The Cherokees and Their Chiefs : In the Wake of Empire

This newly researched and synthesized history of the Cherokees places special emphasis on the tribe's leaders and their agony in dealing with England, the Colonies, and the United States. Hoig traces the demise of the Cherokees' historic homeland in the American South, their removal over the Trail of Tears to present-day Oklahoma, the great trauma they suffered from the Civil War, the final destruction of their tribal autonomy by the United States, and their phoenix-like rise in political and social stature during the twentieth century. Hoig also deals with the intense clash of tribal purpose that the white man's pressure created between the traditional full-blood and the educated half-blood factions. The conflict led to deep hatreds and assassinations that kept the Cherokees in turmoil for many years. An excellent, single-volume study of Cherokee history, this book will be welcomed by libraries, schools, historians, and general readers alike.