Native American

The list of items below have been tagged as part of the Native American historical collection here at AccessGenealogy.

Treaty of January 22, 1818

A treaty of limits between the United States and the Creek nation of Indians, made and concluded at the Creek Agency, on Flint river, the twenty-second day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen. JAMES MONROE, President of the United States of America, by David Brydie Mitchell, of the state of Georgia, agent of Indian affairs for the Creek nation, and sole commissioner, specially appointed for that purpose, on the one part, and the undersigned kings, chiefs, head men, and warriors, of the Creek nation, in council assembled, on behalf of the said … Read more

Agreement of June 29, 1825

Council House, Broken Arrow, Creek Nation, 29 June, 1825. Resolved by the Chiefs and Warriors in Council assembled that after a suitable consideration which the nature of the case demands, they solemnly and strictly declare for themselves and for the whole Muscogee Nation, that all of the late General McIntosh’s party who have opposed the Laws of the Nation, are hereby pardoned to all intents and purposes, and they are hereby invited to return to their usual places of abode or elsewhere, and their to dwell in the full enjoyment of peace & security and of all their rights and … Read more

Case Findings on the McKennon Roll

The following are various US Supreme Court case findings concerning the McKennon Roll. U.S. Supreme Court Winton V. Amos, 255 U.S. 373 (1921) 255 U.S. 373 Winton et al. V. Amos et al. No. 6. Bounds V. Same. No. 7. London V. Same. No. 8. Field Et Al. V. Same. No. 9. Beckham V. Same. No. 10. Vernon V. Same. No. 11. Howe V. Same. No. 12. Argued Jan. 14 and 15, 1919 Restored to Docket for Reargument Jan. 5, 1920. Reargued April 21 and 22, 1920. Decided March 7, 1921. [255 U.S. 373, 375]   Mr. William W. Scott, … Read more

Cherokee Bear Song

This song, obtained from A’yû´nini in connection with the Cherokee story of the Origin of the Bear, as already mentioned, is sung by the bear hunter, in order to attract the bears, while on his way from the camp to the place where he expects to hunt during the day.

Plants Used in Cherokee Medicine

The results obtained from a careful study of this list may be summarized as follows: Of the twenty plants described as used by the Cherokees, seven (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 17, and 20) are not noticed in the Dispensatory even in the list of plants sometimes used although regarded as not official. It is possible that one or two of these seven plants have medical properties, but this can hardly be true of a larger number unless we are disposed to believe that the Indians are better informed in this regard than the best educated white physicians in … Read more

The Cherokee Religion

It is impossible to overestimate the ethnologic importance of the materials thus obtained. They are invaluable as the genuine production of the Indian mind, setting forth in the clearest light the state of the aboriginal religion before its contamination by contact with the whites. To the psychologist and the student of myths they are equally precious. In regard to their linguistic value we may quote the language of Brinton, speaking of the sacred books of the Mayas, already referred to: Another value they have… and it is one which will be properly appreciated by any student of languages. They are, … Read more

The Inâli Manuscript

The Inâli Manuscript In the course of further inquiries in regard to the whereabouts of other manuscripts of this kind we heard a great deal about Inâ´li, or “Black Fox,” who had died a few years before at an advanced age, and who was universally admitted to have been one of their most able men and the most prominent literary character among them, for from what has been said it must be sufficiently evident that the Cherokees have their native literature and literary men. Like those already mentioned, he was a full-blood Cherokee, speaking no English, and in the course … Read more

Other Manuscripts Used in Cherokee Formulas

Subsequently a few formulas were obtained from an old shaman named Tsiskwa or “Bird,” but they were so carelessly written as to be almost worthless, and the old man who wrote them, being then on his dying bed, was unable to give much help in the matter. However, as he was anxious to tell what he knew an attempt was made to take down some formulas from his dictation. A few more were obtained in this way but the results were not satisfactory and the experiment was abandoned. About the same time A’wani´ta or “Young Deer,” one of their best … Read more

Ceremonies for Gathering Plants and Preparing Medicine

There are a number of ceremonies and regulations observed in connection with the gathering of the herbs, roots, and barks, which can not be given in detail within the limits of this paper. In searching for his medicinal plants the shaman goes provided with a number of white and red beads, and approaches the plant from a certain direction, going round it from right to left one or four times, reciting certain prayers the while. He then pulls up the plant by the roots and drops one of the beads into the hole and covers it up with the loose … Read more

The Cherokee Alphabet

The sacred Cherokee formulas had been handed down orally from a remote antiquity until the early part of the present century, when the invention of the Cherokee syllabary enabled the priests of the tribe to put them into writing. The same invention made it possible for their rivals, the missionaries, to give to the Indians the Bible in their own language, so that the opposing forces of Christianity and shamanism alike profited by the genius of Sikwâya (Sequoyah). The pressure of the new civilization was too strong to be withstood, however, and though the prophets of the old religion still … Read more

Cherokee Formula to Frighten Away A Storm

Cherokee Formula for This Is To Frighten A Storm Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, Yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´, yuhahi´-Yû! Listen! O now you are coming in rut. Ha! I am exceedingly afraid of you. But yet you are only tracking your wife. Her footprints can be seen there directed upward toward the heavens. I have pointed them out for you. Let your paths stretch out along the tree tops (?) on the lofty mountains (and) you shall have them (the paths) lying down without being disturbed, Let (your path) as you go along be where the waving branches meet. Listen! … Read more

Importance Attached To Names in Cherokee Formulas

In many of the Cherokee formulas, especially those relating to love and to life-destroying, the shaman mentions the name and clan of his client, of the intended victim, or of the girl whose affections it is desired to win. The Indian regards his name, not as a mere label, but as a distinct part of his personality, just as much as are his eyes or his teeth, and believes that injury will result as surely from the malicious handling of his name as from a wound inflicted on any part of his physical organism. This belief was found among the … Read more

Cherokee Formula for Song For Painting

Cherokee Formula for Song For Painting Yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi. I am come from above-Yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi. I am come down from the Sun Land-Yû´nwehi. O Red Age’yagu´ga, you have come and put your red spittle upon my body-Yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi, yû´nwehi. And this above is to recite while one is painting himself. Explanation of Song For Painting This formula, from Gatigwanasti, immediately follows the one last given (For going to water), in the manuscript book, and evidently comes immediately after it also in practical use. The expressions used have been already explained. The one using the formula first bathes … Read more

1817 Cherokee Reservation Roll

1760 A New Map of the Cherokee Nation

A listing of 550 Cherokees claimants applying for a 640 acre tract in the East in lieu of removing to Arkansas. This was only good during their lifetime and then the property reverted back to the state.

Native Tribes about the East Texas Missions

Hasinai Villages

The purpose of this paper is to furnish a partial introduction to the early history of the Spaniards in eastern Texas the scene of their first systematic activities between the Mississippi and the upper Rio Grande by presenting some of the main features of the organization of the compact group of tribes living in the upper Neches and the Angelina River valleys, the first and the most important group with which they came into intimate contact. These tribes furnished the early field of labor especially for the Franciscans of the College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, who worked for fifteen years in the region and founded in it five missions, while one was founded there and maintained for more than half a century by the College of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Zacatecas. It is hoped that this paper will throw new light on the all too obscure history of these interesting establishments, particularly with respect to their locations.

Population of the East Texas Indians

It is easy to gain an exaggerated notion of the numerical strength of the native tribes. Popular imagination, stimulated by the hyperbole of writers for popular consumption, has peopled the primitive woods and prairies with myriads of savages. Students however, have shown that this is an error, and that the Indian population has always been, in historical times, relatively sparse. In their efforts to counteract these exaggerated notions, they, indeed, have leaned too far in the opposite direction. The Hasinai, apparently one of the most compact native populations within an equal area between the Red River and the Rio Grande, … Read more

General Character of the East Texas Settlements

It will be helpful, as a means of conveying an idea of the true nature of the work attempted by the early Spaniards, to present a brief sketch of the general character of these Indian settlements and of their numerical strength. They were a people living in relatively fixed habitations, and would be classed as sedentary Indians, in contrast with roving tribes, such as the neighboring Tonkawa west of the Trinity. They subsisted to a considerable extent by agriculture, and lived, accordingly, in loosely built agricultural villages, for miles around which were detached houses, located wherever there was a spot … Read more

Other East Texas Indian Tribes

Of the location of remaining tribes we know even less than of the last, and can only record the few statements made of them by the early writers. Three leagues west of the Nasoni Joutel entered the village of the Noadiche (Nahordike) who, he said, were allies of the Cenis, and had the same customs. This location corresponds with that assigned by Jesus Maria to the Nabiti, and the tribes may have been identical. The site designated was apparently west of the Angelina River and near the southwestern corner of Rusk County. Similarly, the Nasayaya, put by Jesus Maria east … Read more

The Nadaco Tribe

For the rest of the tribes in this group our information is less definite. The Nadaco, though a prominent tribe, can not be located with certainty until 1787, when they, or at least a part of them, were on the Sabine River, apparently in the northern part of Panola County. But in 1716 they were clearly near the Nasoni, and sometimes the two tribes seem to have been considered as one. Hidalgo, who must have known, for he was on the ground, distinctly states that the mission of San Jose was founded for the Nasoni and the Nadaco. Although the … Read more