Indian Removal of most of the Cherokee to Indian Territory.
Principal chiefs:
*
Yonaguska
Yonaguska, (1759–1839), who was known as Drowning Bear (the English meaning of his name), was a leader among the Cherokee of the Lower Towns of North Carolina.
During the Indian Removal of the late 1830s, he was the only chief who remained in ...
(1824–1839)
*
Salonitah, or Flying Squirrel (1870–1875)
*
Lloyd R. Welch (1875–1880)
*
Nimrod Jarrett Smith (1880–1891)
*
Stillwell Saunooke (1891–1895)
*
Andy Standing Deer (1895–1899)
*
Jesse Reed (1899–1903)
*
Bird Saloloneeta, or Young Squirrel (1903–1907)
*
John Goins Welch (1907–1911)
*
Joseph A. Saunooke (1911–1915)
*
David Blythe
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(1915–1919)
*
Joseph A. Saunooke (1919–1923)
*
Sampson Owl (1923–1927)
*
John A. Tahquette (1927–1931)
*
Jarret Blythe (1931–1947)
*
Henry Bradley
Henry Bradley, FBA (3 December 1845 – 23 May 1923) was a British philologist and lexicographer who succeeded James Murray as senior editor of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (OED).
Early life
Bradley had humble beginnings as a farmer's so ...
(1947–1951)
*
Jarret Blythe (1955–1959)
*
Osley Bird Saunooke (1951–1955)
* Jarret Blythe (1955–1959)
* Olsey Bird Saunooke (1959–1963)
* Jarret Blythe (1963–1967)
*
Walter Jackson (1967–1971)
*
Noah Powell
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the Antediluvian, pre-Flood Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bibl ...
(1971–1973)
*
John A. Crowe (1973–1983)
*
Robert S. Youngdeer (1983–1987)
*
Jonathan L. Taylor (1987–1995)
*
Gerard Parker (1995)
*
Joyce Dugan
Joyce Dugan (born c.1952, Cherokee people, Cherokee) is an American educator, school administrator, and politician; she served as the 24th Principal Chief of the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (1995-1999), based in Western No ...
(1995–1999)
* Leon Jones (1999–2003)
*
Michell Hicks (2003–2015)
*
Patrick Lambert
Patrick Henry Lambert (born September 4, 1963, in Cherokee, North Carolina) is a Native American tribal leader who served as the 27th Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from 2015 to 2017. He also served as the Executive Dire ...
(2015-2017)
*
Richard Sneed (2017–present)
Two principal chiefs of the tribe have been
impeached since the late 20th century:
Jonathan L. Taylor in 1995 and
Patrick Lambert
Patrick Henry Lambert (born September 4, 1963, in Cherokee, North Carolina) is a Native American tribal leader who served as the 27th Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from 2015 to 2017. He also served as the Executive Dire ...
in 2017.
Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory (1839–1907)
After removal of the eastern Cherokee to
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
on the
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...
, they created a new constitution to unify the former Eastern Cherokee with the Western Cherokee. This allowed for direct election of the Principal Chief. Though a holdout minority of the Old Settlers elected
John Rogers as their principal chief, his government never gained further support and soon faded away.
The
John Ross faction abandoned the established capital of Tahlontiskee and built
Tahlequah instead. During the Civil War, the Nation voted to support the
Confederacy, and Ross acquiesced for a time. In 1862, however, he and many of his supporters fled to Washington, DC. At that time
Stand Watie, serving as a Confederate officer, was elected Principal Chief by a portion of the Nation. The remaining Ross group never supported Watie's election, though, and lived apart under their own officials.
*
John Ross (1839–1866)
**
Thomas Pegg, acting principal chief of the Union Cherokee (1862–1863)
**
Smith Christie, acting principal chief of the Union Cherokee (1863)
**
Lewis Downing, acting principal chief of the Union Cherokee (1864–1866)
*
Stand Watie, (1862–1866)
*
William P. Ross
William Potter Ross (August 28, 1820 – July 20, 1891), also known as Will Ross, was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (19th century), Cherokee Nation 1866-1867 and 1872-1875. Born to a Scottish father and a mixed-blood Cherokee mothe ...
(1866–1867)
* Lewis Downing (1867–1872)
* William P. Ross (1872–1875)
*
Charles Thompson (1875–1879)
*
Dennis Bushyhead (1879–1887)
*
Joel B. Mayes (1887–1891)
*
C. J. Harris (1891–1895)
*
Samuel Houston Mayes
Samuel Houston Mayes (May 11, 1845 – December 12, 1927) of Scots/English-Cherokee descent, was elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), serving from 1895 to 1899. His maternal grandfather be ...
(1895–1899)
*
Thomas Buffington (1899–1903)
*
William Rogers (1903–1905); deposed by the council
*
Frank J. Boudinot (1905–1906); also president of the
Keetoowah Nighthawk Society
*
William Charles Rogers
William Charles Rogers (December 13, 1847 – November 8, 1917) was born in the Cherokee Nation near present-day Skiatook, Oklahoma, USA, on December 13, 1847. A Confederate veteran and successful farmer, he entered tribal politics in 1881. (1906)
Cherokee Nation (1975–present)
In preparation for Oklahoma statehood, the original Cherokee Nation's governmental authority was dismantled by the United States in 1906, except for limited authority to deal with land issues until 1914.
The Principal Chief was appointed by the
US federal government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fed ...
. In 1971 an election was held. Principal Chief and incumbent,
W.W. Keeler, who had been appointed by President
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
in 1949, was elected.
The constitution of the
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...
was drafted in 1975 and ratified on June 26, 1976.
A new constitution was ratified in 2003 with the name of the tribe changed to simply "Cherokee Nation".
Appointed
Appointed "Principal Chiefs", many holding the title to serve for a single day, signed documents and performed other pro forma duties as required by the federal government.
*
William C. Rogers (1907–1917)
:: With the admission of
Oklahoma to the Union as the forty-sixth state and to extinguish land claims and terminate any unfinished business of the tribe, an Act of April 26, 1906 (34 Statutes at Large, 148) continued the tribal governments, and retained the principal chiefs and governors then in office. Under provisions of this act, Rogers continued in office to sign the deeds transferring the lands of the
Cherokee Nation to the individual allottees. Upon his death on November 8, 1917, the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
was authorized by this act to appoint Rogers' successor.
* Charles J. Hunt (December 27, 1928)
* Oliver P. Brewer (May 26, 1931)
* William W. Hastings (January 22, 1936)
*
J.B. Milam (1941–1949)
*
W.W. Keeler (1949–1971)
Elected
*
W.W. Keeler (1971–1975)
*
Ross Swimmer Ross or ROSS may refer to:
People
* Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan
* Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning
* Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland
Places
* RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...
(1975–1985)
*
Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Pearl Mankiller ( chr, ᎠᏥᎳᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᎦᏯᏗᎯ, Atsilasgi Asgayadihi; November 18, 1945April 6, 2010) was a Native American (Cherokee Nation) activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve a ...
(1985–1995)
*
Joe Byrd (1995–1999)
*
Chad "Corntassel" Smith
Chadwick "Corntassel" Smith (Cherokee name Ugista:ᎤᎩᏍᏔ derived from Cherokee word for "Corntassel", Utsitsata:ᎤᏥᏣᏔ; born December 17, 1950, in Pontiac, Michigan) is a former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. He was first e ...
(1999–2011)
*
S. Joe Crittenden (acting, 2011)
*
Bill John Baker (2011–2019)
*
Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Chuck Hoskin Jr. (born 1974/1975) is a Cherokee-American politician and attorney currently serving as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation since 2019.
Hoskin has previously served as a Tribal Councilor for the Cherokee Nation between 2007 a ...
(2019–present)
[Jouzapavicius, Justin]
"Cherokee Nation: Challenger wins chief election."
''Associated Press.'' October 11, 2011 (retrieved October 12, 2011)
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (1939–present)
The UKB Cherokee are descendants primarily of Old Settlers who organized under the federal Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and the state Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936. They ratified their constitution and bylaws and were recognized by the federal government in 1950.
*
John Hitcher (1939–1946)
*
Jim Pickup (1946–1954)
*
Jeff Tindle
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson (given name), Jefferson or Jeffrey (given name), Jeffrey, which comes from a Middle Ages, medieval variant of Geoffrey (given name), Geoffrey.
Music
...
(1954–1960)
* Jim Pickup (1960–1967)
*
William Glory (1967–1979)
*
James L. Gordon (1979–1983)
*
John Hair (1983–1991)
*
John Ross (1991–1995)
*
Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
(1996–2000)
*
Dallas Proctor 2000–2004
*
George Wickliffe 2005–2016
*
Joe Bunch 2016–present
See also
*
Junaluska
Junaluska (Cherokee: ''Tsunu’lahun’ski'') (c.1775 – October 20, 1868), was a leader of Cherokee who resided in towns in western North Carolina in the early 19th century. He fought alongside Andrew Jackson, and saved his life, at the Battle ...
*
Mount Tabor Indian Community
The Mount Tabor Indian Community (also Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands of the Mount Tabor Indian Community) is a cultural heritage group located in Rusk County, Texas. There was a historical Mount Tabor Indian Community dating from the 19th c ...
References
* Brown, John P. ''Old Frontiers''. Kingsport: Southern Publishers, 1938.
*
Conley, Robert J. ''The Cherokee Nation: A History''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2008.
* Conley, Robert J
''A Cherokee Encyclopedia.''Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2007. .
* Hoig, Stanley. ''The Cherokees and Their Chiefs: In the Wake of Empire''. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1998.
*
McLoughlin, William G. ''Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.
* Mooney, James. ''Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee'' (1900). Reprint: Nashville: Charles and Randy Elder-Booksellers, 1982.
* Moore, John Trotwood and Austin P. Foster. ''Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769–1923, Vol. 1''. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923.
* Morand, Anne, Kevin Smith, Daniel C. Swan, Sarah Erwin. ''Treasures of Gilcrease: Selections from the Permanent Collection.'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005. .
* Timberlake, Henry and Duane King
''The Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake: The Story of a Soldier, Adventurer, and Emissary to the Cherokees, 1756–1765.''University of North Carolina Press, 2007. .
* Wilkins, Thurman. ''Cherokee Tragedy: The Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People''. New York: Macmillan Company, 1970.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee, List of
Titles and offices of Native American leaders
History of the Cherokee
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)
Lists of Native American people
1794 establishments in the United States