The Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper in the United States, was first printed in 1828 in New Echota, Georgia, the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
The Phoenix was published weekly with adjacent columns of English and Cherokee text. The General Council of the Cherokee Nation, in collaboration with the Reverend Samuel Worcester of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, established a printing office at New Echota in 1828 and offered the position of editor to a formally educated Cherokee named Elias Boudinot. In the previous decades the Cherokee Nation had abolished blood revenge practices, established a bicameral council, enacted a written constitution, and developed a Cherokee writing system, or syllabary. The Cherokee Phoenix represented a milestone in the continuing transformation of the Cherokee Nation.
In the mid-1820s the Cherokee Nation was under pressure from the surrounding states, primarily Georgia, to either relinquish their sovereignty or move to a territory west of the Mississippi River. The General Council established the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper as a tool for eliciting widespread public support and for keeping the Cherokee Nation united and informed during this crisis. As a result of a fund-raising and publicity tour, the Phoenix attracted subscribers in nearly all parts of the United States and in Europe.
The first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix was published on February 21, 1828.
Boudinot issued a detailed prospectus for the paper in October 1827. In it he pledged to print the official laws and documents of the Cherokee Nation, local and international news items, columns on the Cherokees' progress in the "arts of civilized life," and tracts on temperance and Christian living. Short works of fiction and columns reprinted from other newspapers also appeared routinely. For the first time, Cherokees were able to read the news of their nation in their own language.
In 1829 the name of the Cherokee Phoenix was changed to the Cherokee Phoenix and Indians' Advocate to reflect the expanding scope of the publication. The impending removal of the Cherokees from Georgia was a closely watched issue nationally. As the focus of the newspaper shifted to the removal crisis, the paper's editor began to find himself at odds with the General Council and the anti-removal principal Chief John Ross. In the years following the Indian Removal Act (1830), Boudinot had increasingly supported the voluntary removal of the Cherokees to a territory west of the Mississippi River. The paper was never intended to be a vehicle of free speech but an instrument of the official leadership of the Cherokee Nation, which vehemently opposed Cherokee removal on any terms. In August 1832 Boudinot was forced to resign, and Elijah Hicks, an anti-removal Cherokee, became the editor of the Phoenix.
The Cherokee Phoenix and Indians' Advocate was published weekly until May 1834, when the Cherokee annuity was not paid and the presses came to a stop. In 1835 the Georgia Guard, a militia unit organized to police the Cherokee territory that the state claimed, confiscated the printing press to prevent anti-removal sentiments from being voiced. That same year Elias Boudinot was one of several Cherokees who signed the New Echota Treaty (1835). Under its terms, the Cherokee Nation relinquished all remaining land east of the Mississippi River.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Featured Tribe - Mobile of Alabama
Mobile (meaning doubtful). A Muskhogean tribe whose early home was probably Mauvila, or Mavilla, supposed to have been at or near Choctaw Bluff on Alabama river, Clark County, Ala., where DeSoto, in 1540, met with fierce opposition on the part of the natives and engaged in the most obstinate contest of the expedition. The town was then under the control of Tascalusa probably an Alibamu chief. If, as is probable, the Mobiln tribe took part in this contest, they must later have moved farther south, as they are found on Mobile bay when the French began to plant a colony at that point about the year 1700. Wishing protection from their enemies, they obtained permission from the French, about 1708, to settle near Ft Louis, where space was lotted them and the Tohome for this purpose.
Little is known of the history the tribe. In 1708 a large body of Alibamu, Cherokee, Abihka, and Catawba warriors descended Mobile river for to purpose of attacking the French and the Indian allies, but for some unknown reason contented themselves with destroying a few huts of the Mobilians. The latter, who were always friendly to to French, appear to have been Christianized soon after the French settled there. In 1741 Coxe wrote that the chief city of the once great province of Tascaluza, "Mouvilla, which the English call Maubela, and the French Mobile, is yet being, tho' far short of its former grandeur." At this date the Mobilians d Tohome together numbered 350 families. Mention is made in the Mobile church registers of individual members the tribe as late as 1761, after which are lost to history as a tribe. For subsistence they relied almost wholly on agriculture. Clay images of men and women and also of animals, supposed to be objects of worship by this people, were found by the French.
The so-called Mobilian trade language a corrupted Choctaw jargon used for purposes of intertribal communication among all the tribes from Florida to Louisiana, extending northward on the Mississippi to about the junction of the Ohio. It was also known as the Chickasaw trade language.
Little is known of the history the tribe. In 1708 a large body of Alibamu, Cherokee, Abihka, and Catawba warriors descended Mobile river for to purpose of attacking the French and the Indian allies, but for some unknown reason contented themselves with destroying a few huts of the Mobilians. The latter, who were always friendly to to French, appear to have been Christianized soon after the French settled there. In 1741 Coxe wrote that the chief city of the once great province of Tascaluza, "Mouvilla, which the English call Maubela, and the French Mobile, is yet being, tho' far short of its former grandeur." At this date the Mobilians d Tohome together numbered 350 families. Mention is made in the Mobile church registers of individual members the tribe as late as 1761, after which are lost to history as a tribe. For subsistence they relied almost wholly on agriculture. Clay images of men and women and also of animals, supposed to be objects of worship by this people, were found by the French.
The so-called Mobilian trade language a corrupted Choctaw jargon used for purposes of intertribal communication among all the tribes from Florida to Louisiana, extending northward on the Mississippi to about the junction of the Ohio. It was also known as the Chickasaw trade language.
Aniak wants Troopers out
By: Jill Burke
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The village of Aniak says living with Alaska State Troopers in its community is like living with Big Brother.
Earlier this month, the Aniak Traditional Council sent a letter to Alaska State Troopers asking that troopers be permanently removed from the Aniak post. The council cites unfair treatment and disregard of tribe members' civil rights as reasons and says it feels the scrutiny is racially motivated.
The council complains troopers cite and fine young children for hunting or trapping ptarmigan and rabbits without a license. The say law enforcement officials also place roadblocks and conduct car searches in search of drunk drivers and bootlegged liquor without cause.
Chief Wayne Morgan says it's so bad people are afraid to live their lives freely.
"We respect the law and follow the law, but to be looked for and asked and checked that we are ensuring that we are not breaking the law and questioned all of the time, to me that is harassment," Morgan said.
Alaska State Troopers say they take the allegations seriously and will look into the council's claims.
But in written statement troopers explain they won't be leaving Aniak.
"...we do not have the option or authority to decide not to serve the people of Aniak."
Troopers say they cannot withdraw from a service area unless another state authorized public safety entity is in place.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The village of Aniak says living with Alaska State Troopers in its community is like living with Big Brother.
Earlier this month, the Aniak Traditional Council sent a letter to Alaska State Troopers asking that troopers be permanently removed from the Aniak post. The council cites unfair treatment and disregard of tribe members' civil rights as reasons and says it feels the scrutiny is racially motivated.
The council complains troopers cite and fine young children for hunting or trapping ptarmigan and rabbits without a license. The say law enforcement officials also place roadblocks and conduct car searches in search of drunk drivers and bootlegged liquor without cause.
Chief Wayne Morgan says it's so bad people are afraid to live their lives freely.
"We respect the law and follow the law, but to be looked for and asked and checked that we are ensuring that we are not breaking the law and questioned all of the time, to me that is harassment," Morgan said.
Alaska State Troopers say they take the allegations seriously and will look into the council's claims.
But in written statement troopers explain they won't be leaving Aniak.
"...we do not have the option or authority to decide not to serve the people of Aniak."
Troopers say they cannot withdraw from a service area unless another state authorized public safety entity is in place.
Bringing Native American history to life
By: Sandra Diamond Fox
SHERMAN -- Ten-year-old Christian Pasquariello of New Fairfield had a great time dressing up in clothing made from deerskin.
Danielle Tiberi, 7, who traveled from her home in Staten Island, N.Y., felt like a Native American as she carried a container for nuts and berries while modeling bearskin coverings and moccasins.
Christian and Danielle were among 40 people who attended the "Woodland Native Lifeways and Native American Stories" program Monday at the Jewish Community Center.
The purpose of the program, which was given by members of the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Conn., is to make children aware of what life was like for those living in Connecticut before Europeans arrived about 500 years ago.
"We try to educate the children on how Native Americans got food if there were no grocery stores and what they wore before clothing stores were invented," said Ruth Barr of Southbury, the institute's education coordinator.
Everyone got to see, touch and learn about the kinds of clothing, tools and hunting equipment that were used during the 16th century. They examined the skull of a deer, looked at a stone and mortar used to crush corn to make corn bread, and felt clothing made from deer pelts.
They were taught that everything they used had to come from the land and the environment -- even toys and musical instruments.
There's more to the story here: http://www.newstimes.com/ci_8303167
SHERMAN -- Ten-year-old Christian Pasquariello of New Fairfield had a great time dressing up in clothing made from deerskin.
Danielle Tiberi, 7, who traveled from her home in Staten Island, N.Y., felt like a Native American as she carried a container for nuts and berries while modeling bearskin coverings and moccasins.
Christian and Danielle were among 40 people who attended the "Woodland Native Lifeways and Native American Stories" program Monday at the Jewish Community Center.
The purpose of the program, which was given by members of the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Conn., is to make children aware of what life was like for those living in Connecticut before Europeans arrived about 500 years ago.
"We try to educate the children on how Native Americans got food if there were no grocery stores and what they wore before clothing stores were invented," said Ruth Barr of Southbury, the institute's education coordinator.
Everyone got to see, touch and learn about the kinds of clothing, tools and hunting equipment that were used during the 16th century. They examined the skull of a deer, looked at a stone and mortar used to crush corn to make corn bread, and felt clothing made from deer pelts.
They were taught that everything they used had to come from the land and the environment -- even toys and musical instruments.
There's more to the story here: http://www.newstimes.com/ci_8303167
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