Timeline of the Cherokee People
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11,000 BC - 8,000 BC
Paleo period. People lived in the Southern Appalachians, hunting mastodons with spears and gathering plants for food.
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8,000 BC
Archaic period. People lived in the Southern Appalachians, using the atlatl for hunting, fishing with nets, and gathering plants for food.
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5,000 BC
Middle Archaic period. People living in the Southern Appalachians began experimenting with growing sunflowers, gourds, sumpweed, and other plants for food.
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1,000 BC
Woodland period. People began living in settled towns and making pottery.
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500 AD
Late Woodland period. People carved effigy pipes. They invented the bow and arrow and began using it along with the atlatl.
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900 AD
Mississippian period. People lived in towns with central mounds, grew large fields of corn. They made artwork in a style shared across the Southeast.
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1540 AD
First contact of Cherokees and Europeans. De Soto expedition traveled through Cherokee territory.
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1700 AD
Cherokees begin trading with British and French, primarily deerskins for guns.
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1756-1763 AD
Cherokees fought as allies of the British in the Seven Years War, also known as the French and Indian War.
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1759-1761 AD
Anglo-Cherokee War. Cherokees and British were at war in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. War concluded with the Treaty of Fort Robinson.
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1762
Emissaries of Peace. Henry Timberlake visited the Overhill Towns and three Cherokees visited London, met with King George III.
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1763
Proclamation of 1763. King George III declared there would be no English settlement west of the Blue Ridge.
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1776
Dragging Canoe and "Chickamauga Cherokees" fought for Cherokee land and independence 1776-1792. Cherokees allied with British during American Revolution.
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1785
Treaty of Hopewell took large tracts of Cherokee land. By the end of 1800s, Cherokees lost 75% of their land and population. Nancy Ward: "Our cry is all for peace."
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1816
Treaty of 1816 gave up land from Lower Towns. Some Cherokees began moving to Arkansas.
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1819
Treaty of 1819 took Cherokee lands. It allowed Cherokees to move from tribal lands and claim 640 acres each as individuals, although only the state of North Carolina upheld their ownership. These individuals were given the right to apply to be citizens.
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1821
Sequoyah, George Guess, presented his Cherokee Sylllabary to the Cherokee National Council. They later awarded him a medal, in 1824.
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1828
Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828; he campaigned on a platform of Indian Removal. Gold was discovered near Dahlonega, Georgia, and a gold rush ensued. The Cherokee Phoenix Tsalagi Tsulehisanvhi began publishing at New Echota, the first American Indian newspaper.
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1830
The Indian Removal Act was passed by the United States Congress by a narrow margin. It was controversial and debated throughout the U.S.
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1832
The United States Supreme Court decided in favor of the Cherokees in Worcester vs. Georgia, declaring them a sovereign nation. This decision is the basis for the sovereignty of the Cherokees and other tribes today.
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1835
The Treaty of New Echota was signed December 29, 1835 by a minority of Cherokees, at the Cherokee capitol of New Echota. In 1839 Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot were assassinated for their participation.
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1836
U.S. Congress ratified the Treaty of New Echota and gave the Cherokees two years to remove themselves. The U.S. Army began construction stockades throughout the Cherokee Nation.
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1838
Cherokee Removal began. Cherokee people were herded into stockades, then forced to get on boats and to march overland. Between May 1838 and March 1839 about 16,000 Cherokees were removed. At least 4,000 died, and many were buried in unmarked graves.
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1851
About 1,000 Cherokees were still living in the mountains of North Carolina. Some owned their own land, some had evaded pursuit by hiding in the mountains, and some walked back from Oklahoma.
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1868
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (in North Carolina) and the Cherokee Nation (in Oklahoma) were recognized by the federal government, along with all other tribes who had made treaties with the United States and original colonies.
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1870
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' government met officially for the first time since Removal. Their elected chiefs from 1870-1899 were: Salonitah (Flying Squirrel), Lloyd Welch, Nimrod Jarrett Smith, Stillwell Saunooke, and Andy Standingdeer.
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1889
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was recognized as a corporation by the State of North Carolina, giving them legal standing in the state. They owned land that they bought back through William Holland Thomas, who held it in his name 1839-1889.
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1930
Enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were recognized as citizens of the United States by a special act of Congress.
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1948
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian was founded in a log cabin in downtown Cherokee.
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1997
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians bought back Kituhwa Mound, one of the original mother towns, about seven miles from downtown Cherokee NC.
Handicapped access: All exhibits, restrooms, Museum Store, and Education Wing are ADA accessible. Service animals are permitted. Handicapped parking available.
Additional information: Parking is available at the Museum for cars and buses. Many hotels, motels, and campgrounds are located nearby. Local restaurants, fast food, picnic areas, and fine dining are available in the town of Cherokee. Pets are not allowed in the Museum except for service animals.
The Museum is located in the Cultural District near the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual Co-op, the Oconaluftee Indian Village Living History Museum, and the Mountainside Theater, home of the outdoor drama “Unto These Hills.”
