The Cherokee Nation: A History

by Robert J. Conley

The Cherokee Nation is one of the largest and most important of all the American Indian tribes. The first history of the Cherokees to appear in over four decades, this is also the first to be endorsed by the tribe and the first to be written by a Cherokee. Robert Conley begins his survey with Cherokee origin myths and legends. He then explores their relations with neighboring Indian groups and European missionaries and settlers. He traces their forced migrations west, relates their participations on both sides of the Civil War and the wars of the twentieth century, and concludes with an examination of Cherokee life today. Conley provides analyses for general readers of all ages to learn the significance of tribal lore and Cherokee tribal law. Following the history is a listing of the Principal Chiefs of the Cherokees with a brief biography of each and separate listings of the chiefs of the Eastern Cherokees and the Western Cherokees. For those who want to know more about Cherokee heritage and history, Conley offers additional reading lists at the end of each chapter. "Conley speaks with a clear Cherokee Indian voice to show how his tribe's cultural characteristics have survived centuries of abrupt change."-- The Cherokee Advocate "[Robert Conley is] in the ranks of N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, James Welch or W. P. Kinsella as interpreters of the many facets of the Native American experience."-- Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native American, American, Adult, 21st Century

279 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert J. Conley was a Cherokee author and enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, a federally recognized tribe of American Indians. In 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.

Reviews

[Rick Riordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of my research for getting ready to write about my character Piper McLean again, I figured I would read the history of the Cherokee Nation as written by Conley, a Cherokee author. This is the only such book endorsed by the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, and it was truly an eye-opener. If casual readers of U.S. history know anything about the Cherokee, it’s probably the Trails of Tears, the heartrending expulsion of the Cherokee from their traditional homes in the Southeast and their forced march across the west to Oklahoma. But of course, there is a lot more to the story, and Conley gives us the full tale from the Cherokee perspective. He takes us from the origins of the nation, as passed down through oral history over the generations, through the early encounters with Europeans, through the American Revolution and the rapacious expansion of white settlers, right to the present day. I had no idea about a lot of the later history, and I’m grateful to have read it. The book moves along quickly. Conley has a wry sense of humor and a good eye for character. (You can tell he is a novelist by trade.) I finished the book in a couple of days. If you want to know more about this amazing and resilient people, I highly recommend reading their history as they would want you to hear it.

[Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It’s easy to follow and contains a great amount of history regarding the Cherokee Nation. I appreciated the glossary at the end of each chapter as well. This is an important book that every person should have in their library.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderfully written and easy to follow. A precise history of the Cherokee Nation... a good read for those who are Tsalagi and even for those who are not...

[M Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brief history of the Cherokee people stretches from origin myths and archaelogical evidence of Cherokee prehistory in the Southeast of North America to the election of Chad "Corntassel" Smith as Principal Chief in 1999. Clearly, in a book of only 242 pages (exclusive of appendices and index), the author has set a breakneck pace. However, the basic facts are all here with enough narrative and interpretation to make for a good read. Also, Conley has provided lists of additional reading sources at the end of each chapter along with a glossary of unfamiliar words and phrases. Those features make his book an ideal primer.

The inescapable themes of this historical survey are, of course, the European and Euro-American inhumanity to the Cherokees but also the clear culpability of some Cherokee leaders, the helpfulness of many "whites," and the dignity and cultural worth of the Cherokee Nation as a whole. If you are just starting your study of Native American tribes or are looking for a quick reference work, Robert Conley's "The Cherokee Nation: A History" is a fine choice.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about the Cherokee by a Cherokee! It's not as detailed as some other books about Cherokee history, but it's virtually the only one that covers history up to the modern day.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic, clearly written history of the Cherokee. Halfway through the book, I realized Robert Conley was one of my authors when I used to edit Westerns at Penguin.

[Audrey Saltarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cherokee. Nation history by a Cherokee author

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reviewing this book, I feel it necessary to give a little bit of personal disclosure as to my perspective on this book [1]. Among the more decisive aspects of my own personal background insofar as it relates to my view of this book is the fact that I am descended from renegade Cherokee who were so deeply afraid of how the government would act towards them that they hid out in caves and, to this day, carry the scars and consequences of having never come to terms with the government by signing up under the Dawes Act, which is what determines tribal identities even to this day. As both an insider and an outsider to the contents of this book, my viewpoint is likely far different from most people who will read this book, and likely to take the material far more personally than most readers will. This is the sort of book that is likely to be read, though, mostly by people who have some sort of reason to study the history of the Cherokee Nation, and there are fewer better reasons than because it happens to be part of your own background, after all. And if that is true for the reader as well, this book will likely strike the reader rather personally as well.

The contents of this book are somewhat superficial, as the author openly admits that he is not covering all of the material possible and makes several deliberate decisions throughout the book that narrow its scope and focus it on certain aspects that the reader may not find entirely pleasant. The author tackles the subject of Cherokee in a chronological fashion, beginning with an evident desire both to deny the prevailing theory of native settlement of North America via the Bering Strait, and with the extensive citation of a bizarre theory that has the Cherokee speaking an Iroquois language even as they supposedly came to the Appalachian country from South America. The author does immense work in showing the late prehistory and early history of the Cherokee and their class structure at European contact, and their early adoption of Western weapons before their first encounters with the English. The author then narrates their war with land-hungry colonists and early Americans, the legal challenges to Indian removal, the civil war within the Cherokee themselves, the Trail of Tears and its aftermath in Oklahoma, and the omnipresent threat of internal division and landgrabbing that the Cherokee nation has faced throughout its history to the present day, while also showing a certain sense of pride in the fame that Cherokee like Will Rogers and Sequoyah have received, even if there are a lot of myths about history that have been believed, and a complexity to Cherokee society that has not always been recognized, especially since many of the historical accounts come from uncomprehending and often unsympathetic European and American sources.

Despite the considerable virtues of this book in providing a perspective that is nuanced and complex and will likely be of great informational value in what people think and believe even in those areas where the reader may be skeptical, there are some faults that can be found with the author and his approach. For one, the author focuses far too much attention on the Western band of the Cherokee, and nearly entirely neglects the Eastern band Cherokee after the Trail of Tears. Additionally, the author’s focus on high politics and on the endless fights over power and political office among the Cherokee from the “one day chiefs” of the dark days of the early 1990’s to the attempted coups in more recent years and the clear problems of legitimacy within the Cherokee Nation in terms of political succession and regime stability is quite depressing, indicating the deep divides present within Cherokee society and the difficulty of maintaining dignity in the face of continual difficulty. This is not a book that is likely to make one proud of being a Cherokee, indeed one is led to be somewhat embarrassed at the spectacle presented in many of these pages, chiefs being made and unmade by political elites in Britain and the United States, murders and violence, people giving away land that belongs to others or giving into the forces for humiliating peace with the aid of liquor and bribery. The truth is not always a pleasant story, though, and the messy history presented here, as painful as it often is, often has the ring of truth.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[Kit Perriman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert J. Conley is a member of the Cherokee Tribe who has written over seventy books.  It is therefore no surprise to find that The Cherokee Nation: A History (New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 2005) is an interesting and informative read.  This non-fiction history book is clearly written, well-organized, and offers a panoramic overview of the Cherokee people, from prehistoric times to the modern day.
The book begins by discussing various origin theories, both mythic and anthropological, and invites readers to examine the combined sources and recommended reading list at the end of the chapter.  He then traces tribal history through the Spanish invasion of 1540 - British Colonialism - the War of Independence - the Golden Age - the American Civil War - the Indian Wars - along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma - the separation of the Eastern Band of Cherokees - and into the Twentieth Century.
Because of the vast scope of this project there is a limited amount of information about each period.  To compensate, Conley concludes each section with glossary of the terms used, and a list of suggestions for further research.  He also includes pictures and photographs of the Principal Chiefs, from 1762 onward.
For readers interested in Native American history in general -and the Cherokee in particular - this book is a great place to start your journey.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that can be used in a lot of different categories. The short chapters are followed by 1. a source list and suggestions for further reading and 2. a glossary of terms. Like many tribes native to North America, the Cherokee society was originally based on matrilineal descent and sought to maintain a balance within nature. Land was held in common and most everyone had a say in governing the tribe. When the Europeans arrived the Native American culture began changing, becoming more paternalistic. Treaties were made with 'leaders' that had no real authority to make treaties. Lands were, in essence, stolen. Yet even after the Cherokee removal treaties of the mid-1800s the tribe held land in common and was succeeding in providing for its people. However, perhaps the most interesting 'idea' to get from the book is some in Congress thought the Cherokee needed to become greedy to become civilized. "In 1885 Senator Henry Dawes of Massachusetts described the Cherokee Nation "there was not a family in that whole Nation that had not a home of its own. There is not a pauper in that Nation, and the Nation does not owe a dollar. It built its own capitol...and built its school and hospitals. Yet the defect of the system was apparent. They have got as far as they can go, because they hold their land in common...there is no selfishness, which is at the bottom of civilization."
While the book concentrates on the Cherokee and affiliated tribes, it also says a lot about Euro-American history and society. The idea that if a group has something better than us we must bring them down to our level or push them below it seems to have permeated large segments of our history and society.
An easily read and logically segmented book, Cherokee Nation should be used to supplement American History courses, perhaps starting at the Middle school level.

[Tiphanie Stocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conley has written a great and extensive history of the Cherokee people; however, I believe it is missing one very important element. What happened to the Cherokee in North Carolina? To be honest, the North Carolina Cherokee is the real reason I picked up this book. Although I learned a lot about Cherokee history, I was very disappointed that the North Carolina Cherokee were basically left out.

[Michael Blackmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair introduction to the history of the Cherokee. More like a brief collection of historical essays in chronological order - but it introduces the topic well enough and each chapter has a generous bibliography for further reading. What more can you ask for brief overall?

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, overall view of from pre-Invasion until the overthrow of Chief Joe Byrd and the first election of Chad Smith.