Journal Of Cherokee Studies

This annotated bibliography gathers together studies in history, ethnohistory, ethnography, anthropology, sociology, rhetoric, and archaeology that pertain to The Removal of the Five Tribes from what is now the Southeastern part of the U.S.

The journal of the Brainerd Mission is an indispensable source for understanding Cherokee culture and history during the early nineteenth century. The interdenominational mission was located in the heart of Cherokee country near present-day Chattanooga. For seven years the Brainerd missionaries kept a journal describing their lives and those of their charges. Although the journal has long been recognized as a significant primary document, it was not fully transcribed or made widely available until now. The journal entries provide a richly textured and sensitive look at Cherokee life and American missionary activities during the early nineteenth century. They shed new light on the daily lives and personalities of individual Cherokees, as well as on poorly understood aspects of Cherokee politics and religion. The journal provides interesting ethnographic details concerning Cherokee council meetings, ceremonial occasions, gender relations, and the internal social and political tensions among families. Of equal interest are the complex and often conflicted attitudes of the missionaries, who were interested in Cherokee traditional culture but simultaneously worked to change it.

A sixth-generation North Carolinian, highly-acclaimed author John Ehle grew up on former Cherokee hunting grounds. His experience as an accomplished novelist, combined with his extensive, meticulous research, culminates in this moving tragedy rich with historical detail. The Cherokee are a proud, ancient civilization. For hundreds of years they believed themselves to be the "Principle People" residing at the center of the earth. But by the 18th century, some of their leaders believed it was necessary to adapt to European ways in order to survive. Those chiefs sealed the fate of their tribes in 1875 when they signed a treaty relinquishing their land east of the Mississippi in return for promises of wealth and better land. The U.S. government used the treaty to justify the eviction of the Cherokee nation in an exodus that the Cherokee will forever remember as the “trail where they cried.” The heroism and nobility of the Cherokee shine through this intricate story of American politics, ambition, and greed. B & W photographs

Exploring the dynamic issues of race and religion within the Cherokee Nation, this text looks at the role of secret societies in shaping these forces during the 19th century.

A tool for scholars working in the field of Indian studies. This title covers the topic of Indian-white relations with breadth and depth.