The History Behind One of Our Biggest Native American Events of the Year!

In late May of 1777, in the midst of the Revolutionary War, a delegation of Cherokee came to Williamsburg to meet with Patrick Henry, Virginia’s governor. The Cherokee had been coming to the colonial capital for decades, but this trip was different. They were facing their own crisis.

The Cherokee were a part of the fabric of life in Williamsburg. Along with their periodic diplomatic visits, they were trading partners and distant neighbors. Violent conflicts were part of the relationship, but far from the whole story.

The impending visit was made public on May 16 when Mr. Purdie’s Virginia Gazette delivered the news that more than 40 Cherokee were expected in a matter of days, and wanted an audience with the governor and his council.

It was a long journey. Their hometown of Chota was some 500 miles west of Williamsburg (about 50 miles south of modern-day Knoxville, Tenn.). Chota was Williamsburg’s Overhill Cherokee counterpart, in a sense, serving as a political and diplomatic capital. It was also the end point of trade routes to and from coastal cities.

While Virginia was mobilizing for battle with the British, the Cherokee had been losing a war of attrition for decades. Treaties and proclamations, such as George III’s 1763 decree prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Proclamation Line along the Appalachians, had failed to deter settlers intent on occupying land.

Some Indians practically gave away land to relieve debt, or in return for needed goods. A British agent in Chota reported Cherokee leaders complaining that could “see the smoke of the Virginians from their doors.” And as Cherokee resentments were rising, their numbers were dwindling.

At the outset of the American Revolution, many Native Americans saw the opportunity to forge an alliance that would push the Americans off Native lands. A group of militant Shawnee, Mohawks, and Ottawas persuaded a young generation of warriors led by Dragging Canoe to take up the hatchet against vulnerable white settlements. As it happened, Dragging Canoe had received 3,000 pounds of gunpowder from the British which could now be put to use, though it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

As the young warriors sang and danced to mark their acceptance of the nine-foot long war belt “strewn over with vermilion,” the Cherokee leaders sat silently.

The people of Williamsburg were so far unaware of these dangerous developments on the frontier. But later in 1776, along with learning of the passage of the Declaration of Independence and Washington’s retreat from New York, readers of the Virginia Gazette read about Cherokee “butchering parties” and “ruined settlers” on the frontier.

And then they read about the retaliatory strikes that took place from Virginia to Georgia. Col. William Christian (Gov. Henry’s brother-in-law), led Virginia militiamen who “utterly destroyed” three towns under the influence of Dragging Canoe. Christian spared Chota, perhaps because he knew the Great Men of that town had opposed the conflict.

So that was the challenge faced by the Cherokee delegation. They were finding it almost impossible to stay out of the fray, facing pressure from neighboring Native nations, the British, and the colonies to take a side. A fragile peace would be negotiated in July 1777, which only exacerbated the internal divisions among the Cherokee.

The delegation to Williamsburg was led by Oconostota, who became tribal chief in 1768. He was accompanied by Attakullaculla (also known as Little Carpenter) who was Dragging Canoe’s father. Attakullaculla was old enough that he had paid a visit to George II in London back in 1730. They were joined by another headman, the Pigeon, as well as other warriors and women.

Which leads us to the Return of the Cherokee programming which marks the important events of 1777.

With so many people in their company, the Cherokee set up camp somewhere on the edge of town. That encampment will be recreated at the corner of Nicholson and Botetourt streets, with tents, fires, and lots of activity. Visitors to the Camp of the Cherokee will have the rare opportunities to learn about the history and culture of a people who were much more familiar in many ways to 18th-century Virginians than they are to us today. It’s open daily from June 1-5.

Colonial Williamsburg’s American Indian interpreters will be joined by members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and the Keetoowah Band of Cherokee from Oklahoma, who will be eager to offer their unique perspectives, and will be demonstrating aspects of their traditional material culture, skills like basketmaking, weaving, and woodcarving.

On the Cherokee Trader Tour (June 2), take a journey through town with a trader back from the frontier as he conducts his business in town. Learn about the network of connections he has to maintain with merchants, politicians, and other members of the community to make a living. Ask him how different Chota is from Williamsburg. (The Indian Trader Tour is also a regularly featured program.)

Buck Woodard, who heads Colonial Williamsburg’s American Indian Initiative, will lead a special once-a-year walking tour, In the Footsteps of Diplomats, on Friday, June 3. For anyone interested in the big picture of Cherokee relations and visits to the colonial capital, this promises to be an invaluable overview.

The Cherokee’s Public Dance will be interpreted on Saturday and Sunday afternoons on Palace Green, the same place it originally occurred. Gov. Patrick Henry and some of the Council members will be on hand to talk about the fruits of their diplomatic talks.

The dances are offered as part of the exchange of gifts that were part of any diplomatic conversation. They will feature a war dance in full paint to begin, followed by social dances. The audience will be invited to take part. And although the dances that will be performed do not actually date to the 18th century, they promise to capture the spirit of that moment when the Cherokee and the Virginians found some common ground.

A more intimate version of the dances are central to an evening program on Saturday. Friends and Brethren: Cherokee Storytelling and Dance will include stories and dances from the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

The word “return” is significant. It speaks to the fact that Virginia Indians visited the colonial capital regularly in the 1700s: to trade, to conduct diplomacy, and some, of course, to attend the Brafferton School. Today, we’re getting better at making them part of the town. The people of 18th-century Williamsburg, after all, were accustomed to seeing them. We should be too.