THE CHEROKEE FREEDMEN AND THEIR DESCENDANTS

CHEROKEE FREEDMEN HISTORY

Enrollment Flyer used for Cherokee Freedmen.Distributed to Cherokee Freedmen citizens during the

years of the Dawes Commission enrollment.

CHEROKEE CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS

“You just have to have one Indian ancestor on the Dawes roll. It doesn’t matter what you look like,” said Diane Hammons, Cherokee Attorney General

(Wendell).

Chad Smith (Pictured above), former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

insists that the tribe's decision "has everything to do with who can be an Indian in an Indian tribe. The right to define tribal membership lies at the

core of tribal identity and self-governance" ("IndiVisible").

"The Cherokee nation administration has – unfortunately – created legal racism in which

some people have more rights than others and, in this case, no rights at all,” according to

Freedmen attorney Jon Velie (Wendell).

Kenneth J. Cooper, a Pulitzer prize-winning author and Freedmen descendant states that

"the referendum means a tribal census completed a century ago determines who can

be Cherokee. Anyone with an ancestor listed as born into the tribe can become a member. [on the Dawes Rolls] People who were black and Cherokee were listed as black, but those who were white and Cherokee as Cherokee. People whose ancestors were Freedmen adopted into

the tribe can’t" ("A Nation Divided").

CHEROKEE NATIONFREEDMEN

DESCENDANTS

TRIBAL DISENROLLMENT OF THE CHEROKEE FREEDMEN

DESCENDANTS

UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL PARALLELS

LEARNING FROM THE PAST:

According to Timothy Borchers, "by engaging in theory building and criticism on alternative cultural perspectives, we can better understand other cultures," and that "members of those cultures will be empowered... because their rhetoric will be understood on their own terms" (Borchers 228).

Research the historical parallels between the African and American Indian cultures, like their similar oppressive history with imperialist European forces . An example of subject is provided below, but feel free to find your own source(s). Identify shared experiences that you believe could help establish common ground between the Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee Freedmen. If you had the ear of both sides, how would you present your appeal? In what ways would your rhetorical style change to appeal to each audience?

MAKING CONNECTIONS:

The following excerpt was written by cultural Anthropologist Julianne Jennings for Indian Country Today Media Network.

"The Cherokee are sovereign, having the right to self-govern, including varying eligibility criteria for membership without interference from the outside. Let’s not forget that sovereignty begins with moral and legal obligations, tempered in an ethical pursuit to right the wrongs imposed upon them and others through treaties skewed to benefit the United States to the detriment of all 'civilized people'"  (jennings).

In "Black Vernacular," bell hooks identifies the significant role one's personally constructed space holds in cultural framing.

"Many narratives of resistant struggle from slavery to the present share an obsession with the politics of space" (hooks 147). "Indeed," she explains, "black folks equated freedom with the passage into a life where they would have the right to exercise control over space on their own behalf" (147).

Write an analysis of how these two excerpts are connected. Think about how a culture's history shapes its identity and, in turn, its rhetoric. Explore the potentially positive outcomes of a strong cultural memory. (two page minimum). Be prepared to share your thoughts in class.

PORTRAYAL OF THE TRAIL OF TEARS IN ART

Visit an image search engine like images.google.com, and search for Trail of Tears art like the painting above (try searching for more than one variation of the

subject). Were you able to find any paintings, sketches, etc.. that illustrate the presence of slaves? Print your findings and bring them to class for extra credit.

BEING AN OBJECTIVE AUDIENCE

Click on the screen shot or open up the following link to watch the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl2WNu4ERqA

TREATY OF 1866

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"A Brief History of the Trail of Tears." About the Nation. Cherokee Nation, n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.

Barbery, Marcos. “From One Fire.” This Land. This Land Press, May 2013. Web. 05 May 2015.Borchers, Timothy A. Rhetorical Theory: An Introduction. Long Grove: Waveland, 2011. Print.

Cooper, Kenneth J. "A Nation Divided." Bay State Banner. Bay State Banner, Mar. 2007. Web. 6 May 2015.

Ford, Sam. “Black Slaves, Red Masters.” WJLA – ABC News, Feb. 1990. YouTube Video. Web. 04 May 2015.

Hauser, Gerard A. Introduction to Rhetorical Theory. 2nd ed. Long Grove: Waveland, 2002. Print.

hooks, bell. “Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice.” Art on My Mind: Visual Politics. NY. The New Press. 1995. pp. 147.

"IndiVisible - African-Native American Lives in the Americas." National Museum of the American Indian. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 6 May 2015.

BIBLIOGRAPHY CONTINUED

Jennings, Julianne. “The Tragic History of African Slaves and Indians.” Indian Country Today. Indian Country Today Media Network, 29 Sep. 2013. Web. 04 May 2015.

Mann, Barbara Alice. “Tribal Disenrollment: In Tribal Disenrollment, the Oppressed Become the Oppressors.” The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 5 May 2015

Miles, Tiya, et al. “Tribal Sovereignty vs. Racial Justice.” New York Times. New York Times, Sep. 2011. Web. 6 May 2015.

“The Cherokee Nation Tells the Truth About the Freedmen Issue.” Cherokee Nation, Aug. 2008. YouTube Video. Web. 6 May 2015.

 “Treaty with the Cherokee, 1866.” Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Vol 2. Kappler Project Digital Collection, OSU Library, Stillwater, OK. Web. 04 May 2015.

Wendell, Abby. “Cherokee Freedmen Take Their Case to U.S. Courts.” This Land. This Land Press, Sep. 2011. Web. 05 May 2015.