The Cherokee Indians were (and are) an Indigenous people of North America, with a long history in the southeastern Woodlands. The United States government passed the official “Indian Removal Act” in 1830, which called for the forced displacement of all remaining eastern native tribes. The noble Cherokee Indian people were forced to leave their homeland even though they had accommodated the presence of white settlers who continued to press for more and more land. This disgraceful chapter of American history is known as the “Trail of Tears,” where, under Army supervision, some 18,000 Cherokee were forced to walk to Oklahoma in the frigid winter of 1838 and 1839.
Starving, sick, and despondent, almost one in four people died before reaching a land completely unfamiliar to the displaced people. In all, an estimated 4,000 people died en-route, including 300 who perished in a steamboat disaster. Before the march began, a few hundred brave Cherokee eluded their captors by disappearing into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Those who escaped formed the core of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, which remains the largest Native American population of any state east of the Mississippi River.
Today, the Cherokee land is 50 miles, 80 km west of Asheville, and has a population of around 9,000 on their 56,000-acre, 22,400-hectare reservation. The Cherokee Reservation also hosts museums and casinos. The most famous Cherokee descendant is the singer/actress Cher, who had a hit single in the 1970s called “Half Breed.” If you’d like to learn more about the Cherokee Indians, there are many resources available online and in libraries.
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