It is important to know from history that not all the Indians were so innocent. They frequently exterminated rival tribes when given the chance, and some attacked whites with the same ferocity. However, the Cherokee were the most adaptable of all, and were mainly farmers. The motive for the 1830 act was simple greed, in taking their land. Some of the Cherokee evaded the ethnic cleansing roundup by taking to the hills, and emerged later to continue life in their traditional lands. As I recall, some were slaveholders, and at least one was a Confederate general during the War. Those displaced to the wastelands of Oklahoma may have ultimately been partially compensated by a providential justice in that petroleum was discovered on their land. As an example of the character of the Cherokee, I recall a publication of the Bureau of Ethnology which recounted interviews with Cherokee on their lifestyle and culture by a professional anthropologist. The scientist ask a Cherokee man what was done in their culture to prevnt births. The subject seem startled by the questions, and responded that no one would wish to do that, for "women love children." The questioner further asked if there were any techniques for obtaining abortions, and had to repeat the questions in several ways before getting the notion across. The Cherokee was shocked and revolted, and the anthropologist wrote that "I think that his opinion of white people was considerably lowered by my even asking the question." Food for thought! --PSB On Wed, 21 Jul 1999, Betty Briggs wrote: > But there are still Cherokee in that area. Did they just go hide in the > hills or are they on a reservation in NC? I just flat out do not remember. > Mental-pause is a terrible thing. > > Mary Anne Kuebel wrote: > > > The Indian Removal Act, which was passed with a narrow majority by > > Congress in 1830, created Indian Territory (later mostly within the > > states of Oklahoma and Arkansas - even a great deal of this land was > > later taken from the Indians) west of the Mississippi R. and gave the > > Native American population east of the Mississippi until 1838 to > > voluntarily "resettle". Since few of the Cherokee tribe did so, they > > were forcefully removed. Their extensive and valuable lands in western > > NC, eastern TN, northern GA and northeastern AL became available for > > white settlers, causing much influx in these areas from 1838-1850. John > > Ehle's book "Trail of Tears" is one of the best documentations. > > > > Mary Anne in Germany > > > > ==== HARPER Mailing List ==== > > Your contributions to RootsWeb helps make HARPER-L possible. > > RootsWeb Gen. Data Coop. Box 6798 Frazier Park, CA 93222 > > http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > > > ==== HARPER Mailing List ==== > Did you know that only 7% of Rootsweb subscribers support Rootsweb? > Thank you for your generous financial support of Rootsweb! > RootsWeb Gen. Data Coop. Box 6798 Frazier Park, CA 93222 > http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > >