American Dreams Trilogy

by Michael Phillips

  By now some of the Cherokee old guard was rethinking its position. If the president of the United States and the state of Georgia could defy the Supreme Court and get away with it, it seemed that hope was lost. Elias Boudinot had long been a staunch advocate of the Cherokee right to their native lands. He had written of this right repeatedly in the Phoenix. But now he began to favor negotiation, with removal to the West as an ultimate goal. It was the only possible means to keep the Cherokee nation intact. Gradually his cousin John Ridge joined him in this dramatically changed view. Finally even John’s father, Major Ridge himself, in a complete reversal, came to the same conclusion—that the Cherokee cause in the east was lost. If the nation was to survive, it must move West. Right or wrong, the three became convinced that their lands would be taken. The only solution was to join the Old Settlers in the Arkansas and Oklahoma territories.

  As Major and John Ridge and Elias Boudinot, and to a lesser degree the fourth of the Ridge-Watie spokesmen Stand Watie, spoke out in favor of this radical new view, a major split with Chief Ross developed. The members of the Ridge-Watie-Boudinot family were viewed as traitors by Ross and many eastern Cherokees. The tables had completely turned. The old full-blood Ridge-Watie family became advocates for moving the nation West, while a predominantly white man, John Ross, now stood as the voice fighting to hold traditional Cherokee lands in the east.

  In 1834, the Cherokee Treaty Party was officially organized by Major Ridge. For the next two years, he and John Ross represented the two opposing factions of the Cherokees, factions that had been disputing ever since the first of the Old Settlers had left in 1808. Now, however, Ridge was the leading spokesman for the side he had once so violently opposed. Though the majority of Cherokees considered Ridge’s call for a new and final negotiation with the U.S. government as betrayal, Ridge and his followers traveled to Washington in 1835 to conclude what was called the New Echota Treaty. At last Andrew Jackson had what he wanted, a timetable signed by prominent Cherokee leaders for complete removal of the Cherokee nation to the West. And, though reluctantly, the Treaty Party had what it wanted, the promise of five million dollars payment for the final remaining Cherokee lands. Such payment, they were confident, would be sufficient to establish their people comfortably in a new western homeland.

  A deadline was set for the last Cherokee migration of May 23rd, 1838. All Cherokee who did not comply and leave voluntarily would be rounded up by force and sent to camps from which they would be herded West.

  Though the New Echota Treaty was seen as betrayal by many eastern Cherokee, some began to leave Georgia and North Carolina for the West, including the Ridge, Watie, and Boudinot families. Over three hundred left in the fall of 1837. John Ridge and Elias Boudinot led almost four hundred West shortly thereafter. And two hundred fifty more left in early 1838. In thirty years of a slow-trickling exodus, about five thousand, or a fourth of what remained of the once mighty Cherokee nation, had now migrated West. But the majority of Cherokees numbering some 15,000, continued to believe that Chief Ross would negotiate some eleventh-hour solution that would allow them to keep their lands. And thus they remained where they were as the deadline drew closer and closer.

  Note 8—Vengeance and the Cherokee Blood Law

  Once the great majority of the Cherokee were settled in the Arkansas and Oklahoma territories, whatever had been the conflict between the Old Settlers and the new arrivals, the fact was they were all Cherokees together and most desired to heal the wounds of division from the past. Passions ran high, however, among a few of the “Ross faction” as it was called, who had held out to the end and never betrayed the sacred ancient law by selling Cherokee land. Their hatred still seethed toward those responsible for the travesty of the removal, and they vowed revenge. Their hatred was no doubt fueled at seeing the Ridges and Waties, who had preceded them West, living in relative ease and prosperity, with slaves and cattle and building large new homes on the choicest sites in the new territory, after they themselves had so recently endured the horrors of the removal.

  In June of 1839, three months after the arrival of the weary wagon train from the east, a general council of leaders met at Takotoka to attempt a formal union of the two groups of Cherokee, the Old Settlers and the New Immigrants. Though reviled by many of the recent arrivals, Major and John Ridge, and both Watie brothers attended, hoping to heal the wounds of recent years. Their presence so angered a splinter group of Ross loyalists that the latter began speaking privately in the days to follow about taking action against them. This small group convened a secret council of its own in the evening a week later after the general council had adjourned.

  The Cherokee blood law, they agreed, from times ancient and immemorial was plain: the penalty for selling tribal lands was death. The new constitution may have said differently, but this was a time to appeal to the way of the ancients, not a law modeled on that of the white man. The gathering of radicals unanimously condemned Major Ridge, John Ridge, Elias Boudinot, and Stand Watie to death. They would carry out the sentence themselves.

  Early the next morning the executions began.

  While still in bed at Honey Creek, John Ridge’s home was burst into by three masked men. John was dragged from bed and outside where the rest of the assassins waited. With his wife, Sarah—a New Englander who had married John during his days in the North and lived among the Cherokee ever since—and his children watching, John Ridge was stabbed twenty-five times, and his throat cut. His murderers stamped on his body as ritual demanded, then fled. In shock at the horror they had witnessed, Sarah and her sons managed in their agony to get their husband and father back inside. He died on his bed, bleeding so profusely that the blood drained through the bed onto the floor.

  Major Ridge, John’s father, had arisen early that morning to travel to Van Buren in western Arkansas. A messenger was sent immediately from Honey Creek to overtake him and tell him of his son’s assassination and warn him. When he arrived, the courier found The Ridge lying on the road with five bullets in his head. He returned to tell Sarah of yet another murder, this time of her father-in-law.

  At Park Hill Elias Boudinot was building a new home. He was busy with his carpenters when four men he did not know approached, saying that Dr. Worcester had sent them for medical supplies. Boudinot turned to glance toward the doctor’s home a short distance away. As he did one of the strangers quickly pulled a knife and plunged it deep into his back. Before he hit the ground, another had his tomahawk in hand, which now split the dying man’s skull.

  In a matter of a few hours, three of the Cherokee nation’s brightest, most gifted, intelligent, and educated leaders, who might have led their people through the tumultuous times they were sure to face in the coming years, all lay brutally murdered at the hands of their own brothers of vengeance.

  Also condemned to execution, Elias’s brother and John’s cousin, Stand Watie, got wind of the assassinations in time to flee the area and escape the vendetta.

  The entire Cherokee nation was stunned by news of the brutal assassinations. Word of them eventually reached the caves of North Carolina and Tennessee, where yet a few hundred brave and determined Cherokee were hiding out, scraping out an existence as best they could, refusing to be herded West but now with nothing whatever to call their own, except the vague hope of one day rebuilding Cherokee pride in the East.

  More assassinations followed among the Cherokee, leading to what amounted to a civil war in the tribe between 1839 and 1846. Hostilities rose to such heights that federal officials were forced to intervene in 1846 and impose a treaty upon the tribe officially reuniting the two factions of the Cherokee nation. Bitterness and hatred, however, smoldered between the two groups for years. Ever after, whether or not he was directly involved, Watie blamed John Ross for the killings of his brother, cousin, and uncle. Gradually Stand Watie became the leader and primary spokesman for the treaty party—a divisive split and rivalry between the two men for leadership within the Cherokee nation lasting fo
r the next twenty years.

  While John Ross remained principal chief of the Cherokee, Stand Watie continued as the leader of the opposing faction. The rivalry remained contentious as Watie became more active in politics, eventually becoming speaker of the Cherokee National Council.

  When the states of the South seceded from the union in 1861, Watie sided with the South and was commissioned a colonel in the Confederate army. He raised a following of many Cherokee, called the Cherokee Regiment of Mounted Rifles, hoping not only to fight for the Confederacy but to seize complete leadership of the Cherokee nation from Ross, who supported the Union. Watie went to Ross and gave him two options: sign an alliance with the Confederacy or face a coup for the chieftainship of the entire Cherokee tribe. Reluctantly Ross agreed and sided with the South. In 1862 he fled Oklahoma Territory for Philadelphia where he later died. In August of 1862, Stand Watie was elected principal chief of the Confederate Cherokee nation.

  Watie saw action throughout the Civil War, was promoted to brigadier general in 1864, and, at the end of the war, was the last Confederate general to surrender.

  Of the five million dollars promised to the Cherokee by the New Echota Treaty, the Cherokee tribe ultimately received from Georgia and the U.S. government a mere ten thousand dollars.16

  Note 9—Hiding Cherokee Blood

  These precautions of James Waters accurately reflect an entirely different cultural outlook than most of us have today. In the current climate when pride in one’s roots is high and prejudice against those of dark skin or different ethnicity is on the decrease, it may be difficult to understand to what extent being of Indian blood was not something to be proud of—even something to keep secret—not so very many years ago. Many Cherokee people of mixed blood had light skin and had adopted many so-called white ways and customs. When American governmental and colonial attitudes became so harsh, even dangerous, toward Native Americans, it seemed better to some to assimilate than to be treated as “Indians.” When the U.S. government began creating Indian registration rolls for the purpose of documenting payment for Indian lands for those who had moved West, many Cherokee who had resisted giving up their lands refused to register. Others registered themselves as white to avoid the stigma of being known as Indian.

  “In my own family, my great-great-grandfather—Katy Harlan’s half-Cherokee son George—registered himself as entirely white on the roll. My grandmother told of many family members, like him, who tried to hide the true extent of their heritage because of how badly Indians were treated long into the twentieth century. The result is that all the rest of us who followed this particular one of our ancestors through Nancy Ward’s line, though increasingly proud of our heritage as the years have gone by, are registered with less Cherokee blood than is actually the case. This is true of many Cherokee on the rolls. For some reason my grandmother, even two generations ago and despite having grown up during difficult years in Indian territory in Oklahoma, was proud of her Cherokee heritage. She taught her children—my aunts and uncle—to honor the past, and named my own mother Cherokee.”—Judy Phillips

  Note 10—Bucks for Buttons

  “List of the Price of Goods”, 1751

  During the mid-eighteenth century, trade between the British and Cherokees was at its peak. The British commissioned several traders in the Creek and Cherokee nations to trade rifles, woolens, tools, and other European goods for skins.

  A Blanket 3 Bucks or 6 Does

  2 Yards Wool Cloth 3 Bucks or 6 Does

  Paint, 1 Ounce 1 Doe Skin

  A Knife 1 Doe Skin

  Pea Buttons, per Dozen 1 Doe Skin

  Fine Rufel Shirts 4 Bucks or 8 Does

  A Large Knife, Cuckhandled 1 Bucks

  60 Bullets 1 Doe

  Silver Earbobs 1 Buck the Pair

  Swan Shott (large lead pellets) 200 per a Buck Skin

  Handkerchiefs of India 2 Bucks

  1 Riding Sadie 18 Bucks or 16 Does

  Women’s Side Sadie 20 Bucks or 40 Does

  2 Yards Stript Flannel 2 Bucks or 4 Does

  Men’s Shoes 2 Bucks or 4 Does

  Callicoes 2 Bucks or 4 Does

  1 Gun 7 Bucks or 14 Does

  (Cherokee Voices, Vicky Rozema, pp. 15-19)

  Note 11—Cherokee Names

  Cherokee names are both fascinating and confusing. Every well-known Cherokee chief is known by multiple names and nicknames, in both Cherokee and English. This difficulty is added to by the fact that the ancient Cherokee tongue was a spoken not written language. After the European conquest, when Cherokee names were attempted rendered into English, diverse spellings could not help but result. When nicknames and honorary names were added, a given chief or warrior might be known by many names, complicating the study and interpretation of Cherokee history. Chief Pathkiller’s death in 1828, precipitating the election from which John Ross emerged as chief, is complicated by the fact that Major Ridge, Nungnohnutarhee, was also known as Pathkiller.

  The honorary titles Raven, Owl, Wolf, and Turkey were so common that Old Hop, Oconostota, and Old Hop’s nephew were all known at one time or another as Standing Turkey. There are likewise numerous Ravens, Owls, and Wolfs among the chiefs.

  The great peace chief of the Cherokee was known as Ukwaneequa, Oukandekah, Chuconnuta, Onacona, White Owl, Attakullkulla, Leaning Wood, Little Carpenter, as well as Attacullaculla. Whether some of these are mere spelling variations or perhaps mistakes that have crept into the historical record it is impossible to determine.

  More than anything, Cherokee names and nicknames are melodic, lyrical, poetically musical, and uniquely descriptive, as the following examples illustrate: Groundhog Sausage (Oconostota), Tuskeegeeteehee (Nancy Ward’s brother), Hiskyteehee (Fivekiller, Nancy Ward’s son), Kahnungdatlageh (Man Who Walks the Mountains, one of Major Ridge’s names), Kooweeskoowee (John Ross), Omitositah (Old Tassel), Kunnessee (Green Corn Top, or Young Tassel), Going Snake, Turtle at Home, Dreadful Waters, Soft-shelled Turtle, Running Waters, Rising Fawn, Rolling Thunder, Pumpkin Boy, Crying Bear, Lying Fawn, Bone Polisher, Beanstalk, Buffalo Horn, Corn Blossom, Lightening Bug, Mad Wolf, Morning Blossom, Nanye’hi (One Who Goes About), Moytoy (Water Conjurer, Rainmaker), Oowatie (the Ancient One), Sequoyah (Pig’s Foot), Untsiteehee (Mankiller), Tsi’yugunsini (Dragging Canoe), Degataga (He Who Stands on Two Feet), Cunne Shote (Standing or Stalking Turkey), Cheratahegi (Possessor of the Secret Fire), Uskwalena (Bull Head).

  Bibliography and Source Materials

  The Cherokee Crown of Tannassy, William O. Steele: John Blair Pub, Winston-Salem, NC, 1977.

  Seven Clans of the Cherokee, Marcelina Reed: Cherokee Publications, Cherokee, NC, 1993.

  Cherokee Legends and the Trail of Tears, Amanda Crowe: Cherokee Publications, Cherokee, NC, 1956.

  Trail of Tears, John Ehle: Random House, NY, 1988.

  Cherokee Tragedy, Thurman Wilkens: Macmillan, NY, 1970.

  The Cherokees Past and Present, J.E. Sharpe: Cherokee Publications, Cherokee, NC, 1970.

  The Story of the Cherokee People, Tom Underwood: Cherokee Publications, Cherokee, NC, 1961.

  Cherokee Voices, Vicki Rozema: John Blair Pub, Winston-Salem, NC, 2002.

  The Cherokees, Grace Steele Woodward: Univ of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 1963.

  History of the Cherokee Indians, Emmet Starr: Warden Co, Oklahoma City, OK, 1921.

  Endnotes

  Prologue: From the Old Books—America

  Seven Americans in the Royal Court

  1The Cherokee often adopted orphans and captives from other tribes, and raised them as true sons. The genealogy of both these young men is in some doubt. Ukwaneequa is listed in some sources as the son of Moytoy’s sister Nanye’hi (not Nanye’hi Ward), but other sources indicate that he was an orphan adopted by Nanye’hi. Oconostota, too, may have been adopted by Moytoy’s family, for his exact genealogy is likewise unclear. Moytoy the younger, likewise, may have been the nephew not son of Amatoya Moytoy—genealogies of early Cherokee chiefs conflict in variou
s sources, and nearly all had multiple names.

  One

  1The story of the sacred Cherokee rings, the history of that ancient people, and the reason for the secret midnight flight of this man and this boy to whom had been entrusted their legacy, is recounted in the legends From the Old Books.

  Thirty-Nine

  2Octoroon—a person of one-eighth Negro blood.

  3Quote from Harper’s Weekly, Vol. IV, No. 178, New York, May 26, 1860.

  4Lincoln quote from Harper’s Weekly, Vol. IV, No. 178, New York, May 26, 1860.

  5By the eve of the Civil War, Christianity had pervaded the slave community. Not all slaves were Christians… but the doctrines, symbols, and vision of life preached by Christianity were familiar to most.

  The religion of the slaves was both visible and invisible, formally organized and spontaneously adapted. Regular Sunday worship in the local church was paralleled by illicit, or at least informal, prayer meetings…. Slaves forbidden by masters to attend church, or, in some cases, even to pray, risked floggings to attend secret gatherings to worship God.

  His own experience of the ‘invisible institution’ was recalled by former slave Wash Wilson:

  “When de niggers go round singin’ ‘Steal Away to Jesus,’ dat mean dere gwine be a ’ligious meetin’ dat night. De masters… didn’t like dem ligious meetin’s so us natcherly slips off at night, down in de bottoms or somewhere. Sometimes us sing and pray all night.”

  Slaves frequently were moved to hold their own religious meetings out of disgust for the vitiated gospel preached by their masters’ preachers. Lucretia Alexander explained what slaves did when they grew tired of the white folks’ preacher: “The preacher came… and he’d just say, ‘Serve your masters. Don’t steal your master’s turkey. Don’t steal your master’s chickens. Don’t steal your master’s hawgs. Don’t steal your master’s meat. Do whatsomever your master tells you to do.’ Same old thing all the time…. Sometimes they would… want a real meetin with some real preachin’…. They used to sing their songs in a whisper and pray in a whisper.”