Anyone up for a mini-history lesson?

I posed a question on another thread, and it was suggested that we start a new thread to address it (very good idea, Aimee :)

Since my questions may be sensitive and/or controversial for some, I'll ask upfront that we all try to maintain a spirit of information-seeking here. Let's keep our input and followup questions as objective and constructive as possible.

So you'll know the reason for my questions, my mother-in-law's family has Cherokee roots, and have lived in middle Tennessee for as long as anyone can remember. We've also visited the Cherokee NC and surrounding area, where there are a lot of Cherokees still living.

But, history tells us that the Cherokees were driven out of Tennessee (and several surrounding states) and forced to migrate to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) well over a hundred years ago, on what we commonly refer to as the "Trail of Tears".

Here's my question (finally): How did these Native Americans get back here? Or did they somehow avoid the Trail of Tears march?

And will the answer to that question also help answer why it isn't acceptable to discuss heritage with my MIL? It's in direct contrast to those I knew in Oklahoma, who were very proud of their Native American ancestry, no matter how slight.

go_vols, I work in archives in Transylvania County, just over the Blue Ridge parkway from Cherokee. From everything I have heard, some of the Cherokees managed to hide in the hills and avoid the Trail of Tears. The reason they were uprooted was because gold was discovered in Dahlonega, Ga; a huge nugget, and that was part of the Cherokee area. So excuses were made up to move them to Oklahoma. I think nearly 1/2 of them were lost of this forced March. It's a sad period in our history. There is a Cherokee Museum and I believe you can get more information by going to Ask Jeeves.com or doing a search in Google.com

Ok Terry. Lots of the Indians managed to hid out, run away, etc. Some got sick along the way and dropped out and were taken in by kind settlers. Some babies were left with settlers after the mother died or when they were too sick to keep on. Some went all the way to Oklahoma and escaped and come back. In the census records it is hard to find these Indians as they were sometimes listed as black on the records and sometimes not listed at all as they were hiding. They took English names also which made it hard to trace. It was considered a secret shame to marry other races in those days. Indians were another race as far as the white settlers were concerned and the old timers kept it secret and wouldn't talk about it when someone in the family married an Indian. They wanted no mixing of the different bloods just as some have felt with whites and blacks mixing. It has just become alright in the last few years to even admit that you have Indian blood in some of the back areas of the south. My family made it very plain and they were proud that there was Cherokee blood on both sides of my family but that was all they knew. My mother and father were each 1/32nd Indian so that makes me 1/64th on both sides. I saw a picture of my Indian anchestor on my maternal Grandmother's side when I was a child. She was dressed in a prairie dress and had her hair pulled back in a "bun" like the white women but she was plainly Indian. My grandmother loved that picture but some family member apparently didn't and it disappeared and was probably destroyed. We are still searching to find who of all the names we have in our pretty thoroughly researched geneology records are our real Indians. That seems to go somewhere back to the time near the Trail of Tears in the generation timeline. It isn't easy and we may never find out. Elena

This message was edited Tuesday, Jan 15th 8:51 PM

It's so funny that you ask this, go-vols, because I just did some research on this very topic the other night (on the internet - through google.com - search words: Trail of Tears, Cherokee). In East Tennessee, where I live, many, many whites have some Cherokee blood and are proud of that heritage and not ashamed of it. There was so much intermarriage between whites and Cherokees that it wasn't nearly as taboo as with intermarriage between whites and other American Indian tribes.

Like they said above, lots of Cherokees fled to the mountains during the 'Removal' and hid and stayed there. Also, some in Oklahoma apparently returned to the Appalachian area later on.

What was done to the Cherokees is a very sad and very shameful part of our history. It is said that of all the different American Indian tribes, they were the most settled and least nomadic (and most like the whites as far as government and culture goes).

Edited.

This message was edited May 21, 2005 1:34 PM

Bitty1 - so glad to hear from someone who has more than just knowledge, but actual roots, heritage, and experiences of American Indian/Native American life and history.

In my earlier post, I overlooked all the other tribes who were also forced off their land during the removal. There were lots of others besides Cherokee, but I guess people always think of the Cherokee because it was the biggest.

Thanks again, Bitty1.

So cool to find other Cherokees, and Native Americans here. I am quite proud of my Cherokee blood too...even if it isnt very much. I get the Cherokee from my mother's side of the family. She is very proud of her heritage. My mom's cheek bones are quite high, although she is pretty pale in color. Her mom was also very light skinned. But my mom has the high cheek bones to prove it, dark hair, and eyes. I have high cheek bones too...nothing like my mom's though! Luckily my kids get Cherokee from both sides. My ex husband was also part Cherokee. My daughter has the darker skin a little. My son looks 100% Irish....HAHA. Funny how genes are, and very interesting.
Kelly

Well, you might as well hear from someone who has Miami heritage on both sides. My great-great-grandmothers on both sides were Miami - members of that part of the tribe that remained here in Indiana and not sent to Oklahoma. The Miamis in Oklahoma have tribal status while we in Indiana do not (although we continue to fight for it). The Miami once had treaty rights to almost all of the land here in Indiana - now it is but a few acres! Maybe we should start a Native American forum. That blood flows thru many of us!

Patrick

Thanks everyone for your input - it has helped to clear up mysteries for me that I've wondered about for a long time. As I suspected, I see where my MIL's family might have felt pressure to ignore this aspect of their heritage. But it's too bad that it has been under a shroud of secrecy for several generation; now there's scant knowledge to give to my children about their ancestors.

My DD was THRILLED when I explained to her that some of her ancestors were Native Americans - her (blue) eyes got about as big as quarters and she could hardly believe it. It was pretty cool stuff to a 6 year old, especially as they were studying Native American history in their class. I was glad I could bring the lesson closer to home for her, but I wish I could give her more details on her own ancestors.

A similar thing happened here in Central Texas ~ but I think their march was not as cruel. The native tribe was the Tonkawas (Titskanwatitch was their name for themselves). The govt. rounded them all up to march them first to Northeast Texas, then on to Oklahoma, but many ran for the hills. They started calling themselves Black Dutch and didn't talk about their true ethnicity for fear of being rounded up and sent away. They taught their children to NEVER speak of it or else they may be taken from them. I'd think your MIL was raised that way, too. And remember the race problems back in the '60s? I think it wasn't just black people who were treated badly, but all other races besides white. Maybe that's compounding your MIL's resistance to talk of it?

Daves Garden is an awesome place. One can learn so much about the world and history here. Dino has been teaching us about India and now many are teaching us about American history.

Dave you have created something wonderful and much bigger than you ever imagined, I suspect!

Would it be too farfetched to hope for a genealogy forum? Would you use it enough to justify its existence? I have enjoyed these discussions as much as I do the gardening, and frankly need them more as I have garden books but none on ancestry tracing. If not here, then I think Jim GRC has to build us a site. What do you think, cuz?

I just may use it, Aimee! I haven't gotten into geneaology with a vengeance yet (hope to in the future when I have more time), but do casually look for relatives when I get a free day. I came across a distant cousin who'd traced one line of my maternal grandfather's family back to 1600s England. Pretty cool to see where your people came from. The internet is amazing in that way.