern Tennessee and northwestern North Carolina, (3) the Middle Towns which included the Valley Towns in southwestern North Carolina and northeastern Georgia and the Out Towns. There were some cultural and linguistic differences between these groups.
In terms of language, Cherokee belongs to the Iroquoian language family and glottochronology suggests that it separated from the northern Iroquoian languages about 1800 BCE.
In 1721, it has been estimated that the Cherokees were living in 53 towns which ranged in population from 62 to 622. The total Cherokee population at this time has been estimated at 10,434.
The primary unit of government among the Cherokee was the town. Traditionally each town was autonomous, and the government of each town was not tied to the government of other towns.
Recognizing a common danger from the European settlers, the Cherokee acquired a principal chief to represent all of the villages. This came in response to friction with the Europeans and the suggestion of the British Governor Nicholson who felt that it would be easier to deal with only one chief to fix the boundaries between the Cherokee nation and the European settlements. Thus, the concept of a common nationality began among the Cherokees. According to historian Marion Starkey, in her The Cherokee Nation:
“The Cherokees, a reasonable people, willing to learn from their enemies, found this innovation of practical value and did not discard it.”
At a meeting with the leaders from 37 Cherokee towns, the British governor, being more comfortable with a single leader, simply appointed Wrosetasatow (Mankiller or Outacite) as the supreme chief or “king” of the Cherokee.
In South Carolina, the Cherokees signed a treaty with South Carolina in which they gave up 2,623 square miles of land between the Santee, Saluda, and Edisto Rivers.
A Cherokee group of led by Yunwi-usgaseti (Dangerous Man) moved west across the Mississippi River to escape the colonists’ insatiable demands for land. After Yunwi-usgaseti’s group crossed the Mississippi River there was no further communication with the Cherokees who remained behind in the Southeast. However, oral tradition records that many years later a runner came from the west to report that they were still living at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
Indians 101
Twice each week this series looks at American Indian topics including histories, biographies, cultural profiles, museum tours, and current issues. More eighteenth-century histories from this series:
Indians 101: The French and Indians 300 years ago, 1719
Indians 101: Russians and Native Americans in the 18th century
Indians 101: The Utes, the Spanish, and Silver
Indians 101: Cherokee Government and the English
Indians 101: The Tuscarora & the Iroquois League
Indians 101: Indian Resistance to the California Missions
Indians 101: George Washington and the Indians
Indians 101: The Cherokee and the United States, the First Decade
