There are many places on the Internet to read about Cherokee history.  I have used some of them as sources for this timeline.  But, it is also composed of information I have viewed at Cherokee historical sites from Cherokee, North Carolina to New Echota, Georgia to Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  I have also interspersed the text with photos I have taken at these various places.  Like most histories, not all sources agree on every detail and I have endeavored to reflect that in notes, or through the way in which I have worded a description.  I have tried to accurately and truthfully depict the last few hundred years of our history, as is a part of my mission statement.  However, this is not intended to be a scholarly work.  It comes to you through the eyes and heart of an artist, who has heard the whispers of ancestors he did not know, and has not verified.  This has always been a response to the call of my Creator, taken on faith as a journey with purpose, and a connection within Spirit, beyond the realm of government IDs.

Photo number D044 F000 taken at Funk Heritage Center in Waleska, Georgia

Pisgah phase — villages range in size from about one acre to more than five acres and typically include houses situated around an open plaza and encircled by a palisade (stockade). The Pisgah folk grow maize, beans, squash, and gourds but their diet is not limited to these domesticated crops. Wild plant foods including nuts, fruits, seeds, and greens, as well as animals, are important components of the Pisgah diet. The material culture utilizes clay, stone, bone, shell, and wood.

Qualla Phase — Qualla is identified with the historic period Cherokee Indians. Because of similarities of artifact styles, house and village structure and burial patterns, it is quite clear that the Pisgah folk are direct ancestors of the Cherokee people. However, it is also likely that other peoples (from east Tennessee and north Georgia) also contributed to the historic period Cherokee culture. (Some sources: Cherokees are a branch of the Iroquois nation.)

Tugaloo Old Town is the first major Cherokee village.

DeSoto of Spain, enters Cherokee country, supposedly one of the first whites (or the first) seen by the tribe. However, written descriptions of the tribe by the Spanish note a wide range of colors in the tribe, from "negro" (black) to light skinned and "fair," according to Moyano and Pardo (1567).

Trading between the Cherokees and the English settlements begins.

First treaty is made with the Cherokees.

"Seraqui" captives are sent to the West Indies. Numerous records describe the activities of travelers and traders among the Cherokee.

First smallpox epidemic among the Cherokees.

British (South Carolina) government defines five Cherokee groups. The Cherokee live along the Tellico and Little Tennessee rivers, in what is called the Overhill Towns (east Tennessee). The Lower Towns (north Georgia) are found on the Tugalo, Keowee and upper Savannah rivers. Three divisions are present in [North Carolina], including the Middle Towns, located on the headwaters of the Little Tennessee River; the Valley Towns, on the Hiawassee and Valley rivers; and the Out Towns on the Tuskaseegee and Occonoluftee rivers. The Cherokees are more favorably disposed towards the French, who are less interested in land than trade; however, they often find themselves allied with the English against their traditional enemies such as the Tuscarora and Creek Indians.

Tuscarora War

Yamasee War. Massive uprising against North and South Carolina.

The Cherokee or Charleston Treaty with the Governor of the Carolinas (South Carolina) involving first land cession. It is the first of ten treaties with Great Britain.

Cherokees recognize their arrangement with European trade.

Sir Alexander Cuming embarks on a mission to secure Cherokee allegiance to the British. He meets with several Cherokee chiefs at the town of Nequassee where he convinces them to submit to English rule. This first official treaty also establishes Chief Moytoy of Tellico (Overhill) as emperor and leader of the Cherokee Nation. Cuming takes a Cherokee delegation to England.

Smallpox epidemic kills 25-50% of the Cherokee population. Nancy Ward is born.

First missionary, Christian Priber, comes to the Cherokees "to establish Utopia."

First porcelain made in English-speaking world with Cherokee clay.

Fort Prince George established. Rebuilt in 1756. Some sources: Smallpox epidemic.

Second land cessions (#2 on Royce map). Battle of Talíwa, the decisive battle between the Creeks and the Cherokees who had been fighting for 30 years. The outnumbered Cherokees are at first overmatched and driven back, however, after her husband, Kingfisher, is killed, 16 year old Nancy Ward takes up his guns, and chanting a Cherokee war song, fights with such courage that the Cherokees rally. The victory is so complete and decisive that the Creeks abandon the whole upper portion of Georgia.

Fort Loudoun established in Overhill Towns. (Other spellings: Fort Loudon, Fort Louden)

Smallpox epidemic.

Cherokee War (first time Cherokee Middle Settlements are invaded).

Thomas Griffith expedition for Wedgewood to acquire Cherokee clay.

Land cession (# 3)

A large English force under Colonel Archibald Montgomery marches on and destroys all 15 of the Middle Towns.

Land cession (# 4)

Sequoyah is born.  Major Ridge is born.

Land cession (# 5)

Land cession (# 6)  First cession in Georgia. Treaties have taken most of the traditional Cherokee lands.

Henderson land cession (# 7 Kentucky and part of Tennessee).

Impressed by the British during the French and Indian war, the Cherokee side with them during the American Revolution. In 1776 General Griffith Rutherford leads a North Carolina militia against Middle, Valley, and Out Towns while South Carolina forces attack Lower Towns. Finally, a Virginia force destroys the Overhill Towns. The Cherokee attack settlers in retaliation, but are driven into the Smokies; their homes, crops, livestock, and towns destroyed by the Revolutionary War army, they are forced into more land cessions.

Two land cessions (# 8, # 9)

State of Franklin formed by white settlers.

Treaty of Hopewell, is the first treaty between the United States government and the Cherokees. (includes land cession # 10a and # 10b). Cherokee think this will be the end of the settlers’ invasion of Cherokee land. Within three years bitter fighting will erupt as settlers continued to move into the Cherokee Nation.

Cherokee Council meets at Oostanauleh. This location, about four miles east of New Echota (see 1825) will serve as a meeting place for councils until around 1816.

Treaty of Holston (includes land cession # 11 and civilization clause and annuities). Cherokee cede land in eastern Tennessee in exchange for President Washington’s guarantee that the Cherokee Nation will never again be invaded by settlers. The treaty forces Americans to obtain passports to enter Cherokee lands, and grants Cherokee the right to evict settlers. It also includes a call for the U.S. to advance the civilization of the Cherokees by giving them farm tools and technical advice. It further provides that the Cherokee nation send a delegate to congress.

The town of Hightower moves from the vicinity of Rome, Georgia to present-day Cartersville, farther east on the Etowah River after a brutal attack by whites.

American Revolution ends for Chickamauga Cherokees (Lower Towns).

Treaty of Tellico Blockhouse (cession # 12, # 13, # 14; guarantee of land forever).

Arrival of Moravian missionaries. Formation of the Lighthorse, a loose knit Cherokee police force headed by The Ridge and James Vann.

Building of the Augusta to Nashville Road, later known as the Federal Road.

By the end of, and throughout, the early 19^th Century most Cherokees have adopted at least some white ways. They establish businesses, farms, Christian churches, and a government similar to that of the United States. At the same time they are succeeding in maintaining their culture, preserving many traditional ways. Newly drafted laws uphold such tribal (national) traditions as land held in common and matrilineal power, even with the introduction of patrilineal heritage concepts. The Cherokee farmer using a plow works to produce the same crops his ancestors tended with digging sticks. The earlier Cherokee grew corn to insure a winter food supply. Now they grow that same produce, for example, not only for food but to fatten pigs to sell on a competitive market. Things are looking promising, but are about to turn dark.

Return J. Meigs appointed "Indian agent." Moravians start mission at Spring Place.

Georgia Compact (regarding future Indian land cessions). President Thomas Jefferson signs and agrees with the state of Georgia to removal of all American Indians in exchange for the state’s claim of western lands.

Louisiana Purchase by the United States.

Cherokee cede Wafford’s Tract. Land cession # 15. James Vann builds a showplace home on his property in the Cherokee Nation (today in Georgia).

Land cessions # 16, # 17, and # 18.

Start of a complex series of events known as Revolt of the Young Chiefs.

First written laws. Formalized patrilineal inheritance.

First major Cherokee migration west of the Mississippi.

Death of Doublehead at the hands of Ridge, James Vann, and Alexander Saunders.

Cherokees forbid blood vengeance in accidental deaths. Death of James Vann.

New Madrid earthquake. Actually 3 separate earthquakes with an epicenter near the town of New Madrid, Missouri in the southeastern border with Kentucky. The quakes are felt throughout the Cherokee Nation and spark what is best described as a religious revival among the Cherokee. Writer James Mooney would call this movement the "Ghost Dance," after a similar western Indian revival.

Shawnee warrior Tecumseh agitates American Indians on the frontier to rise up and destroy the settlers. A faction of the Creek Indians, the "Red Sticks," revolt, attacking Fort Mims, Alabama and massacre 250 men, women, and children.

Creek war. Cherokee warriors fight alongside future president Andrew Jackson during two campaigns (5 major battles) against the Red Sticks, saving both his army and his life in separate battles.

Cherokees are instrumental in assisting General Andrew Jackson in defeating the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend. Jackson admits that the Cherokee were responsible for his victory. Jackson demands cessions of 2.2 million acres from the Cherokee.

Cession of land east of the Unicoi Turnpike. (Treaty of Turkey Town, instead of the 2.2 million acres demanded by Jackson.) Land cessions # 23, # 24, # 25, and # 26. Exchange land in Arkansas for land in the east. A 12-year old boy named William Holland Thomas moves to the Oconaluftee River region where he meets a Cherokee Chief named Yonaguska (Drowning Bear), who later adopts him. Some Cherokees, lead by Yonaguska apply for and receive reservations on recently ceded land (also apply for U.S. citizenship) and form the future basis of the Eastern Band of Cherokees. Cherokee "Old Settlers" begin voluntary migration and establish a government in Arkansas. In 1828, they are forced to move into Indian Territory.

Final cession of land in Georgia, and part of a much larger cession, the Cherokee give up claims to all land east of the Chattahoochee River. Land cessions # 27, # 28, # 29, # 30, # 31, # 32, # 33, # 34, and # 35. A new council house, consisting of two open shelters facing each other with a log house at one end, is constructed at New Town and the seat of the Cherokee government moves there. Major Ridge leads the procession of Cherokee officials into the Council House for the first session.

After 12 years of working on isolating each syllable in the Cherokee language, Sequoyah finishes and introduces a written syllabary (similar to an alphabet) of 86 characters. It is approved by the Cherokee chiefs (adopted by the council). Within six months more than 25% of the Cherokee Nation learns how to read and write in their own language. Within 10 years 90% can read and write the syllabary, leading to almost total literacy among the Cherokees.

Cherokees establish a Supreme Court at New Echota. The Council authorizes the construction of a new council house to replace the one built in 1819. Georgia begins press for cession of remaining Cherokee lands, citing Jefferson’s 1802 commitment to the state.

First written law of Western Cherokees.

November 12^th, the council adopts a resolution selecting New Town as the permanent capital of the Cherokee Nation, and changes its name to New Echota (today in Georgia) in memory of the old, beloved town of Chota (today in Tennessee).

In February, Cherokee surveyors divide their new capital into a series of streets and 100 one acre lots. A national press and newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, is approved by the National Committee and Council.

At a convention, led by elected Chief John Ross, the Cherokees write and adopt a national constitution claiming sovereignty over their land. The modern Cherokee Nation begins. The Reverend Samuel A. Worcester, a missionary, arrives in New Echota. The Cherokee government constructs a Printing Office at New Echota.

First edition (February 21^st, some sources: February 8^th) of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper, is printed in both Cherokee and English. Elias Boudinot is editor. Andrew Jackson elected president of the United States. Gold is discovered in Georgia (Duke’s Creek ceded in 1817). However, it is soon found within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation as well. "Old Settlers" are forced to move from Arkansas into Indian Territory (today Oklahoma).

Georgia Legislature abolishes ("outlaws") the Cherokee tribal government and expands their authority over the Cherokee nation located within their claimed boundaries.

Jackson announces Indian removal policy. Georgia extends its laws over Cherokee Nation.

Indian Removal Act passes U.S. Congress. Cherokee evict encroachers in Beaver Dam on Cedar Creek, a few miles south of present-day Rome, Georgia. Georgia laws require residents to swear allegiance to Georgia. Missionaries are arrested and imprisoned. New Echota now has about 50 residents, but during council meetings several hundred Cherokees fill the town.

Cherokee Nation vs. State of Georgia court case. Attempting to stop the State of Georgia’s arrest and trial of a Cherokee named George Tassel for murdering another Cherokee man, William Wirt is hired to take the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. Georgia refuses to wait for the case to run its course and convicts and executes Tassel. The Supreme Court eventually decides because the Cherokee Nation is a "domestic dependent nation," and not a foreign nation as outlined in the U.S. Constitution, it cannot present the case to the court. However, it leaves the door open when Chief Justice John Marshall instructs attorney William Wirt how to correctly file for someone else to present the case. Samuel Worcester, and others, arrested for violation of Georgia law requiring whites to get permits to work in the Cherokee territory. The Cherokee Council meets in [what is today] Alabama.

In the Worcester vs. Georgia court case, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds Cherokee sovereignty supposedly protecting Cherokees from Georgia laws. President Jackson ignores the court ruling quipping let the Chief Justice enforce it. Georgia begins land lottery and gold lottery, and the Cherokee land (including homes) is divided and deeds are distributed to Georgia citizens who registered for the lottery. Elias Boudinot resigns as publisher of the Cherokee Phoenix under pressure from John Ross because of his editorial support for voluntary removal to the west. The Cherokee Council begins meeting at Red Clay (where they will continue to meet until just prior to the removal in 1838 - Red Clay is in Tennessee today).

Georgia (the Georgia Guard) confiscates the Cherokee Phoenix press, destroying it, declaring the newspaper to be subversive. The last issue is printed May 31^st. Rev. Samuel Worcester and his family are forced from their house when it is confiscated by a Georgian who obtained title to it in the 1832 Land lottery. Worcester moves west to continue serving the Cherokee.

A census this year shows 93 percent of the Cherokee are farmers who till their land. In October, at a full council (at Red Clay), a proposed treaty with the United States providing for the removal of the Cherokee to the Indian Territory is overwhelmingly rejected. (United States) General John Wool and his detachment of troops are camped about a quarter mile east of there to observe the meetings of the Cherokees in Council. November 7^th, (Principal Chief) John Ross and John Howard Payne are illegally detained by the Georgia Guard in Red Clay, Tennessee. The Treaty of New Echota (for removal) is negotiated and signed on December 29^th in Elias Boudinot’s home (at New Echota - today in Georgia) by 20 (some sources say 30) Cherokee without tribal authorization (thereafter referred to as the Treaty Party), among whom are Major Ridge and John Ridge. It gives up title to all Cherokee lands in the southeast in exchange for land in Indian Territory (Oklahoma today) and $5,000,000 (plus $300,000 for improvements on their new territory). Most Cherokees will consider the treaty fraudulent since it was never approved by the Cherokee Council.

Acting as an attorney and advisor, William H. Thomas works on behalf of the Qualla Town (Oconaluftee) Cherokee, to have their "citizenship" status recognized.

On May 23^rd (some sources say May 17^th) the U.S. Senate ratifies the fraudulent New Echota treaty by one vote. The Cherokees are given two years from this date to remove themselves to the Indian Territory. Federal enrolling agents and appraisers begin their work.

In October the Cherokee Council meets again at Red Clay. Questions of the future loom large. More than 6,000 (some sources 4,000) Cherokee buildings now stand in the (claimed) Georgia section of the Cherokee Nation alone. With a typical Cherokee family now living on a farmstead, most farms include a dwelling house and a variety of outbuildings. Cherokees are excellent craftsmen and have used log construction for almost every building. The average Cherokee family (of 6) lives in a small log cabin (16'x18') and cultivates about 11 acres of land. However, some Cherokees own stores, taverns, and even large plantations.

Only 2,000 of the nearly 17,000 Cherokees have departed their ancestral homelands. General Winfield Scott and 7,000 U.S. troops are dispatched with orders to "remove the Cherokee by any means necessary." Deadline for voluntary removal is May 23^rd. The Georgia Guard begin the round-up five days early. The official round-up begins on May 26^th and continues in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina, where the Cherokee -- men, women, and children – are forced from their comfortable homes and herded into "forts" (military stockades), gradually making their way north to the Cherokee Agency in southeastern Tennessee. Bad sanitary conditions, lack of privacy, non-existent washing and bathing facilities, foul drinking water, and unhealthy food, both demoralize the Cherokee and create serious health hazards. Sickness is widespread. The first detachment of Cherokees (2,700) leave for the west in June, but due to sickness and many deaths, removal is suspended until cooler weather. Most of the remaining 13,000 Cherokees spend the summer in the internment camps and finally leave by wagon, horseback, or on foot during October and November. June 19^th the last group of Cherokees leave New Echota (former capital of the Cherokee Nation). On November 25^th Tsali is executed (martyred) halting the hunt for fleeing Cherokees (about 1,000 avoided removal).

The "Trail of Tears" roundup, imprisonment, and forced 800 mile march to Oklahoma causes the death of as many as four thousand or more of the 15,000 to 17,000 Cherokees removed.

In the east, a dying Yonaguska is carried before his people, and in a dramatic whisper, he warns them never to forsake their mountains. In the west, Treaty Party leaders, Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are executed (assassinated) for violating the Cherokee Constitution by signing the Treaty of New Echota. A new constitution is ratified at a convention in Tahlequah (today Oklahoma) uniting Cherokees arriving from the east with those in the west. However, strong factionalism continues until at least 1846.

William H. Thomas purchases land for the Cherokees remaining in North Carolina and holds the deeds for them (Of 17,000 Cherokees, about 1000 had fled into the hills managing to escape removal – the execution of Tsali [mentioned above] stopped the search for them).

Cherokee (west) Supreme Court building, the first public building in Indian Territory (Oklahoma today), opens. The Cherokee Advocate becomes the first newspaper in Indian Territory.

Cherokee male and female seminaries open. Female seminary is the first institute of higher learning (secondary school) for girls west of the Mississippi.

Original Keetoowah Society organized to maintain traditions and fight slavery.

Tension mounts between Union Cherokees and Confederate Cherokees as the Cherokee Nation strives to remain neutral when the Civil War begins.

Against his desires, Chief Ross is forced to side with the Confederacy as a foreign ally after Union troops abandon the Indian Territory and a treaty is signed at Park Hill between the Cherokee Nation and the Confederate government. The Cherokee nation is torn by border warfare, plus a war within a war, throughout the "unpleasantness between the states."

Cherokee Nation tribal buildings located on Capitol Square in Tahlequah are burned by Confederate Cherokees led by General Stand Watie.

Cherokee must negotiate peace with the U.S. government. The new treaty limits tribal land rights, eliminates possibility of Cherokee State and is a prelude to the Dawes Commission, Curtis Act, and break up of Cherokee tribal lands by allotment.

North Carolina finally acknowledges the Cherokees’ right of residency.  John Ross dies.

Cherokee National Capitol is built in Tahlequah (today in Oklahoma).

The U.S. federal government recognizes the Eastern Band as a distinct tribe under its guardianship and helps them establish a reservation from lands purchased by Thomas and from land obtained under the treaties of 1817 and 1819.

Qualla Boundary (in east) formed and Cherokee lands secured.

General Allotment Act passes; requiring individual ownership of lands once held in common by Indian tribes. Cherokee Nation successfully lobbies to be exempt from the act. Female Seminary in Park Hill is destroyed by fire on Easter Sunday.

In the east, rights of Cherokees are established by the North Carolina Legislature. A charter is granted and The Eastern Band of Cherokees formed. In the west, unassigned lands in Indian Territory are opened to white settlers known as "boomers." Thousands of non-Indian intruders move into the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Nation’s attempts to have the intruders removed by the U.S. government, as required by treaty, are ignored.

Oklahoma Territory is organized out of the western half of Indian Territory.

Cherokee Senator Ned Christie assassinated by U.S. Marshals. New Female Seminary building opens north of Tahlequah.

In a notorious land run, Cherokee Outlet opened for white settlement. Dawes Commission arrives and lobbies Cherokee citizens to accept individual ownership of tribal lands. Cherokee traditionalists, including the Nighthawk Keetoowah Societies, adamantly oppose the commission and allotment.

The Curtis Act is passed abolishing tribal courts. It mandates allotment of lands and the liquidation of assets of the Cherokee Nation.

William C. Rogers becomes the last elected chief (Cherokee Nation) for 68 or 69 years (subsequently, seven individuals were appointed chief by the U.S. – for as little as one day).

Land allotment begins after the official Dawes Commission roll is taken of Cherokee citizens. Many traditionalists were imprisoned and involuntarily assigned allotments.

The five civilized tribes organize a convention for an Indian state, called the state of Sequoyah. Although the state of Sequoyah constitution was approved by popular vote, the United States Congress refused to consider it.

Oklahoma statehood combines Indian and Oklahoma Territories. The U.S. attempts to dissolve Cherokee Nation government, but it survived in a modified and restricted form.

Northeastern State Normal opens in Cherokee Female Seminary building. This building and many other tribal schools and government buildings were lost at Oklahoma statehood.

William C. Rogers dies.

By petition of the tribal council, the United States Federal Government takes the lands of the (Eastern) Cherokees into trust.

Indian Reorganization Act establishes a land base for tribes and legal structure for self government (on a corporate model).

J.B. Milam is appointed principal chief by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1938, Milam had been elected chief by the Cherokee people.

Chief Milam calls a Cherokee Convention; beginning of model tribal government of the Cherokee Nation. He helped revitalize the Cherokee government.  In the east, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian opens. Also, the Cherokee Historical Association is conceived and launched.

W.W. "Bill" Keeler is appointed chief by President Harry Truman.

Realizing the historic value of New Echota, a group of Calhoun citizens purchases almost 200 acres of the old town. But, the only building not previously destroyed is the Worchester House.

July 1^st the outdoor drama "Unto These Hills" opens in Cherokee, North Carolina.

Oconaluftee Indian Village opens in Cherokee, North Carolina.

First Cherokee National Holiday held to commemorate 1839 Cherokee constitution.

Archaeology excavations begin at New Echota showing actual locations of old buildings and roads.

The local community donates the New Echota site to the State of Georgia.

Cherokee citizens are awarded 15 million dollars by the U.S. Claims Commission for the forced sale of the Cherokee Outlet lands.

May 12^th, the restored New Echota is dedicated and opened to the public with many Cherokees visiting their former capital for the ceremony. As a healing gesture, the Georgia Legislature repeals the laws (still on the books) which had denied the Cherokees the right to freedom on their ancestral land.

Cherokee National Historical Society founded (in west).

Cherokee Foundation (in west) formed to purchase land on which tribal complex now sits. Cherokee National Historical Society opens Ancient Village.

Cherokee National Historical Society (CNHS) opens Trail of Tears drama. In the east, a museum is added at New Echota.

U.S. Supreme Court ruling confirms Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nation’s ownership of bed and banks of a 96 mile segment of the Arkansas Riverbed.

W.W. Keeler becomes first elected principal chief since statehood.

Ross O. Swimmer is elected to the first of three terms as principal chief. The first Cherokee Tribal Council is elected (in west) since Oklahoma statehood. U.S. Congress passes Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. CNHS opens its museum (Cherokee National Museum).

Cherokee voters (in west) ratify a new Cherokee Constitution outlining tribal government. (In east) Museum of the Cherokee Indian moves to a new (its present) location.

Tribal offices are moved into a modern new complex south of Tahlequah. However, the Cherokee Nation regains ownership of the original Cherokee Capitol building, Supreme Court and advocate building, as well as the national prison.

Wilma P. Mankiller is the first woman elected deputy chief.

The first joint council meeting in 146 years between the Eastern Band of Cherokees, and the Cherokee Nation, is held at Red Clay, TN. Council meetings are now held bi-annually.

Deputy Chief Mankiller fills remainder of Swimmer’s term as principal chief. Tribal council member John A. Ketcher becomes deputy chief.

Wilma Mankiller makes history and draws international attention to the Cherokee Nation as the first woman elected chief. Cherokee voters pass a constitutional amendment to elect the council by districts in 1991.

The Cherokee Nation joins the Eastern Band of Cherokees in Cherokee, North Carolina, to commemorate the beginning of the Trail of Tears. A Cherokee Memorial Monument, originally built in 1931, is relocated to New Echota, Georgia and rededicated to "keep the memory of the Cherokee’s triumphs and struggles alive in hopes that such injustices will never be repeated."

The Cherokee Nation observes the 150^th anniversary of the arrival in Indian Territory. "A New Beginning"

Chief Mankiller signs historic self-governance agreement. The Cherokee Nation is one of six tribes to participate in the self-determination project (which ran for three years beginning October 1, 1990). It authorizes the tribe to assume tribal responsibility for BIA funds formerly being spent on the tribes’s behalf at the agency area and central office levels.

The July tribal election is the first council to be elected by districts since statehood. Wilma Mankiller wins a second term as principal chief with a landslide 82% of the votes cast.

Chief Mankiller signs tribal-state tobacco compact. Law enforcement agreement signed which provides for cross-deputization between the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service and federal, state, and local governments.

Cherokee Nation signs self-government compact with U.S. government.

Chief Mankiller and Deputy Chief Ketcher announce they will not seek re-election.

Joe Byrd and Garland Eagle are elected principal chief and deputy chief marking the first time in nearly 200 years that full blood bilingual leaders occupy the top positions of the Cherokee Nation.

Cherokee Nation signs fuel tax agreement with Oklahoma. The agreement allows the tribe to receive quarterly fuel tax rebates from the state.

Cherokee Nation receives 1.1 million dollars from the motor fuels tax agreement.

Cherokee Nation reclaims jurisdiction over Cherokee Nation Capitol Building, establishes free press act, and publishes modern day Cherokee Phoenix and Indian Advocate.

Cherokee Nation issues automobile tags.

June 29^th, after several years of working to expand and refine the timeline he displays and offers visitors at Cherokee Bill's Trade Center, william (Cherokee Bill) completes a version of it for the wsharing website which includes his photography.  WADO - Thank you for visiting this page and taking the time to explore and learn a little about a piece of our history.

Primary sources: Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, NC; Cherokee Nation Capitol Building, Tahlequah, OK; The Cherokees Past and Present © 1970 Cherokee Publications, Cherokee, NC; New Echota (Georgia State Parks) Historic Site; Red Clay Historic Site (Tennessee), Cherokee Heritage Center (Tahlequah, Oklahoma), Cherokee History, www.powersource.com; Cherokee Nation-Cherokee Timeline, www.crystalinks.com; Cherokee Archaeology, Friends of North Carolina Archaeology, Inc.; Important Dates In Cherokee History (webpage composed by Amy on www2.sjvsj.org).

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