The Cherokee Nation

A watershed event in the federal government's involvement in Cherokee affairs was the infamous Trail of Tears. The Cherokee were one of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast. Although white Americans generally admired their skills in adopting European customs, white settlers, avaricious for the farmland that the Civilized Tribes occupied, soon demanded their relocation. The federal government acquiesced and, in 1830, President Andrew Jackson, signed the Indian Removal Act, which required that the Civilized Tribes and other Indian nations located east of the Mississippi river be relocated from their ancestral lands. A minority faction in the Cherokee tribe signed

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ls were notoriously overcrowded and inadequately equipped. Food was often in short supply and not sufficiently nourishing. Improper care of sick children often led to outbreaks of epidemics, such as tuberculosis. The schools also became infamous for their severe disciplinary measures: "Pupils . . . who were guilty of misbehavior might receive corporal punishment or be imprisoned in the guardhouse" (Noriega, 1992, p. 382). Although school jails were abolished in 1927, harsh disciplinary practices continued unabated. Native American parents often resisted sending their children to boarding school. Some tribes hid their children, forcing the Indian agents to send federal troops to round the children up and force their attendance at school. Other methods of coercion were also employed: " . . . the agent was made responsible for keeping the schools filled, by persuasion if possible, by withholding rations or annuities from the parents, and by other means if necessary . . . " (Noriega, 1992, p. 382). During the early period of the establishment of the boarding schools, many Native American parents refused to send their children to school because of the presence of white instructors. Reservation Indians had developed a natural
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Approximate Word count = 3012
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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