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Deltona, Fl 32725
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Dragging Canoe was one of the Cherokee tribe’s most devoted chiefs. He angrily opposed the terms of the deal in which the Cherokee Nation signed away some of their valuable land to the whites and received very little in return. He broke away from the Cherokees in 1776, forming an aggressive wing of the tribe known as the Chickamauga Cherokees. Dragging Canoe strongly recommended that the patriotic Cherokees part from the tribe. After this episode, they settled at various places along the main stream in the south known as the Chickamauga Creek. Therefore, it was appropriate to call them Chickamaugans.
Dragging Canoe was the son of the famous narrator, Chief Attakullakulla. For his headquarters, Dragging Canoe chose the site of an ancient Creek village on the Chickamauga near present day northeastern Chattanooga, Tennessee. Many well-known chiefs joined him, Chief Ostenaco being among them. This old Indian had fought side by side with George Washington on the Virginia frontiers and knew him intimately. He knew not only our first President but also men such as Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.
The
Chickamauga feared that the expansion of the United States spelled doom for the
Cherokees and believed that by engaging in war they were protecting their
territory the only way they could. After
the American Revolution, the majority of Cherokees favored peace and agreed to
give up all lands east of the Appalachians.
But a small band of warriors, called ‘Chickamauga’ were unwilling to
accept a truce and moved their families to northeastern Alabama. (The Cherokee, Perdue, pg. 36) Tecumseh, who was much younger than Dragging
Canoe, had a Creek Indian mother and believed that the Creeks would help their
Chickamauga brothers in the north. He
went south to see the Creeks, Chickasaw, Cherokees and Choctows. He was there
for two years. When he returned north,
William Henry Harrison had burned the peace town to the ground. Fighting continued on both sides until 1785,
with the most stubborn resistance coming from a recalcitrant group of Cherokees
who seceded after the Carolina cession in 1777 and established themselves first
on Chickamauga Creek and later on the Lower Tennessee River. These diehards became known as ‘The
Chickamauga of the Five Lower Towns’...
(Cherokees of the Old South, Malone, pg. 10) Hence, the political division between the
Cherokee Nation and the Chickamauga Indians occurred as a result of the
Carolina land cession and the overall concern of the Chickamauga was that the
end of Cherokee independence was coming.
The split, which occurred between the Cherokee Nation and the
Chickamauga, was political and represented a fundamental shift in international
policy. The Chickamauga favored
continued conflict with the United States in an attempt to maintain their land
base and independence, whereas some influential elements of the Cherokee
National Council took a more conciliatory position. In fact, the Chickamauga never laid down
their arms. In 1790, the Chickamauga
fought General Harmon in the north and less than a year later fought General
Clair. They continued the fight into
Alabama and Florida. At Fort Mims, two
thousand Chickamauga helped Chief Red Eagle take the Fort and after the fall of
Horseshow Bend, many moved into Florida.
The United States government also recognized the Chickamauga as a
separate political entity in the Treaty of 1817 (7 Stat. 156) in which the
prologue stated “the establishment of a division line between the upper and
lower towns”. The Chickamauga people
were historically known as the lower town Cherokees.
The two main Chickamauga Chiefs, Dragging Canoe (Tsiyugunsini) son of Attakullakulla and John Watts (Kunokeski) were relatives of Cherokee Nation Principle Chief Moytoy (Amahetai) and may have been advised to leave the Nation so that the Cherokee Nation’s residents would not be drawn further into a full scale war with the Americans. From 1777, the Chickamauga were not an official part of the governance and policy structure of the Cherokee Nation and through their external military policy, the Chickamauga were an independent Cherokee political entity although not an entity with which the majority of the Cherokee Nation’s residents were opposed.
The fight still continues today for our home land. We are the Chickamauga.
In the very early 1800’s Chief Old Billy Bowleggs, designated the Indian Creek
Tribe as the keepers of the history for all Chickamauga Cherokee. As
an extension of this duty, our tribe has been creating historically
accurate educational programs for many years in both Alabama and
Florida.
We educate children and adults through school programs,
our website, tribal newsletters, public demonstrations, books and story
fires that detail the telling of historical actions of this great
nation while documenting the unique events pertaining to our people and
the United States Government. . We are an independent people who can
document our history well before the American Revolution.
Chickamauga Cherokee, Indian Creek Tribe
Click here to read this petition.
Please, Please, sign this on-line petition it is so important to our people. Even if you do not wish to live on the reservation, what about your children? And their Children's Children? Will you speak for them? This petition is LIVE right NOW! and can also be emailed to everyone. You can check back anytime and watch the signatures grow. Timing is of the essence! Please click the link above to sign the petition and send to your family and friends and even co-workers! Wado!
signature goal: 5,000
Disclaimer: It is more than obvious that we can not take credit for any of the incredible artwork on display here. Some of these images are borrowed from other sites and artists. We include them here because we admire them and would like to share them with the world. Feel free to take any images that delight you. If any of these images belong to you and you do NOT give permission for The Indian Creek Band Chickamauga Cherokee Inc. to use them, then please contact us for removal.
Native Americans all over the United States are being discriminated against by the U.S Government join us in this fight to bring closer. Please take a moment of your time and sign our petition!
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