Chikamaka Band
Encyclopedia
The Chikamaka Band are an American Indian people who are indigenous to Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia
.
. Their alliance, known as the Chickamauga Confederacy, was largely made up of people from the following American Indian groups: Chikamaka, Catawba
, Cherokee
, Chickasaw
, Choctaw
, Creek, Delaware, Mohawk
, Natchez
, Saponi
, and Shawnee
. It also included allied groups of Tories, many of whom were of Scottish, Irish, or German origin.
, Sequatchie, Franklin
, Warren and Coffee
.
This continues in appeal in the court system of Davidson County, Tennessee and of the courts in Tennessee. The outcome of whether the tribes retain recognition is yet to be determined.
, joined the Chikamaka and formed the Chickamauga confederacy.
Tsiyugunsini, or "Dragging Canoe" left the Cherokee in 1776 and joined the Chikamaka. Tsiyugunsini became perhaps the best known chief of the Chikamaka. Chuwalee was another, less well known chief.
From 1776 to 1782 the Chikamaka under Tsiyugunsini warred on the American settlers of Tennessee and southern Virginia in alliance with the British.
In 1779 eleven Chikamaka towns in the area of Chattanooga and Knockville were assaulted and burned by a force led by Evan Shelby.
Tsiyugunsini ("Dragging Canoe") died in February 1792 at Lookout Town (near Trenton, Georgia) after celebrating a successful raid by his brother, "Turtle At Home" and Chief Glass. In this raid Chikamaka warriors killed several members of the John Collingsworth family and captured an eight-year-old girl. After Tsiyugunsini's death, John Watts of Will's Town led the Chikamaka warriors.
In 1794, the Chikamaka towns of Running Water and Nickajack were destroyed by a force led by Major James Ore. Many of the people of the towns were killed. Many of he men had been away at a social gathering. The survivors retreated to the hilly terrain of Black Bear Mountain (Monteagle Mountain), now known as the South Cumberland Plateau. They intended to hold this land at all costs, resolving to die in its defense if the could not live there unmolested. After much hardship the Chikamaka succeeded in retaining these lands. The fighting largely ceased after the 1796 Tellico Treaty, which was signed by John Watts for the Chikamaka.
John Ore, leader of the 1794 attack on Nickajack, settled in the rebuilt town of Nickajack after 1800. He engaged in mining, and the manufacture of gunpowder for the Chikamaka, as well as operating a tavern.
Most of the Chikamaka people remained in their homeland and assimilated into American society. However they preserved and handed down their own traditions and sense of identity. Since they came together, the Chikamaka have intermarried with people of other races. Some of their cultural practices have changed over the years. During the Forced Removal the Chikamaka remained in their mountainous stronghold with and mostly escaped the attentions of the US Army and the state militias. The Chikamaka were denied the allotments and other things granted to groups of so called "Peaceful Indians", as they had fought with US forces for more than twenty years. Because of this history of conflict, the Chikamaka were known to both "Whites" and "Peaceful" Indians as "The Hostiles."
The Chikamaka aided in the escape of numerous Indians who passed through their lands. Some such transients chose to remain and become a part of the Chikamaka people.
Many of the Chikamaka avoided official records including the US census, and even if their deaths are recorded, they may not be included in Census records. Others did take part in the Census and were often labeled as "White", "Mulatto", or "Free Person of Color" in census records, regardless of their Indian ancestry. Records on those of the Chikamaka who did participate in the Census may be filed in the records of any of the following counties: Grundy, Marion
, Sequatchie, Franklin
, Warren and Coffee
. Since county boundaries have changed, the current boundaries are not a safe guide to where particular records may be filed.
Due to their history of intermarriage, current members and descendants of the Chikamaka have a range of physical appearances, including some who have blue eyes and light skin, even though a majority of their ancestry may be Native American. Some such people consider themselves "Indians" or "Native Americans", regardless of their physical appearance or exact ancestry.
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Members
The members are descended from groups of American Indians, who came together resisting the encroachments of European-descended settlers of what became the United States of AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Their alliance, known as the Chickamauga Confederacy, was largely made up of people from the following American Indian groups: Chikamaka, Catawba
Catawba (tribe)
The Catawba are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. They live in the Southeast United States, along the border between North and South Carolina near the city of Rock Hill...
, Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
, Creek, Delaware, Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
, Natchez
Natchez people
The Natchez are a Native American people who originally lived in the Natchez Bluffs area, near the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi. They spoke a language isolate that has no known close relatives, although it may be very distantly related to the Muskogean languages of the Creek...
, Saponi
Saponi
Saponi is one of the eastern Siouan-language tribes, related to the Tutelo, Occaneechi, Monacan, Manahoac and other eastern Siouan peoples. Its ancestral homeland was in North Carolina and Virginia. The tribe was long believed extinct, as its members migrated north to merge with other tribes...
, and Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
. It also included allied groups of Tories, many of whom were of Scottish, Irish, or German origin.
Territory
The principal territory of the Chikamaka Band in Tennessee is in the counties of Grundy, MarionMarion County, Tennessee
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 27,776. Its county seat is Jasper.Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, Sequatchie, Franklin
Franklin County, Tennessee
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester.Franklin County is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Warren and Coffee
Coffee County, Tennessee
Coffee County is a county located in south-central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of the counties of Middle Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 52,796. Its county seat is Manchester....
.
Recognition status
On 19 June 2010, the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs recognized the Chikamaka Band as a Tennessee State Indigenous American Indian Tribe; however, the state attorney general's office declared that recognition "void and of no effect" on 3 September 2010.This continues in appeal in the court system of Davidson County, Tennessee and of the courts in Tennessee. The outcome of whether the tribes retain recognition is yet to be determined.
History
The term "Chikamaka" has been translated as “break-away” people. People from various Native American groups who were unhappy about the attempts of European-descended settlers to take their lands, along with Tories dispossessed by the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, joined the Chikamaka and formed the Chickamauga confederacy.
Tsiyugunsini, or "Dragging Canoe" left the Cherokee in 1776 and joined the Chikamaka. Tsiyugunsini became perhaps the best known chief of the Chikamaka. Chuwalee was another, less well known chief.
From 1776 to 1782 the Chikamaka under Tsiyugunsini warred on the American settlers of Tennessee and southern Virginia in alliance with the British.
In 1779 eleven Chikamaka towns in the area of Chattanooga and Knockville were assaulted and burned by a force led by Evan Shelby.
Tsiyugunsini ("Dragging Canoe") died in February 1792 at Lookout Town (near Trenton, Georgia) after celebrating a successful raid by his brother, "Turtle At Home" and Chief Glass. In this raid Chikamaka warriors killed several members of the John Collingsworth family and captured an eight-year-old girl. After Tsiyugunsini's death, John Watts of Will's Town led the Chikamaka warriors.
In 1794, the Chikamaka towns of Running Water and Nickajack were destroyed by a force led by Major James Ore. Many of the people of the towns were killed. Many of he men had been away at a social gathering. The survivors retreated to the hilly terrain of Black Bear Mountain (Monteagle Mountain), now known as the South Cumberland Plateau. They intended to hold this land at all costs, resolving to die in its defense if the could not live there unmolested. After much hardship the Chikamaka succeeded in retaining these lands. The fighting largely ceased after the 1796 Tellico Treaty, which was signed by John Watts for the Chikamaka.
John Ore, leader of the 1794 attack on Nickajack, settled in the rebuilt town of Nickajack after 1800. He engaged in mining, and the manufacture of gunpowder for the Chikamaka, as well as operating a tavern.
Most of the Chikamaka people remained in their homeland and assimilated into American society. However they preserved and handed down their own traditions and sense of identity. Since they came together, the Chikamaka have intermarried with people of other races. Some of their cultural practices have changed over the years. During the Forced Removal the Chikamaka remained in their mountainous stronghold with and mostly escaped the attentions of the US Army and the state militias. The Chikamaka were denied the allotments and other things granted to groups of so called "Peaceful Indians", as they had fought with US forces for more than twenty years. Because of this history of conflict, the Chikamaka were known to both "Whites" and "Peaceful" Indians as "The Hostiles."
The Chikamaka aided in the escape of numerous Indians who passed through their lands. Some such transients chose to remain and become a part of the Chikamaka people.
Many of the Chikamaka avoided official records including the US census, and even if their deaths are recorded, they may not be included in Census records. Others did take part in the Census and were often labeled as "White", "Mulatto", or "Free Person of Color" in census records, regardless of their Indian ancestry. Records on those of the Chikamaka who did participate in the Census may be filed in the records of any of the following counties: Grundy, Marion
Marion County, Tennessee
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 27,776. Its county seat is Jasper.Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, Sequatchie, Franklin
Franklin County, Tennessee
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester.Franklin County is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Warren and Coffee
Coffee County, Tennessee
Coffee County is a county located in south-central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of the counties of Middle Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 52,796. Its county seat is Manchester....
. Since county boundaries have changed, the current boundaries are not a safe guide to where particular records may be filed.
Due to their history of intermarriage, current members and descendants of the Chikamaka have a range of physical appearances, including some who have blue eyes and light skin, even though a majority of their ancestry may be Native American. Some such people consider themselves "Indians" or "Native Americans", regardless of their physical appearance or exact ancestry.
Further reading
- Haywood, John Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from its Earliest Settlement up to the Year 1796 (1891, Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church South) http://www.state.tn.us/tsla/history/manuscripts/findingaids/ths448.pdf http://books.google.com/books?id=FkAVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
- Malone, Henry Thompson Cherokees of the Old South: a People in Transition (Athens: The University of Georgia Press)
- Satz, Ronald N. Tennessee's Indian Peoples (1979, University of Tennessee Press with cooperation from the Tennessee Historical Commission)
- Yanusdi, Brent Heart of the Eagle (1999, Milan, Tennessee: Cox Chenanee Publishers)
- The Cultures of Native North Americans (2000) translated from Kulturen der Nordamerikanischen Indianer (Germany) ISBN 3-8290-2985-3
- Armstrong, Zella The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga Tennessee: Volume I, (Chattanooga Tennessee: Lookout Publishing Company
- Tennessee County History Series: GRUNDY (Oral history of the Chikamaka)