When people think about the first people in America, they might think of Christopher Columbus or the European colonists; when, in fact, the first people were the Native Americans. Cherokee legend says that the Cherokee came from the far away northwest. Centuries ago, some people probably did come from Siberia. Some moved further south and became known as the Indians of South America. Many stayed in North America. The Cherokee Indians had lived in the lands of what is now the United States for thousands of years before any colonists had ventured to their lands. Little did they know that the new nation that was going to be forming around them and would affect the lives of their descendents. Trail of tears is historically monumental because it
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Missionaries taught them domestic arts, agriculture, English and about Christianity (PBS.org). Some of them worked on plantations and even owned their own slaves, in an effort to adjust to some of the American ways of living. In the early 19th century, the Cherokee demonstrated unusual adaptability to American institutions, both in their governmental changes and in their adoption of methods of animal harvesting and farming. Public schools were established and in the 1820s, a tribal member invented an 85-character syllable script for the Cherokee language. Widespread literacy followed almost immediately. In 1828 the first Native American newspaper “The Cherokee Phoenix”, began publication. Today in Oklahoma, much of the culture has remained the same. Their traditional crafts are preserved by the Eastern Band where their basketry is considered to be excellent. In 1990 there were 308,132 Cherokee descendants in the United States. The main difference between the Americans and the Native Americans was that the Native Americans believed that no one should actually own any of the land. The land was only there for them to use, as they needed. The sad part is that after they were removed from their lands their homelands were won by white settlers in a lottery. The Georgia land lotteries were a system of land distribution in Georgia. Under this system, qualifying citizens could register for a chance to win land that had formerly been occupied by the Creek Indians and the Cherokee Nation. The lottery system was utilized by the State of Georgia between the years 1805 and 1833. Although some other states used land lotteries, none were implemented at the scale of the Georgia
Missionaries taught them domestic arts, agriculture, English and about Christianity (PBS.org). Some of them worked on plantations and even owned their own slaves, in an effort to adjust to some of the American ways of living. In the early 19th century, the Cherokee demonstrated unusual adaptability to American institutions, both in their governmental changes and in their adoption of methods of animal harvesting and farming. Public schools were established and in the 1820s, a tribal member invented an 85-character syllable script for the Cherokee language. Widespread literacy followed almost immediately. In 1828 the first Native American newspaper “The Cherokee Phoenix”, began publication. Today in Oklahoma, much of the culture has remained the same. Their traditional crafts are preserved by the Eastern Band where their basketry is considered to be excellent. In 1990 there were 308,132 Cherokee descendants in the United States. The main difference between the Americans and the Native Americans was that the Native Americans believed that no one should actually own any of the land. The land was only there for them to use, as they needed. The sad part is that after they were removed from their lands their homelands were won by white settlers in a lottery. The Georgia land lotteries were a system of land distribution in Georgia. Under this system, qualifying citizens could register for a chance to win land that had formerly been occupied by the Creek Indians and the Cherokee Nation. The lottery system was utilized by the State of Georgia between the years 1805 and 1833. Although some other states used land lotteries, none were implemented at the scale of the Georgia