Essay_cheokee_fall

=What We Can Learn From the Fall of the Cherokee People = Gillian Walker  (Back to Fall)

The Cherokee people were taken advantage of and oppressed by the European immigrants. After the civil war their land was taken away, cession by cession. Treaty by treaty, rights of their people was stripped from them. During the civil war both, Union Cherokees and Confederate Cherokees fought against each other. Once the western world started to look back at what they did, in shame, the Cherokee people took action to get their culture, land and old lives back. What we can learn from the fall of the Cherokee nation is that no matter how oppressed you are, you can still rise up again.

In the late 1860’s (http://www.powersource.com/nation/dates.html) after the civil war, treaties were signed and white settlers called “boomers” took up the Cherokee land. Even though they had been removed from their land in 1836 during the “Trail of Tears” (http://www.wsharing.com/WScherokeeTimeline.htm) the land was still uninhabited until 1889, when the “boomers” moved in. When things started to get better for the Cherokees again, they fought for their land and in 1970 were granted ownership to the bed and banks of 96-mile piece of Arkansas Riverbed (http://www.powersource.com/nation/dates.html). Now Cherokee people make up a large population in eastern Oklahoma, North Carolina and other southeastern states (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/cherokee.html).

In 1828 the Cherokee tribal government was abolished and the Europeans took more control over them (http://www.powersource.com/nation/dates.html). Cherokee had little to no say of that was to happen to them. It was this way that they were taken from their lands and marched to Oklahoma. Even in 1865 more treaties limited Cherokee ownership over their new lands. Finally in 1934 Indian Reorganization Act established a land base for tribes and legal structure for self government (http://www.powersource.com/nation/dates.html), allowing them to control what happened to them and run their lands in the way that suited them. Today this has helped them take back their stolen lands and take back their original ways of life.

In 1860, at the beginning of the civil war, both Union Cherokees and Confederate Cherokees struggled to keep neutral to avoid fighting (http://www.wsharing.com/WScherokeeTimeline.htm). But Chief Ross was forced to join the Confederacy as a foreign ally after Union troops abandon the Indian Territory (http://www.wsharing.com/WScherokeeTimeline.htm) causing war between the Union Cherokees and Confederate Cherokees. Even though both Union Cherokees and Confederate Cherokees fought during the civil war, they are now both recognized as a single group called The Cherokee Nation, even though are still spread out across the southeastern United States (http://www.powersource.com/nation/dates.html).

The Cherokee people have been exploited along with other Native American peoples. They have fought and worked hard to get back what was unfairly taken from them. Even though they were stripped of land, culture and power, they kept their faith and determination that has allowed for them to take back it all back. The Cherokee people show that no matter how much is taken away from you, you can always get it back, with hard work and determination.

Sources: http://www.powersource.com/nation/dates.html http://www.wsharing.com/WScherokeeTimeline.htm http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/cherokee.html  



