Cherokees in Georgia
Areader sent me an email last week asking if there were any Cherokees who managed to avoid the removal and remain in the homeland. In this week’s column we will explore this question a little further.
While it is true that the state of Georgia did, in flagrant violation of applicable law and a U.S. Supreme Court decision, attempt to remove all Indians from within its boundaries, some did indeed remain. Even today, despite the government’s best efforts, some are able to circumvent both the law and the enforcement thereof. This is more especially the case when the law and/or the en- forcement are so egregiously unjust that every person with any conscience or sense of honor is morally required to oppose and resist both the law and any effort to enforce it.
We see this in the nation’s response to prohibition, for example.
The run up to the removal was well publicized and everyone knew what the state’s intent was. Cherokee Phoenix Editor Elias Boudinot made every attempt to keep the people fully informed, at least until he was fired by Principal Chief John Ross for keeping the people better informed than Chief Ross wanted them to be.
In spite of Chief Ross’ attempts to control the narrative, and in spite of his faith in the white man’s government, there were more than a few Cherokees who were making contingency plans. These were educated Cherokees who were under no illusions as to the gravity of the situation they faced. Among the Chickamauga in particular, people were under no illusions as to the perfidy of white men in general and of the government in particular. But they were also used to blending with the white population, as they had been doing it since the wars of the previous century and they had become quite good at it. In fact, the Chickamauga were so well known for their spies that some said it was well nigh impossible to tell a Chickamauga from a white man.
Just as the government was never able to catch every illicit distiller during the prohibition era, or every Cocaine Cowboy during the so-called “War on Drugs,” or Eric Rudolph for that matter, they were likewise unable to catch every Cherokee. Those who did not wish to be found divined various stratagems to avoid capture, though it often meant becoming an outlaw.
The rough country of the Lookout Mountain area of Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama, as well as the more rugged sections of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, were particularly good areas for this due to ruggedness of the landscape and due to the fact that the land did not lend itself to plantation-style agriculture. Gradually these renegades managed to come together in different communities and acquire property by passing as white and by not discussing their heritage outside of close-knit family and community groups.
After the war and the occupation by federal troops, the focus changed somewhat. Indians were not considered to be the threat to civilization that they had been previously. Many of the rich planters who reaped fortunes off Cherokee land were now just as broke as the Cherokee they had stolen the land from. Indeed, in a sort of poetic justice some of these planters had to watch as the properties they acquired in the land lottery were seized by the same government and passed into the possession of “carpetbaggers.”
By the early 20th century the federal government entered the “Termination” era. During this time the federal government attempted to terminate tribal governments that were still operating, including that of the Cherokee in Indian Territory. This had no effect of course on the Cherokee who remained as they had spent the last 60 to 80 years avoiding government interference rather than attracting it. Later the federal government, and the tribes recognized by it, would use this fact against these communities of survivors.
Today these Cherokee communities are recognized by the state of Georgia under Georgia law, OCGA 44-12-300. This recognition shows the progress made by the state of Georgia in its relationship with its original inhabitants. Although these communities still struggle, the commitment to heritage and the connection to tradition keeps the community strong and focused.