By Richard Gilmer
Guest Writer
Clay County and the surrounding
area is the ancestral
home of the Cherokee.
There was a large population
of Indians here when De Soto
passed by and European explorers
discovered that Indians
inhabited America from
coast to coast. Most Indians
tribes were in constant war
with each other as the Europeans
took their land. The
Cherokee mostly avoided the
French and Indian War, but
backed the British during the
American Revolution.
The Cherokee latter made
peace and became allies of
the new United States. The
Shawnee Chief Tecumesh
warned the Cherokee that
the U.S. Government would
only steal their land. He
wanted the Cherokee to join
a confederation of tribes to
fi ght the Americans. There
was great fear and mistrust
between the red man and the
white man, but the Cherokee
could never make peace with
their ancient Indian enemi
es. A Cherokee town called
Quanassee was where Hayesville
sits today. The Indian
wars almost destroyed Quanassee
and it was burned to
the ground during the American
War for Independence.
The great Sequoyah, along
with other Cherokee fought
for the United States in the
War of 1812, while Tecumesh’s
confederation of
tribes backed the British.
There is evidence that General
Jacksons’ life was saved
at the Battle of Horseshoe
Bend by a half blood Cherokee
named Major Ridge.
After 1812 the United States
fought Indians on many
fronts including Osceola’s
bloody Seminole war, while
the Cherokee remained
friends with America.
Many Cherokee owned
land and became successful
merchants and farmers.
They developed a written
language and were known as
the civilized tribe. After years
of ceding land through many
treaties, little gratitude was
shown the Cherokee.
In 1838 the U.S. Government
and President Jackson
betrayed them and took what
remained of their homeland.
A few hundred hid out in the
mountains, but thousands
were put in stockades and
forced onto a reservation in
Oklahoma. They walked to
Oklahoma in the winter. It
took them six months and
the death toll was terrible.
The route is called the Trail
of Tears.
Hayesville is the location
of Fort Hembree, the stockade
at the beginning of the
Trail of Tears. The Eastern
Band of Cherokee are descendants
of the few Indians
that avoided deportation.
The Sioux, Cheyenne and
other western tribes under
the leadership of chiefs such
as Crazy Horse and Sitting
Bull banded together and
fought another 50 years before
they too were confi ned
to reservations. The Indian
reign that lasted thousands
of years is over, but their
infl uence on this land should
be respected and never forgotten.
Hayesville is home to a
Cherokee heritage festival
every September. Hayesville
is also home to the Cherokee
Culture Center, the Homestead
Exhibit, the Quanassee
Path and the Spikebuck
mound archaeological site.
There are many Cherokee
names of mountains, rivers
and locations in Clay County
such as Chunky Gal, Hiawassee
and Tusquittee.