European Cultural Adoption of the Cherokee Indians - Essay Example

 European Cultural Adoption of the Cherokee Indians in the 18th And 19th Century Native American history constitutes a large portion of the American history as studied by different students across the United States and beyond the American continent. Several Native Americans tribes had lived in continental America for centuries; was before the first Europeans first arrived there. In the late 15th century, Christopher Columbus began his voyage to spread Christianity and discover new lands. “Hereupon I left the city of Granada, on Saturday, the twelfth day of May, 1492, and proceed to Palos, a seaport where I armed with vessels very fit for such an enterprise”1. Incidentally, America was discovered by Christopher Columbus on his way to India. Columbus had mistaken Native Americans tribes for Indians. To this day, the name Red Indian is used to refer to Native Americans tribes. One of the most talked about and studied groups of Native Americans are the Cherokee Indians, a group of native occupants of the American continent. Historians believe that the Cherokee Indians occupied the southeast part of America ling before the forces of civilization and the American colonization took center stage. “Cherokee lands covered parts of Tennessee, North Carolina, south Carolina, Virginia, west Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas.” 2 The tribe was one of the strongest tribes in the American continent and had significant influence during the 14th and 15th century. They existed in smaller groups and sub-tribes ruled by chiefs and kings and other religious leaders who had significant influence on this group of people. “The various Cherokee villages formed a confederacy. There were two chiefs per village a red (or war) chief and a white chief (most beloved man or woman) who was associated with civil, economic, religious, and judicial functions. Chiefs would be male or female and there was little or no hereditary component”3 The history of the Cherokee Indians is highly complex and is characterized by episodes of resistance, war conflicts and revolutions that rocked the American continent. One of the most talked of revolution that involved the Cherokee Indians was the American revolution of the 18th century that pitied the British and the American forces.4 Thirteen colonies of North America decided to break from British rule. To register their displeasure towards the new occupants of the American continent who were now fighting against the British, the Indian Cherokees fought from the British side against the Americans. “Cherokee support towards the British during the American Revolutionary war (1755-1783 brought retaliatory attacks from southern states militia”5 During this time and prior times, the interaction of the Indian Cherokees with the British and other foreign occupants of the country flourished; the tribe experienced a major tribal revolution that resulted into adoption of new cultural and significant cultural assimilation and integration. “After the American Revolution, the Cherokee adapted British style farming, cattle ranching, business relation, and government becoming cohesive and prosperous”6 In the paper, the cultural assimilation and adoption that occurred during the 17th and 18th century among the Cherokee Indians will be highlighted. It will thus seek to provide a description of the events that characterized the cultural changes and integration during this period. The adoption of foreign and new cultures significantly affected the lifestyle of the Cherokee Americans that resulted into assimilation and the loss of the prior cultural identity that the tribe enjoyed. The first documented history of the contact between the Cherokee Indians and the Europeans was around 1540. “The Cherokee encountered Hernando De Soto around 1540, probably not long before they arrived in their historic homeland…. There were also contacts with the French and especially the English in the 17th century”7 During the era, the British were involved in armed conflict with the Powhatan confederacy and the government that was in place during this time, which was the age of the Anglo-Powhatan Wars. These wars involve conflict between the settlers of English origin in the colony of Virginia and Powhatan confederacy Indians. The first Anglo-Powhatan War lasted between 1610-1614, the second 1622-1626 and the third 1644-1646. “Around 1615, the first Anglo-Powhatan War (1610-1614), the Chickahominys negotiated a treaty with the English”8 While the war was advancing, the Cherokee opportunistically occupied the Powhatan Island that was left vacant because of the war. It resulted into armed conflicts with the British colonialist who wanted to occupy the lands. Despite winning against the British army, the tribe abandoned the island and moved to other areas in Virginia. After the defeat, the British recognized the strength of the tribe and began making overtures to them in order to build more trade ties with this indigenous tribe In order to increase their trade ties and friendship with the Cherokee Indians, British businessperson Abraham Wood who had established fur trade in the region sent emissaries to the Over hill Cherokee. “Perhaps the most interesting of the seventeenth century exploration parties sent out by the English was one sent by Abraham wood. James Needham and Gabriel Arthur were dispatched into the Overhill Cherokee County of East Tennessee.”9 James Needham and Gabriel Arthur negotiated a deal with the Cherokee that sought to have the fur traders use the Cherokee region as the bypass as opposed to the Occaneechi Indian regions. James Needham was eventually killed while returning from the expedition. The young Gabriel Arthur saved by a Cherokee chieftain, travelled with Cherokee raiding parties for several years. The encounter between the two British traders and the Cherokee Indians laid the foundation for future business engagement between the Cherokee Indians and the European colonialists. It is documented that after this encounter, the number of European colonialist traders who were making inroads into the Cherokee region increases by 17th century and resulted into increased cultural and commercial interactions. Before the Cherokee Indians were subjected to the trail of tears in the episode of their history, they had demonstrated the desire to incorporate the white way of life into their culture. In July 1829, gold was discovered in the creeks around Dahlonega, Georgia, which sparked a massive gold rush by hundreds of gold miners, which was to be the biggest gold strike east of the Mississippi. With massive gold deposits in Georgia, officials made inroads to wrestles lands from the native Cherokee people. In the same year, the Georgian legislature declared Cherokee land confiscated and due to be handed over to white settlers. The Cherokee government was also abolished and declared void, which prompted the Cherokee to seek redress in the court of the nation. “They Cherokee argued that a state had no right to interfere with national government treaties guaranteeing Indian people land and independence”10 President Jackson did not offer the Cherokee justice or protection, instead he decided to side with the Georgian laws. Eventually the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed. The Cherokee were removed out of Georgia in 1838. These events acted as a prelude of the Trail of tears. The idea was to move the Cherokee and other Native American tribes to India territory in Oklahoma. The migration of thousands of Cherokee was not an easy fit. Many died from exposure, disease and starvation as they journeyed to Oklahoma, which marked one of the worst episodes in Cherokee history. The Cherokee had become welcoming of various cultural activities and behaviors of the white population. Before their encounter with Europeans, the Cherokee were mere hunters and gathers who depended on wild fruits and game animal for their survival. They had no major economic activity that would allow them to live a civilized life like that of the British colonialists. However, the encounter of the Cherokee Indians and British colonialist resulted into their adoption of farming and various cultivation practices, which enabled the tribe to grow and increase in population. By the mid 17th century, it is documented that a large number of the Cherokee Indians were engaged in different farming activities including farming and stock keeping. The acceptance and quick integration of the community into the European way of life enabled them to grow and advance significantly. Most of the Cherokee farmers and traders made a shift from being poor peasant hunters and gatherers to being large-scale farmers who owned slaves. Apart from the adoption of a new economic activity because of their cultural interaction with the British colonialist, the Cherokee Indians also adopted a new system of government, which was far much different from their tradition system. Before the whites colonized the American continents, the Cherokee had small clans and sub tribes which were ruled by chiefs and judges. The interaction with the European colonialists and settlers including the Spanish resulted into the adoption of a more centralized government. Within this structure, a council of Cherokee was formed with constitutional mandates and responsibilities that guided their service delivery to the people. The Cherokee tribe also had a language that they used long before the Europeans came in with a mixture of Spanish and English. However, the tribe did not significantly change their language but learnt various forms of writing from the European colonialists. Because of these interactions, the Cherokee Indians learnt how to write enabling them to document their history. The Cherokee Phoenix was a newspaper by the Cherokee that first came out in February 1828. It is considered to be the first Native American published work. It was written both in English and Cherokee. The cultural setup of the Cherokee Indians gave more prestige to the men as compared to the women within the system of marriage and leadership. “There were two chiefs per village a red (or war) chief and a white chief (most beloved man or woman)”11 Despite this, women had some respect and they were treated equally with major opportunities given to both male and female. The entry of the Europeans into the American continent affected the social balance and norms of the Cherokee Indians culture. Their economic activities were initially confined to hunting and gathering, which led to a perception of economic independence among the tribes. However, when the Europeans arrived, new economic activities were introduced, which affected the economic independence of the Cherokee Indians. It increased their social and cultural independence on the Europeans, which resulted into their displacement from the Georgian area. New forms of labor were also introduced, which resulted into the introduction of slave labor and the use of African American for farm cultivation. When the Europeans first encountered the Cherokee Indians, they noticed the prominent roles that the women were assigned that affected family relationship and control of property. They had quite distinct roles and leadership positions, which related with their spiritual connection with the farms and the lands. However, the European introduced a new perception that attempted to alienate the women and drive into traditional family roles, which were less dominant. The Europeans recognized the roles of the men and engaged them actively while trying to develop trade ties with the Cherokee Indians. Through the exposure, the Cherokee Indian men grew in influence and they remained at the forefront in engaging the Europeans. With the change in social setting and power balance, the dependence of the women was affected and they were thus left to fully depend on men for their survival. According to psychologist traditionally women have been dependant on men in most cultures. According to a number of historians, the cultural civilization and assimilation of the Indian Cherokee was a difficult process as the Cherokee Indians loved and believed strongly in their culture. While the Indian Cherokee had a different perception on that resulted into rotational farming and enrichment, the Europeans viewed land from a capitalist perspective that resulted into individual ownership and subdivision. After the initial resistance against assimilation and civilization, the Europeans adopted a public approach that depicted their hunting and gathering culture as savage, below par and remote12. The interaction between the Cherokee Indians and the Europeans resulted into intermarriages and increase in societal position of the Cherokee in the 19th century. Progressing from colonial resistors to collaborators, Cherokee Indians formed a close relationship with the Europeans, which resulted into increased cultural interaction resulting into intermarriages. With the birth of mixed color, Cherokee who were crossbreed of both European and Cherokee created a new social status and position for the tribe “According to a Moravian missionary, all of the traders he encountered between 1783 and 1784 had native wives… she also served a socio-cultural purposes such as, translator if her husband did not speak Cherokee and more importantly as a provider of a network of useful family ties.”13 As a result of the American Revolutionary War that erupted in 1775, John Stuart a British superintendent in the South, made plans to use Indian tribes including the Cherokee together with English troops. The Cherokee were encouraged to fight against the Americans as a result of their resolve to aid the English who had since become their allies. They also viewed the white American settlers as outsiders who had come to trespass on their lands. The Upper Cherokee were to engage in three-pronged assaults on the intruders, specifically along the Virginia frontiers and North Carolina. The Lower Cherokee towns were supposed to attack Georgia and South Carolina while the Middle Cherokee towns were to attack the areas around North Carolina. In response to these assaults, Gen. Charles Lee, who was the commander of Southern Continental Forces, planned a joint retaliatory expedition, which has since been known as the Cherokee Campaign. Under one Col. Andrew Williamson, the South Carolina troops attacked the Lower Cherokee Towns. Col. Williamson then moved northwest to North Carolina forces where he joined Gen. Griffith Rutherford. Together they attached the Valley Towns and Middle Cherokee towns. Virginia troops that were being lead by Col. Christian defeated the Overhill Cherokee Towns. In the summer of 1776, the retaliatory expedition led by Gen. Charles Lee, resulted in more than sixty Cherokee towns being destroyed. The survivors of these assaults were often left without shelter or food. The American Revolutionary war brought independence to the white North Carolinians settlers. On the contrary, the region's Indians tribes such as the Cherokee were a devastated and conquered people. Nonetheless, most of these tribes including the Cherokee managed to preserve a semblance of cultural integrity and political independence. In 1791 the Treaty of Holston was drawn. The United States government through this treaty had initiated the "civilization program”. The aim of the program was to assimilate the Cherokee people into mainstream American society, which meant adoption of sedentary agricultural techniques. As a result of Indians acquiring their livelihood through farming, most of their huge hunting grounds could be occupied by whites American settlers. As the American Revolutionary war was ending, the mixed color Cherokee gained prominence and most of them amassed significant wealth from their interaction with the whites. The group of Cherokee readily integrated into the mainstream America that was characterized by racial discrimination and social classes. Their handling and the position they held within the country differed significantly from their full Cherokee Indian ancestors14. With the enactment of constitutional rule and the development of governments, the Cherokee governing council develops laws that influenced the trends of intermarriages among the Cherokee that arose due to the high number of marriages that were being witnessed between the European white and the Cherokee Indians in the country. According to these rules, the Cherokee Indians were allowed to marry the whites Europeans but not the blacks who were being viewed as being culturally inferior. The increased marriage among the Cherokee women and the Europeans arose from the economic balance that was created by their interactions15. As a result, the number of Cherokee men who were viewed as being economically stable decreased as they abandoned their traditional hunting and gathering roles. The Cherokee women would therefore marry the white Europeans for the economic power and control they had that gave them a perception of prosperous life. However, the American legal setting did not recognize these children as whites but as Cherokees due to their mother’s heritage and nationality. “An 1825 Cherokee law clarified a dispute point: that the children of a white married man and a Cherokee woman were citizens of the Cherokee Nation just as mixed descendants of Cherokee women were” 16, which gave the Cherokee-whites offspring legitimacy in the country as they were considered as legitimate Americans. One major impact of the white and the Cherokee that resulted into civilization and assimilation of the Cherokee culture was education and the new American education system. In a letter dated September 3rd 1819, from the War Department, in an effort to civilize the Cherokee, “In the instruction of the boys, be increased to the practical knowledge of agriculture and such mechanical arts as are suited to the condition of the Indian; and in that of the girls, spinning, weaving and sewing”17 The Europeans built different mission centers in the country that acted as both religious and education facilities. Both the male and female were taught within these centers, which affected their overall opinion of the world. The wives of the missioners taught the female Cherokees and their curriculum involved housewifery and cooking. With the education approach, the view of the female Cherokee changed significantly, which resulted into change in their traditional roles in the society. The table manners, eating skills, personal hygiene and other household chore skills was also provided to the girls to improve their housewifery skills in the society18. Several testimonies from different sources have been published to detail Cherokee schooling of the 1800s. “The indefatigable exertions of Brother Gambold and his wife are almost beyond credit. Besides providing food, raiment, shelter and fuel for themselves and their scholars, attending to the school daily, acting as advisers and physicians to the whole neighborhood, entertaining every visitor — and they are numerous who draw on their hospitality — writing letters, and on Sundays teaching, admonishing, etc., they find time, even, to oblige their friends in various ways.…”19 The emergence of religion in the 19th century also opened a new dimension in the Cherokee cultural change and assimilation, which enabled them to integrate into the new American society. The Cherokee were taught a new religion within the mission centers and opened them up for Christianity and cultural changes. Within the missionaries, the women and men of Cherokee descent were taught different biblical concepts such as catechism, different hymns and the biblical perspectives of life. “The missionaries brought New England values and lifestyles to the Cherokee nation and they looked to these values as the manifestation of these values and lifestyles in the Christianized Cherokees because the missionaries defined a “Christian” as one posses Euro- American manners, style of dress, language, law, and social life”20 Cherokee nation Through the exposure, the Cherokee changed their overall traditional culture of religion and integrated into Christianity21. Despite the much influence of the white Europeans on the social powerbase within the Cherokee Indians that upset the role previously played by the women, the women remained dominant in this community. They had major roles that made them recognized and dominant according to the American constitution as compared to the male Europeans. The women were more ready and willing to marry the whites while the men had their own reservations, with few getting married to the European women. The American constitution also favored the female Cherokee and granted their cross-cultural children with citizenship without regard to the foreign status of the fathers. The new marriage affected the normal prestige and cultural arrangements that were granted to European marriages and slowly led to the decline in the Cherokee Indian cultural marriages. One particular law as resolved by the national committee which was the first law of interracial marriage in Cherokee nation went by the following doctrines. “That any white man who shall hereafter take a Cherokee woman to wife be required to marry her legally by a minister of the gospel or other authorized person, after procuring license from the National Clerk for that purpose, before he shall be entitled and admitted to the privileges of citizenship, and in order to avoid imposition on the part of any white man….”22The white European regarded marriage casually, which resulted into a number of marriages and breakups among the Europeans themselves. When they interacted with the Cherokees and intermarried, the same perception and practice cropped in, which created room for remarriage among the Cherokee Indians23. In conclusion, the arrival of the Spanish, French and British into the newfound American continent resulted into a shift in a number of events and practices. The original inhabitants were majorly of Indian descent, which included the Cherokee Indians. The groups of Americans inhabited areas of Oklahoma, Virginia and Georgia regions in ancient America, patterns that later changed with the emergence of the white Europeans. The European arrival resulted into significant changes in the cultural practices of the Cherokees and resulted into cultural adoptions and integration. The paper has highlighted a number of cultural changes that occurred among the Cherokee Indians that affected their settlements during the 18th and the 19th century24. Bibliography Anderson, Bill. ‘Cultural impacts: Native Americans in amerce and Europeans among the Cherokee. North Carolina College of humanities. 2013. Brown, John P. "Eastern Cherokee Chiefs." Chronicles of Oklahoma.Vol. 16, No. 1, March 1938. Columbus, Christopher, Bartolomé de las Casas, and Samuel Kettell. 1827. Personal narrative of the first voyage of Columbus to America. Boston: T.B. Wait and Son. 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