Cherokee treaties facts for kids

The Cherokee people have been involved in more than forty treaties over the last three hundred years. These agreements, often with European colonists or the United States, greatly changed their lands and way of life. Understanding these treaties helps us learn about the history of the Cherokee Nation and its relationship with other groups.

Cherokee Treaties: Agreements That Shaped History

The Cherokee people, a Native American tribe, made many important agreements, called treaties, with different groups over hundreds of years. These treaties often involved giving up land or making peace.

Early Agreements Before the United States

Before the United States became a country, the Cherokee made treaties with European colonies like Great Britain. These agreements often focused on trade and land.

Agreements with British Colonies

• Treaty with Carolina, 1684: This was an agreement between two Cherokee towns and English traders from the Province of Carolina. It helped start a steady trade of deerskins and other goods. Cherokee leaders like the Raven and Sinnawa the Hawk signed this treaty. After this, the first trader, Cornelius Doughtery, lived among the Cherokee in 1690. This contact began to change Cherokee society, with warriors becoming more important than priests.
• Treaty with South Carolina, 1721: In this treaty, the Cherokee gave up land between the Santee, Saluda, and Edisto Rivers to the Province of South Carolina.
• Treaty of Nikwasi, 1730: This was a trade agreement with the new Province of North Carolina.
• Treaty of Whitehall, 1730: Called "Articles of Trade and Friendship," this treaty was signed in England between seven Cherokee chiefs, including Attakullakulla, and George II of Great Britain, the King of England.
• Treaty with South Carolina, 1755: The Cherokee gave up more land, this time between the Wateree and Savannah Rivers, to South Carolina.
• Treaty with North Carolina, 1756: This was an agreement to be allies during the French and Indian War.
• Treaty of Long-Island-on-the-Holston, 1761: This treaty ended the Anglo-Cherokee War with the Colony of Virginia.
• Treaty of Charlestown, 1761: This agreement ended the Anglo-Cherokee War with the Province of South Carolina.
• Treaty of Johnson Hall, 1768: This treaty promised peace between the Cherokee and several other Native American groups, including the Iroquois.
• Treaty of Hard Labour, 1768: The Cherokee gave up land in what is now southwestern Virginia to the British.
• Treaty of Lochaber, 1770: This treaty involved the Cherokee giving up land in areas that later became Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
• Treaty with Virginia, 1772: More land in Virginia and eastern Kentucky was given to the Colony of Virginia.
• Treaty of Augusta, 1773: The Cherokee gave up their claim to about 2 million acres (8,000 km²) of land to the Colony of Georgia.
• Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, 1775: The Cherokee gave up hunting grounds between the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers to the Transylvania Land Company.

Agreements Before the U.S. Constitution Was Written

After the American Revolution but before the U.S. Constitution was fully in place, the Cherokee continued to make treaties with the new American states.

• Treaty of Dewitt's Corner, 1777: The Cherokee gave up lands in what is now South Carolina, except for a small strip.
• Treaty of Fort Henry, 1777: This treaty confirmed the land given up to the Watauga Association with Virginia and North Carolina.
• Treaty of Long-Island-on-the-Holston, 1781: This was a peace treaty that confirmed earlier land agreements but did not give up new land.
• Treaty of Augusta, 1783: The Cherokee gave up lands in Georgia between the Savannah and Keowee rivers on the east and the Oconee River on the west.
• Treaty of Long Swamp Creek, 1783: This treaty confirmed Georgia's northern border with the Cherokee and gave large amounts of land to the state of Georgia.
• Treaty of Pensacola, 1784: This was an agreement for alliance and trade between New Spain (Spanish colonies) and the Cherokee and Muscogee tribes.
• Treaty of Dumplin Creek, 1785: This treaty, made under pressure, gave land south of the French Broad and Holston Rivers to the State of Franklin.
• Treaty of Hopewell, 1785: This treaty changed the borders between the United States and Cherokee lands.
• Treaty of Coyatee, 1786: This treaty, also made under pressure, gave more land to the State of Franklin.

Treaties After the U.S. Constitution Was Written

After the United States Constitution was adopted, the U.S. government became the main party in treaties with the Cherokee. These treaties often focused on land cessions and defining borders.

• Treaty of Holston, 1791: This treaty set the borders between the United States and the Cherokee. The U.S. promised that the Cherokee lands not given up would remain theirs.
• Treaty of Philadelphia, 1792: This added details to the Holston treaty, including payments to the Cherokee.
• Treaty of Walnut Hills, 1792: This was an agreement between the Spanish governor in New Orleans and several tribes, including the Cherokee, promising military protection.
• Treaty of Pensacola, 1792: The Chickamauga Cherokee, led by John Watts, made this agreement with the Spanish governor of West Florida for weapons to fight the United States.
• Treaty of Philadelphia, 1794: This treaty confirmed the agreements from the 1785 Treaty of Hopewell and the 1791 Treaty of Holston, especially about land.
• Treaty of Tellico Blockhouse, 1794: This peace treaty between the United States and the Lower Cherokee ended the Cherokee–American wars.
• Treaty of Tellico, 1798: The borders promised in earlier treaties had not been marked, and white settlers moved onto Cherokee land. Because of this, the Cherokee were told they had to give up new lands as a sign of thanks for U.S. protection. The U.S. promised the Cherokee Nation could keep the rest of its land "forever."
• Treaty of Tellico, 1804, 1805 (two treaties), 1806: These treaties involved the Cherokee giving up more land. One of the 1805 treaties gave land for the Federal Road to pass through the Cherokee Nation.
• Treaty of Fort Jackson, 1814: This treaty ended the Creek War and demanded land from both the Muscogee (Creek) and the Cherokee.
• Treaties of Washington, 1816: The Cherokee gave up their last lands claimed by South Carolina.
• Treaty of Chickasaw Council House, 1816: More land was given up in this treaty.

Map showing land given up by the Cherokee in the Treaty of the Cherokee Agency, 1817

• Treaty of the Cherokee Agency, 1817: This treaty recognized a split within the Cherokee Nation. Some towns wanted to move west, while others did not. It offered benefits for those who moved and land for those who stayed, with a chance to become citizens of their state.
• Treaty of Washington, 1819: This treaty confirmed the 1817 agreement and added details about land for certain Cherokee individuals.
• Council Bluffs Treaty, 1821: This treaty set a new border between the Cherokee and Creek nations.
• Treaty of San Antonio de Bexar, 1822: This agreement with the Spanish Empire granted land in Spanish Texas for a group of Texas Cherokee. However, this treaty was never officially approved by the Spanish or later Mexican governments.
• Treaty of Washington, 1828: The Cherokee Nation West gave up its lands in Arkansas Territory for new lands in what became Indian Territory.
• Treaty of New Echota, 1835: This very important and controversial treaty gave up the lands of the Cherokee Nation East to the United States. In return, the Cherokee were promised $5 million, an extra $500,000 for education, and new land in Indian Territory. Even though the Cherokee National Council rejected it, the U.S. Senate approved it. This treaty led to the forced removal of the Cherokee, known as the Trail of Tears.
• Treaty of Bowles Village, 1836: This treaty with the Republic of Texas granted a large area of land in east Texas to the Texas Cherokees and other tribes. When this treaty was broken, it led to the Cherokee War of 1839, which forced many Cherokees to move.
• Treaty of Bird's Fort, 1843: This treaty with the Republic of Texas ended fighting among several Texas tribes, including the Texas Cherokees. It recognized the tribal status of these groups. Sam Houston, the President of Texas, signed this treaty. It is still considered valid by the State of Texas.
• Treaty of Tehuacana Creek, 1844: Another treaty was made with the Republic of Texas, involving Chicken Trotter and Wagon Bowles, the son of Texas Cherokee Chief Bowles. This treaty was approved only by the Texas Senate.
• Treaty of Washington, 1846: This treaty aimed to end conflicts between different Cherokee groups and unite them.
• Treaty of Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1865: This treaty recognized the group led by John Ross as the official Cherokee Nation and created a temporary ceasefire between many Native American tribes and the United States.
• Treaty of the Cherokee Nation, 1866: This treaty canceled a previous agreement with Confederate Cherokees. It granted forgiveness to Cherokees, set up a U.S. court in Indian Territory, and stated that all Cherokee Freedmen (formerly enslaved African Americans) and free African Americans living in the Cherokee Nation would have the same rights as native Cherokees. It also allowed for railroads and other transportation through Cherokee lands and gave up Cherokee lands in Kansas.
• Treaty of Washington, 1868: This treaty added to the 1866 treaty and also gave up the Cherokee Outlet in Indian Territory.