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978-0-89587-270-8
0-89587-270-6
$11.95 paperback
5" x 7 1/2"
128 pages
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By 1650, the Cherokee Nation,
largest of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast, ruled more than
40,000 square miles in the southern Appalachians. By 1800, the land they
controlled had expanded to a 135,000-square-mile area now located in
eight states. During this period, the Cherokees were almost completely
assimilated into the culture of their white neighbors. They adopted a
government patterned after the American system, wore European-style
dress, and followed the white man’s farming and homebuilding methods.
In 1821, Sequoyah invented the Cherokee syllabary, which produced rapid
and widespread literacy among the Cherokees. By 1828, they were even
printing a newspaper written in their own language. By 1838, the
infamous Trail of Tears was under way, and Cherokee life in the East
changed forever.
In Cherokee Voices,
Vicki Rozema seeks to provide insight into the life the Cherokees knew
during the 18th century and the first half of the 19th
century. She offers first-person accounts of Cherokee life as told in
journals, letters, speeches, and official records written by the people
who actually lived through the events The voices were chosen for their
strength and clarity, as well as their ability to provide glimpses into
Cherokee life, customs, and historical events. Each account is
introduced with biographical notes about the main participants to
provide a historical perspective. Although some of these accounts are
described through the voices of whites, an effort was made to find
selections that came from the Cherokees themselves.
Despite the centuries that
have passed, these people speak out across the years about real-life
experiences during events important to America. The narratives collected
in Cherokee Voices touch the reader and help to capture the
essence of the Cherokee culture.
about the editor
Vicki Rozema is the author of Footsteps of the Cherokees: A Guide to
the Eastern Homelands of the Cherokee Nation, which won an Award of
Merit from the Tennessee Historical Commission. Her articles have
appeared in Blue Ridge Country and Country Extra. She
lives in Harrison, Tennessee.
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