A single volume history of the Cherokee that places special emphasis on the tribe's leaders and politics. Their dealings with the English, the experience of the Trail of Tears and the sufferings during Civil War.

The Cherokees, by similarity of language, have been determined to be a branch of the great Iroquoian family of Indians. They are believed to have emigrated to the Southern Appalachians about the Thirteenth Century. They found the country occupied by various branches of the Muscogee or Creek people, who inhabited the Tennessee River valley to upper East Tennessee and North Carolina; and the headwaters of Tugaloo and Chattahoochie Rivers in Georgia and South Carolina.The Muscogee or Creek Indians are believed to have emigrated from Mexico to the mouth of the Mississippi about the year 1200 AD. The word Muscogee means Mexco-ulgae, Mexican People.Intermittent warfare, lasting through several centuries, was waged for possession of the mountainous country. Eventually, the Creeks, Kusatees, and Uchees, all of Muscogee blood, were forced to the southward. The Shawnees, who occupied Middle Tennessee, were forced northward into Ohio. The Cherokees, by right of conquest, claimed all the mountainous section now embraced in East Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and North Georgia. They claimed in addition as their hunting grounds, Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. De Soto, who traversed the Cherokee country in 1540, found them in substantially the same location as during the English period of settlement. The Cherokees had dealings with Virginia as early as 1689. Their principal affairs, however, were handled by the English through the Colony of South Carolina, and it is from the South Carolina records that we get the first mention of Cherokee chiefs. De Soto visited numerous Cherokee towns, but failed in every instance to mention the name of the chief. The original Cherokee settlement was the old town Kituwah, at the junction of Ocona Lufty and Tuckasegee Rivers. The tribe was from the earliest times divided into seven clans, and a few of the town-names indicate that each clan may have originally occupied a separate village. The seven clans were, Ani-gatugewa, Kituwah People; Ani-kawi, Deer People; Ani-waya, Wolf People; Ani-Sahani, Blue Paint People; Ani-wadi, Red Paint People; Ani-Tsiskwa, Bird People; and Ani-Gilahi, Long Hair People.

"If you want to be successful, it is this simple. Know what you are doing, love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing." -- Will Rogers When Chad Smith became Principal Chief, the Cherokee Nation was a chaotic and dysfunctional entity. By the end of his tenure, 12 years later, the Nation had grown its assets from $150 million to $1.2 billion, increased business profits 2,000 percent, created 6,000 jobs, and dramatically advanced its education, language, and cultural preservation programs. How could one team influence such vast positive change? The Cherokee Nation's dramatic transformation was the result of Smith's principle-based leadership approach and his unique "Point A to Point B model"--the simple but profound idea that the more you focus on the final goal, the more you will accomplish . . . and the more you will learn along the way. In other words, "look at the end rather than getting caught up in tanglefoot." In Leadership Lessons from the Cherokee Nation, Smith combines Cherokee wisdom handed down from generation to generation with a smart leadership approach that takes today's very real issues into consideration. He explains why this leadership approach works and how you can apply it to your own organization, whether business, government, or nonprofit. Learn all the lessons that drive powerful leadership, including how to: Be a lifelong learner Solve problems with creativity and innovation Recruit and develop strong leaders Delegate wisely Act with integrity and dignity Don't be distracted from your objective Lead by example More than a simple how-to leadership guide, Leadership Lessons from the Cherokee Nation offers a holistic approach to the subject--how to become a powerful leader inside and direct your energy outward to accomplish any goal you set your mind to. Praise for Leadership Lessons from the Cherokee Nation: "These are lessons that can be applied to every organization. Principal Chief Smith's book on leadership is sound and provides steps for every business and organization to improve." -- Frank Keating, President and CEO, American banker's Association, and former Governor of Oklahoma "An indelible chronicling of time-proven elements for tribal and organizational success; just as applicable today as they were a thousand years ago." -- Jay Hannah, Cherokee Citizen, Executive Vice President of Financial Service, BancFirst, and former Chairman of the 1999 Cherokee Constitution Convention "A remarkable account of how the Cherokee Nation reached a pinnacle of success by incorporating common elements of planning, group action, and sharing credit for that success." -- Ross Swimmer, former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation 1975-1985 and former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, US Department of the Interior "Chief Smith shares stories with lessons that work in business; it is not where we are, but where we aspire to go that counts." -- Harold Hamm, Chairman and CEO, Continental Resources, Inc. "Chief Smith shares from a Cherokee perspective how to get from where you are to where you want to go." -- Archie Dunham, Independent Non-Executive Chairman, Chesapeake Energy, and former Chairman, ConocoPhillips "Outlines the reasons for the Nation's amazing growth and stability during [Chief Smith's] term. His principles of organization, leadership, and caring make sense; they work in all organizations." -- David Tippeconnic, CEO, Arrow-Magnolia International, Inc., and former President and CEO, CITGO Petroleum Corp.

Among all the famous Native American Indian chiefs, people today easily recognize names like Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Tecumseh, and Crazy Horse. However, unless you live in North Alabama or Central Tennessee, chances are you've never heard of Cherokee Chief Doublehead. Described as overbearing, hot-tempered, and haughty, he possessed possibly one of the strongest personalities of any man who lived at the time. Through sheer force of will, Chief Doublehead became the principal leader among the Cherokees. Refusing to cede the valuable hunting grounds to white intruders, he managed to confederate several tribes of Indians to wage war for twenty-five years. It has been said tha Doublehead killed more men than anyone who lived during that time period. Butch Walker has written an excellent biography on the great chief, which has been long overdue. Walker takes Doublehead from warrior to famous chief to shrewd businessman. Butch Walker has painstakingly researched all available material on the fierce Cherokee Chief Doublehead. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Native American history.

This powerful narrative traces the social, cultural, and political history of the Cherokee Nation during the forty-year period after its members were forcibly removed from the southern Appalachians and resettled in what is now Oklahoma. In this master work, completed just before his death, William McLoughlin not only explains how the Cherokees rebuilt their lives and society, but also recounts their fight to govern themselves as a separate nation within the borders of the United States. Long regarded by whites as one of the 'civilized' tribes, the Cherokees had their own constitution (modeled after that of the United States), elected officials, and legal system. Once re-settled, they attempted to reestablish these institutions and continued their long struggle for self-government under their own laws--an idea that met with bitter opposition from frontier politicians, settlers, ranchers, and business leaders. After an extremely divisive fight within their own nation during the Civil War, Cherokees faced internal political conflicts as well as the destructive impact of an influx of new settlers and the expansion of the railroad. McLoughlin brings the story up to 1880, when the nation's fight for the right to govern itself ended in defeat at the hands of Congress.

Robert Conley's history of the Cherokees is the first to be endorsed by the Cherokee Nation and to be written by a Cherokee.

A sixth-generation North Carolinian, highly-acclaimed author John Ehle grew up on former Cherokee hunting grounds. His experience as an accomplished novelist, combined with his extensive, meticulous research, culminates in this moving tragedy rich with historical detail. The Cherokee are a proud, ancient civilization. For hundreds of years they believed themselves to be the "Principle People" residing at the center of the earth. But by the 18th century, some of their leaders believed it was necessary to adapt to European ways in order to survive. Those chiefs sealed the fate of their tribes in 1875 when they signed a treaty relinquishing their land east of the Mississippi in return for promises of wealth and better land. The U.S. government used the treaty to justify the eviction of the Cherokee nation in an exodus that the Cherokee will forever remember as the “trail where they cried.” The heroism and nobility of the Cherokee shine through this intricate story of American politics, ambition, and greed. B & W photographs

From the acclaimed author of the Rose Trilogy, “a terrific, informative read for the armchair historian. A fascinating read, packed with juicy details” (Elizabeth Chadwick, New York Times–bestselling author). The Tudor period has long gripped our imaginations. Because we have consumed so many costume dramas on TV and film, read so many histories, factual or romanticized, we think we know how this society operated. We know they “did” romance but how did they do sex? In this affectionate, informative, and fascinating look at sex and sexuality in Tudor times, author Carol McGrath peeks beneath the bedsheets of late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century England to offer a genuine understanding of the romantic and sexual habits of our Tudor ancestors. Find out the truth about “swiving,” “bawds,” “shaking the sheets” and “the deed of darkness.” Discover the infamous indiscretions and scandals, feast day rituals, the Southwark Stews, and even city streets whose names indicated their use for sexual pleasure. Explore Tudor fashion: the codpiece, slashed hose, and doublets, women’s layered dressing with partlets, overgowns, and stomachers laced tightly in place. What was the Church view on morality, witchcraft, and the female body? On which days could married couples indulge in sex and why? How were same sex relationships perceived? How common was adultery? How did they deal with contraception and how did Tudors attempt to cure venereal disease? And how did people bend and ignore all these rules? “[This] fascinating book explores the VERY unsavoury history of sex in Tudor England.” —Daily Mail

An astonishing untold story from the nineteenth century—a “riveting…engrossing…‘American Epic’” (The Wall Street Journal) and necessary work of history that reads like Gone with the Wind for the Cherokee. “A vigorous, well-written book that distills a complex history to a clash between two men without oversimplifying” (Kirkus Reviews), Blood Moon is the story of the feud between two rival Cherokee chiefs from the early years of the United States through the infamous Trail of Tears and into the Civil War. Their enmity would lead to war, forced removal from their homeland, and the devastation of a once-proud nation. One of the men, known as The Ridge—short for He Who Walks on Mountaintops—is a fearsome warrior who speaks no English, but whose exploits on the battlefield are legendary. The other, John Ross, is descended from Scottish traders and looks like one: a pale, unimposing half-pint who wears modern clothes and speaks not a word of Cherokee. At first, the two men are friends and allies who negotiate with almost every American president from George Washington through Abraham Lincoln. But as the threat to their land and their people grows more dire, they break with each other on the subject of removal. In Blood Moon, John Sedgwick restores the Cherokee to their rightful place in American history in a dramatic saga that informs much of the country’s mythic past today. Fueled by meticulous research in contemporary diaries and journals, newspaper reports, and eyewitness accounts—and Sedgwick’s own extensive travels within Cherokee lands from the Southeast to Oklahoma—it is “a wild ride of a book—fascinating, chilling, and enlightening—that explains the removal of the Cherokee as one of the central dramas of our country” (Ian Frazier). Populated with heroes and scoundrels of all varieties, this is a richly evocative portrait of the Cherokee that is destined to become the defining book on this extraordinary people.

The complete texts of Myths of the Cherokee and The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees by James Mooney, accompanied by an introduction by George Ellison.