Cherokee Americans: The Eastern Band of Cherokees in the Twentieth Century (Indians of the Southeast

by John R. Finger

Cherokee Americans combines . . . high-quality scholarship and eminent readability. ― Choice Much has been written about the forced removal of thousands of Cherokee Indians to present-day Oklahoma in the 1830s. Many of them died on the Trail of Tears. But until recently historians have largely ignored the tribal remnant that avoided removal and remained in North Carolina. John R. Finger shifts attention to the Eastern Band of Cherokees, descended from that remnant and now numbering almost ten thousand, most of whom live on a reservation adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Cherokee Americans is, ironically, the first comprehensive account of the twentieth-century experience of a band that is known to and photographed by millions of tourists. This book is a sequel to The Eastern Band of Cherokees, 1819–1900 (1984) by John R. Finger, who is a professor of history at the University of Tennessee. 

Genres: Native American, Nonfiction, History

246 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book club read. It reminded me of something I was forced to read in college. I did learn some things about The Eastern Band of Cherokees but it was a hard slog. In other words, it was terribly boring. My book club meeting got canceled and I quit reading the book about half way through it.

[Diocletian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good history of the Eastern Cherokees throughout the twentieth century. It explores all the major aspects of changing Cherokee life, as they try to find a balance between modern society and tribal culture and customs. This book is also a good resource for studying contemporary United States relations with the many Federally recognized Indian Tribes.