The Woodland Band of Cherokee Indians
A Band of Cherokee Decendants sharing cultural elements.
The Woodland Band of Cherokee Indians, some histroy.
WHO ARE WE?
The Woodland Band of Cherokee is a group of peoples whose ancestors survived the infamous genocide called Trail of Tears, the forced removal of Cherokee peoples that diverted many of them from their homelands and cost more than 4,000 Cherokee their very lives.
The Woodland Band Cherokees rebuilt their lives in this new social condition no longer being a force to reckon with in the original homeland. Many families were strewn into chaos with many being forced in exile out west to Oklahoma, some hiding in discrete pockets such as in NC the Ancestors of the Eastern Band Cherokee, or in isolated pockets of few families with some inter-married into white families who hid them out.
Realizing the bleak future ahead a small group in Eastern Tennessee having had the foresight to know we would have no Calvary come to aide us in our protection from the encroachment of white settlement and society the formed a loose government in 1840. Though symbolic this gesture gave the families a sense of identity and it was discussed in heated form what it would take to hide among the enemy to preserve our lives in the homeland.
Mrs. Lewis a tribal Elder of the Woodland Cherokee spoke to the small groups members after the local Rail Road destroyed a 30 foot stone wolf statue of her people that was the westward boundary of the Cherokee built by her Wolf Clan family generations back. The monument later called The Standing Stone by the whites settling the region was blown apart to make track work for the rail road go smoother although it was not in the direct line of travel! The railroad passed and the Monument lay in ruin a situation Mrs. Lewis had great anger over she ordered her two sons to take the largest stone and hide it away, they complied but en-route with such a boulder on a small buckboard wagon the axle gave way and it tumbled to the roadside with the rest of the wagon in the ravine above the Obed River area. It was recovered in 1986 from the Buckboard remains and was hauled by tractor to a local Woodland Band Families farm owned by a descendant of the Lewis family remaining there to this day.
The sons being good workers and well known in the community as great horsemen had the good fortune to speak with an educated man from the North who was a Masonic member. They spoke of the tragedy of the people knowing the man could be trusted and a bond began that would lead to the erecting of a new monument using the supposed largest rock left at the site. In 1840 the Masonic order in conjunction with the Woodland Cherokee then referred to as the Narragansett duly named for a flock of Turkeys they had stolen from a local merchant.
With many local matters of survival and trying to retain as much cultural identity as possible the events of Oklahoma would unfold with the Government once again taking the land that was promised by treaty when they started giving Allotments to families of Cherokee to divide the rest for greedy white merchants and ranchers. These allotments given to Western Cherokee citizens who were listed in the census compiled by the Dawes Commission. The diversionary tactics of this legislation paralyzed the Western Cherokee government for almost 70 years!
These new Laws and conditions changed many provisions of the Cherokees' treaties, including those related to entitlements and enrollment. The Weapon of our destruction was found in the fact that they pitted Cherokee vs. Cherokee in feuds over land holdings leading many to starvation and suicide in some cases. Although family was visited to see the events unfold in both North Carolina as well as Oklahoma it was conceived that we truly were on our own in our mutual defense and preservation of our culture.
The stories and as much culture as possible were kept among the clannish Woodland Band Cherokee Families often mistaken for Mountain folk for their lack of social contact with outsiders a ruse that protected them from certain destruction. As the Woodland Band Cherokee had borne witness to the Killings and cover-up that ensued form the release of the Slaves of local plantations that found refuge in the wilderness and had built two small communities one near Taylor’s chapel TN, the other near Clifty TN. These communities were burned to the ground and many Men, women, and children were murdered by the Southern Clan led High Sheriff and local business men. The Descendants of these slave people fled west and found refuge in the Town of Sparta TN and remain so to this day.
The Cumberland Plateau region is where the Woodland Band of Cherokee began its fight to save its Identity, and thus very lives in a very hostile time. This can still be seen that the area known as Crossville has no Black Population to this day due to racial hatred and bigotry. The Founders of The Woodland Band of Cherokee had great insight. And were a strong and driven peoples shown by not asking for aide from any of our Cherokee families back in NC where many came and Oklahoma where some cousins remained, we knew they had their own troubles and we would fare better in a small organized group.
So on that day in 1840 the founding families of the Woodland Cherokee sat in unity at a large gathering in Scott's Bluff a very remote area once used for salt trading and hunting to form a new way. They started with the things they knew and that was our clans it was agreed we would keep this arrangement to prevent families intermarrying, also a red and white form of government was established as was traditional among our peoples before the removal. Just Two years after the Trail of Tears the Woodland Cherokee had become self-aware and proactive to the new world they discovered themselves in. May their insight preserve us for many more generations to come!
Wa Do,
Mark NightWolf
The Woodland Band came from the Chickamaugians, Over Hill and Ani-kutani Cherokee Peoples.......
The Middle Towns were located in present western North Carolina, on the headwaters streams of the Tennessee River, such as the upper Little Tennessee River, upper Hiwassee River, and upper French Broad River. Among several chief towns were Nikwasi and Joara, first recorded in the late 16th century during Spanish settlement there with the establishment of Fort San Juan.
The Overhill Towns were located across the higher mountains in present eastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. Principal towns included Chota, Tellico, and Tanasi. These terms were created and used by Europeans to describe their changing geopolitical relationship with the Cherokee.
The Outer Towns, whose chief town was Kituwa on the Tuckaseegee River, considered the mother town of all Cherokee; and the Valley Towns, whose chief town was Tomotley on the Valley River (not the same as the Tomotley on the Little Tennessee River). The former shared the dialect of the Middle Towns and the latter that of the Overhill (later Upper) Towns.
The Lower Cherokee Towns were noted as being situated on the headwaters streams of the Savannah River, mainly in present-day western South Carolina and northeastern Georgia. Keowee was one of the chief towns, as was Tugaloo.
Dragging Canoe and his band, however, moved to the area near present day Chattanooga, Tennessee, establishing 11 new towns. Chickamauga was his headquarters and his entire band was known as the Chickamaugians
The Woodland Band Cherokee were known for having Villages located in the mountainous regions of eastern Tennessee where the principle Towns were noted as having four which were the borderlands of the Western realm of Cherokee Settlement the most powerful of these prevented much settlement between Nashborough and Knoxville for generations and was known as Kutani.
Kutani was home to the priestly class of Cherokee healers and elite until white war mongers began a Social class war were over 400 of the Cherokees finest leaders were killed for their successful lives by the lazy portion within our people their belongings were looted and some 80 fled into the wilderness with the remnants of the murdered Kutani Cherokee families! It was shortly after this murderous event where the elite were murdered that the Cherokee power base being destroyed were weakened enough to force their removal west on the Trail of tears!
The Woodland Band of Cherokee were founded by the Chickamaugians, Over Hill and Ani-kutani Cherokee Peoples and we are still standing now you KNOW WHY WERE GROWING AND TAKING BACK WHATS OURS IN A PEACEFUL WAY USING THIER RULES! Its good to win in the opposing teams home field! Wa Do!
